Private Dicks

Horace McNulty, an experienced police detective, founded the agency in Molesburg in 1920, seeing the need for private citizens to have a recourse during the incipient lawlessness of the time. The agency had an excellent reputation in both the corporate and civic community for many years. However, it began to struggle financially in the 30's and then suffered a critical loss in manpower due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Horace was running a bare-bones operation when he suddenly died in 1946. It was thought that the agency would likely fold, but Horace's lawyers discovered that the agency files contained letters addressed to a number of former employees and friends of Horace asking them to keep the agency afloat. The letters said that Horace was afraid that certain outside groups and the general chaos that the demobilization was fomenting in town would require that the agency or something like it would be sorely needed.

The company had $3000 in an account at the First National Bank, and 2 employees (NPC's), who wanted to stay on: Joe “Mumbles” Murphy, a former M.P., and Madeline Woolman, the secretary/receptionist. The agency office is on the second floor of “Piney Joes”, the largest Pine Tar distributor in Western PA. Piney Joe rents out the upper floor of the building to various small businesses and professionals.

The rent on the office is $45 per week. Horace's will says that the first year after the agency is turned over to the new owners, each employee must be paid $60 per week, and bonuses may be paid out by majority vote of the owners.

FYI: the restrooms are downstairs in the lobby of Piney Joe's.