Mackenzie Undercover: It Takes a Toll

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dating Detectives – Episode: "Mackenzie Undercover: It Takes a Toll"

Introduction

In the March 10, 2025 episode of The Dating Detectives, hosts Mackenzie Fultz, a seasoned Private Investigator, and Comedian Hanna Anderson dive deep into a compelling case titled "Mackenzie Undercover: It Takes a Toll." This episode explores the intricate web of deceit involving toll violations, marital trust, and the lengths one partner goes to uncover the truth about potential infidelity.

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Case Overview: The Toll Violation Mystery

The episode centers around a 41-year-old stay-at-home mother who suspects that her husband may be involved in fraudulent activities related to toll violations. For the past six to eight months, she's been receiving toll violation notices for a vehicle she shares with her 40-year-old husband and their two young children. Puzzled by these charges, she reaches out to Mackenzie for assistance.

Notable Quote:

MacKenzie (00:44): "So this woman who's 41... nothing crazy, just a regular, like a nuclear family or whatever."

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Initial Investigation: Unraveling the Suspicion

Mackenzie begins by understanding the nuances of the case. She explains that the husband works at a car dealership and the family shares a single vehicle. The wife reports that neither she nor her husband regularly uses toll roads, making the notices particularly baffling.

Notable Quote:

MacKenzie (06:19): "They're sharing a car, so I'm sure they're trying to save money. So not only does she want to pay these tolls, but she doesn't pay me a hundred dollars an hour to do surveillance on nothing that she thinks nothing."

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Surveillance: Digging Deeper

Despite initial doubts about the legitimacy of the case, Mackenzie decides to take on the investigation. She conducts surveillance on the husband’s routine, noting his consistent presence at work and limited outside interactions. Her persistence leads her to observe a young woman consistently using the husband's car to attend community college classes.

Notable Quote:

MacKenzie (20:19): "So I decide I'm gonna do surveillance and figure out what's going on from the beginning of the day to the end."

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Uncovering the Truth: The Professor’s Secret

During her surveillance, Mackenzie spots a 20-year-old woman repeatedly taking the car to attend classes and returning it without any interaction with the husband. This pattern raises red flags about the nature of the husband's activities. Determined to uncover the truth, Mackenzie employs social engineering techniques to identify the woman using the car.

Notable Quote:

MacKenzie (34:02): "I generated a sympathy. And they were like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. Hold on, honey, let me get that."

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Ethical Considerations: Navigating the Investigation

Mackenzie touches upon the ethical dilemmas faced during private investigations, especially when pretexting (creating a fabricated scenario to obtain information) is involved. She clarifies the importance of adhering to legal boundaries and the potential consequences of overstepping them.

Notable Quote:

MacKenzie (35:16): "This is called pretexting. A pretext is where a private investigator might say, hey, I've lost my dog... it's not illegal."

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Resolution: Empowering the Truth-Seeker

Through meticulous investigation, Mackenzie discovers that the young woman is a 29-year-old community college professor with no criminal record but has faced financial hardships, possibly explaining her reliance on the shared car. The husband’s lack of transparency and respect for his wife’s concerns becomes evident. The wife, empowered by the evidence, decides to take control of her situation, leading to a change in her life circumstances, including securing her own vehicle and stabilizing her family's situation.

Notable Quote:

Hannah (53:16): "I'll take that as a happy ending because Diva needed to leave that man. Because... Who cares why, who cares what? Who cares how he was lying?"

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Insights and Lessons Learned

This episode highlights several key takeaways for listeners navigating the complex world of relationships and trust:

1. Red Flags: Unexplained financial charges or unusual behaviors are significant indicators of underlying issues.
2. Communication: Open and honest dialogue between partners is crucial to address suspicions and prevent misunderstandings.
3. Seeking Help: When doubts arise, consulting professionals like private investigators can provide clarity and support.
4. Empowerment: Taking proactive steps to uncover the truth can lead to personal growth and improved life circumstances.

Notable Quote:

Hannah (58:37): "I genuinely think that's what it is. I do too."

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Conclusion

"Mackenzie Undercover: It Takes a Toll" serves as a powerful narrative about uncovering deception within the bounds of a marriage. Mackenzie and Hannah guide listeners through the investigative process, emphasizing the importance of vigilance, ethical considerations, and the courage to seek the truth. The episode not only entertains but also educates on recognizing and addressing red flags in relationships, making it a valuable listen for anyone navigating the complexities of love and trust.

Notable Quote:

Hannah (62:03): "Guys, check your records. Check those, check those toll charges. Just give them a little looksy loo."

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Engage with The Dating Detectives

Listeners are encouraged to share their own stories of uncovering deceit in relationships and engage with the hosts through social media or Patreon. The episode underscores the significance of community support and shared experiences in overcoming relational challenges.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Dating Detectives masterfully intertwines investigative techniques with relatable marital issues, offering both suspense and practical advice. Mackenzie’s dedication and ethical approach, coupled with Hannah’s comedic insights, create an engaging and informative experience that resonates with a wide audience.

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Note: All quotes are attributed with approximate timestamps based on the provided transcript.

Transcript

[Hannah]

The following program contains names, places, and events that have been anonymized or fictionalized for the purposes of protection and safety. The following program is provided for entertainment purposes only, and any commentary from the hosts are strictly conjecture and should not be held as making any definitive statements about the truth or identity of any particular individuals or circumstances. If you or a loved one are involved in an abusive relationship, please call the National Domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for support. I'm like, what if. What if that camera turned on? You're like, yeah, good for them. Anyway, we're talking about doing zooms in the shower. Hi, guys.

[MacKenzie]

Hi. Good Monday morning to y'all. Good morning.

[Hannah]

Does anybody listen to us in the shower? Like, do you have, like, a shower speaker? I definitely listen in the shower, but I don't bring anything into said shower.

[MacKenzie]

Wait, what?

[Hannah]

They have, like, waterproof shower speakers, so you can listen to all kinds of stuff in the shower? Maybe, Detectives.

[MacKenzie]

Well, my husband brings his phone into the shower, and he watches, like, fully in the shower. Yeah. And, like, he puts it on the little shelf where the shampoo sits, and he, like, watches YouTube videos and watches movies.

[Hannah]

Like, what if he gets water damaged?

[MacKenzie]

No, they're waterproof now. It's no big deal.

[Hannah]

All right.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

So let us know if you're in the shower right now and listening to this MacKenzie undercover with us.

[MacKenzie]

Are you guys so excited for a MacKenzie Undercover Star?

[Hannah]

I need it. I need it.

[MacKenzie]

This one I haven't told because you. If you guys are new here, there's a lot of times when I have what's called imposter syndrome. So really quick tidbit. When I was in college, my college professor told me I'd never make it as a PI Because I was a girl, and that was a man's industry. And so ever since then, for last 20 years, I listened to him. And so for 20 years, I'm like, I'm a P.I. but I shouldn't be. And then people are like, you need to tell your stories. And I'm like, who's gonna care?

[Hannah]

Yeah, they're not that interesting. Which is so funny. Every single time you tell a story, you're like, well, this one might not be good.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. So all this time, I'm thinking, these stories are stupid. And people are like, dude, like, this is a crazy, interesting story. Like, it's not even just about the story, but it's about the job itself. And anyway, so.

[Hannah]

Well, I'm glad that you have pushed through that imposter syndrome. Because it's true that even when you can be like, I know that person is wrong, the things people say just sits with you. It does not go away. The body keeps the score. So I think, well, I started telling.

[MacKenzie]

The PI stories online. So anyways, here we are.

[Hannah]

And now we get MacKenzie Undercover Stories, which is like the times 10 version of the Instagram story. So I'm thrilled. Thrilled.

[MacKenzie]

So I want to tell you about a dogfish.

[Hannah]

What? No way.

[MacKenzie]

No way. A dog fish. I like to tell you guys about the dogfish that I encounter as a pie. But before we get into it real quick, I have to thank you guys for always sharing our podcast with your friends and sharing it on your social media. We get so many people who are like, oh, my gosh, my friend so and so told me about your podcast, and this really touched me, or this really helped me, or whatever. And so when you guys share, it really means the world. And you really don't understand how you sharing could really impact someone's life, and.

[Hannah]

It could make them realize that they might be in an abusive relationship. That is something that's like. I hate when people come to us with the stories of what's happened to them. But if they're like, hearing this story made me realize this pattern, and I didn't realize that it was a bad thing, that's mind blowing that that can happen. But it makes sense.

[MacKenzie]

Just know that it raises awareness when you share our podcast. Not only that, but the guests that come on and tell their stories. Oh, my gosh. Like crazy. And oftentimes, we do updates on our Patreon. So the Patreon's $5 a month, so don't hesitate to join the Patreon. It's an amazing community there too.

[Hannah]

So, okay, let's do it. I want to know. Okay, how many?

[MacKenzie]

So, okay, Hannah, I would like you to give a. What do you call it in science? The hype? The when you guess hypothesis. Okay. Give a hypothesis on how this story starts.

[Hannah]

Sometimes you ask me this, and it's a trick question. So.

[MacKenzie]

No, no, no trick. What do you think this story's gonna start out?

[Hannah]

Okay, I assume that either a husband or a wife calls you and says, I think my spouse is cheating.

[MacKenzie]

Get them kind of. Okay, so usually that's a really good start. Usually that's how they begin. Right? Okay. So I get a phone call from a woman. Okay. But my surveillance doesn't start until later down the road. So this woman calls me and she says, listen, I got your Name from a friend of a friend, and I want to do a little investigation. And I said, okay, what are you looking to investigate? And she says, I'll be honest with you, I'm really not sure where to start.

[Hannah]

But her femtuition was just kind of going off.

[MacKenzie]

Well, not exactly. So she says, I need to investigate what I think is a fraud. And I say, a fraud? Okay. Well, my specialty is surveillance. And a lot of the cases that I work are fraud cases. These are like workers comp fraud, where people get injured at work or that people say they get injured at work and then they're like, oh, I haven't broken neck. I can never work again. Pay me a bunch of money.

[Hannah]

And then you catch them skiing or something.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. So like a lot of the fraud that I work with is people that are saying they're injured. And then I do surveillance. So surveillance is my specialty for 20 years. Okay. That's what I know. That's what I do. And there's PIs do different kind of surveillances. Like you might have a PI who specializes in digital forensics or someone who specializes in, you know, missing person, whatever. I do surveillance. Okay. Anyways, so she says, I have a little bit of a suspicion of fraud, and I've called the cops, but they are not really helping me. So she says that for the last six to eight months, she's been getting, you know, those toll violation notices that you get, like, on the sun path, like, and you have the sun path.

[Hannah]

Yeah. You took the easy path.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. The easiest lane.

[Hannah]

And you shouldn't have.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. So we have the interstate, right, I4, which goes straight across the state of Florida. And if you don't want to take the interstate, they have toll roads. And so it'll branch off to go different directions. Well, you don't need a sun pass to go through those. If you drive through the toll road, not even a toll booth, you just keep on driving, Right. It will just take a picture of your license plate in your car, and it'll send you a notice in the mail saying, hey, this is how much you owe us for taking the toll road.

[Hannah]

Right. It's always like a fun little surprise. You're like, I'm getting a present soon.

[MacKenzie]

And then, fun fact. If you don't pay your tolls by the time you have to renew your tag on your car, they do not let you renew your tag. So you have to catch up on your tolls. Fun fact. I learned that the hard way a couple years ago. Whatever.

[Hannah]

And do you have to Pay like fees. Cause because for us it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

[MacKenzie]

So anyways, this lady says that for six, eight months I've been getting these toll notices and it's clearly my car or a car that looks like mine, but I don't go through the tolls. My husband doesn't go through the tolls. So just to kind of paint a picture, this is a woman who's 41. Her husband is 40. So they're very close in age. He's just a tad younger than her. They've got two kids and their elementary school age. Right. So nothing crazy, just a regular, like what do they call that, A nuclear family or whatever.

[Hannah]

2.5 kids and a dog.

[MacKenzie]

Got it. Yeah, 2.5 kids. She's a stay at home mom and they share a car. So this is the only car that they have between them. Right. So she drives it too. On days that he doesn't have to work, he works at a car dealership. So sometimes he's off on the weekends. Maybe he works on the weekends, whatever. So they do both use the car and they have a baby too, a newborn baby.

[Hannah]

Well, the newborn baby is definitely stealing this car and driving through the tolls.

[MacKenzie]

The baby's taking the toll there. Well, she keeps getting these toll violation notices and she's like, well, I'm not gonna pay it because we didn't take any tolls. Like, that's weird, right? And if you're sharing a car with your spouse, you're probably trying to save money. Right? So I imagine that she's counting her dollars. Like, I don't want to pay. Even if it's just like $4 or $8, however much it is. Yeah.

[Hannah]

Plus it adds up.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, it adds up. So she's like once or twice a week or a month or randomly. A couple times a month, at least they would get these toll violation notices. Different times of day, different times of night, different. Just random times.

[Hannah]

Do you know my question? The question?

[MacKenzie]

What is it? What is it?

[Hannah]

Well, I, I'm just assuming you're going to ask her what does her husband deny that he's been using it? Like he says, oh, I have no idea what you're talking about. When you see these tolls violation.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. So of course I say, okay, so she's saying, me and my husband don't do this. And I, of course I ask her, you know. So you asked your husband? He's like, yeah, I have no idea. That's so weird. So they together are both denying it to each other, but he says, it's no big deal, it's fine, I will call and take care of it. But they kept getting the notices. And so she finally is like, you know what? I'm done with this. He says, I'm going to take care of it. But he never does. So she says, I call the cops and I let the. You can call the non emergency number and say, hey, this is going on. And they refer her to the department of Transportation or toll, whatever the department is.

[Hannah]

Sure.

[MacKenzie]

And they're like, well, that is you, because they took a picture of your tag. So now she's saying, well, I've looked it up on the Google machine. And the Google machine is saying that people can defraud tags. Basically, someone has stolen their tag number, but they've put it on like they have the same kind of car that they do. So she's thinking that someone has the same kind of car and they just are putting like a fraudulent tag to make it look like it's them who should be getting the ticket or whatever.

[Hannah]

That seems like a lot of work for a few tolls. Like, why would somebody do that?

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. Unless they're taking tolls a lot and they don't want to rack up the money or they're trying to hide, or they're trying to drive without being identified or whatever. Whatever the case is. Right.

[Hannah]

Okay.

[MacKenzie]

So I'm like, that's really weird, but it's not really something that I specialize in. Especially because your license plate tag, your, your license plate on your vehicle is government property. You. It is against the law. It is a felony to deface it, to change it, to alter it in any way. Right. So you're not allowed to do that. So husband says, I'm going to take care of it. And she, she said, I've asked him multiple times and he says that he's called. So she says, I'm going to call myself. And this is, from what I gather, this is a very traditional type family. Like, she stays at home, she cooks the sourdough. She has a sourdough channel. She's really involved church and the youth program. When I was talking to her, she even told me she was like, I hate that I'm even calling a PI like, this is not something I would ever do. This is beyond me. But I just need help.

[Hannah]

Did she tell her husband she was calling you?

[MacKenzie]

No.

[Hannah]

Got it.

[MacKenzie]

So she, but she wasn't keeping it from him. She just, she thought, well, no one's helping him. Maybe they'll help me. He doesn't know that she's calling. He. She's like, he's just. He's just slammed at work.

[Hannah]

Right. I don't want to bother him. Let me just see if I can take care of it.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. And I told her, I said, that's a government thing. That's something I can investigate. Like, I would need their record. It's a whole big thing. And I said, I do surveillance, so I wouldn't even know where to start with that. Right?

[Hannah]

Yeah. Do you have to, like, park by the toll and just, like, see?

[MacKenzie]

So I say, maybe do some surveillance. And she's like, no, he's not. It's not him. Like, it's. There's nothing to do surveillance on. Like, he goes to work. She said, he goes to work every day. And I know he does. I talk to him 10, 12 times a day at work. He's always there. Every time I call his place of work, he answered. He always comes to the phone. He gets on the video chat with me. He's on FaceTime with me. He's at work. And the times that he's using this vehicle, he's at work. She said, I know that he's been at work. I've called him. I, you know, just kind of got a little suspicious. So I checked my phone record, and sure enough, he's been at work. Like, I know that he's at work. There's nothing. There's. It could. It's not me, and it's not him. She said, I can't even leave during the day. I don't have a car.

[Hannah]

When he goes to work, is someone taking the car? Is he lending the car?

[MacKenzie]

Right. So I'm like, okay. Like, you know, one of these things is not like the other. Like, what's happening.

[Hannah]

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[MacKenzie]

I've been a PI for a long time and I'm like something like dog's like duck quacks. Like duck, quack, quack. You know what I mean? Like, it's probably a duck. And so I'm like, I don't trust this guy. Like she's saying that she, she can't leave, she can't do anything. So either she's lying to me, telling me some story and trying to get me to prove something so she can hold something over his head or he's really lying.

[Hannah]

So what made you like take the case if you had some doubts like that? Because I know, well, I did it times you. Oh, you didn't.

[MacKenzie]

Okay, not at first. So I kept telling her, I said, this is nothing that I can help you with. And I tried to give her different ideas, like, make sure you email them so that you, like, don't just call. Like, email. Make sure you have documentation. I said, reach out to everyone. You can, like, literally document it. And just like I say on the podcast all the time, document everything. But I said, email, email, email. Every email address you can come up with that has a.gov Florida Highway Safety, Motor Vehicles, whatever.gov email every single thing you can come up with. And I helped her find some of the emails or whatever. So for a couple months, she sends emails, and over the next couple months, she tells me. She's like, I'm just not getting anywhere. I don't know what to do. And I said, do surve surveillance. And she's like, no, there's nothing to do surveillance on. She says, there's. There's nothing. I don't. I don't know what to tell you. Like, I. And. And I told her, expensive.

[Hannah]

So surveillance is expensive.

[MacKenzie]

They're sharing a car, so I'm sure they're trying to save money. So not only does she want to pay these tolls, but she doesn't pay me a hundred dollars an hour to do surveillance on nothing that she thinks nothing. So after a while, I felt like I knew what was going on, and so I wanted to help her out. But, you know, I'm a little softy sometimes when it comes to, you know, when you're really good at something and someone's like, I this help. And you're like, well, I. I know what I could do to help. That's me.

[Hannah]

If this is a dogfish situation, that's what we do. We gotta catch dogfish.

[MacKenzie]

But here's the kicker. As a licensed private investigator in the main state where I'm licensed is Florida, if you are participating in unlicensed activity, unlicensed private investigator activity, you could get in a lot of trouble. There's like a $25,000 fine. Like, you can get in big trouble. It's like, felony. It's a whole big thing.

[Hannah]

So, like, surveillance that you do is illegal to do if you're not hired to do it.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, if she doesn't hire me, then there's. Right. So I was. I was just like, well, I'm gonna take my day off, and I want to go see for sure.

[Hannah]

You're like, I'll just go see if I want to buy a car.

[MacKenzie]

Right. So the next couple of months that we're talking, and I'm like, gosh, I could really help her. But I'm. I'm such a person that's so by the book.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[MacKenzie]

So anyways, I say, you know, my femme tuition's kicking in. I just know. And bless her heart, I feel like there's a lot of naivete going on, like she trusts this fella. So I tell her, I say, listen, I want you to hire me. She said, I just don't. I just don't want to do surveillance, and I don't have the money. And I'm like, listen. I said, give me a hundred bucks. Yeah, like, give me. Give me a hundred. Give me a solid hundred bucks.

[Hannah]

Even a dollar. We just need to make this on the book.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, we need to put this on the records. But I told her, I said, give me 100 bucks because I knew. I knew that I was going to spend as many days as I needed to to find out what was going on, because I just knew that I was not going to let this go. So now I can't sleep. Right? So she finally says, you know what? Bless your heart. I. I just. I think it'll be a big waste of your time, but if you think it's worth it to go out there and spend your time on it, I guess by all means, like, you have my blessing or whatever. And I said, okay. And just for the sake of all of my PI cases, I asked the question, okay, whatever information I obtain, what are you going to do with it? How are you going to use it? Is there anticipation of litigation? If there is anticipation of litigation, meaning that they think that the information I get could in some way be used in a court case in the future. That gives me all the access that I need. And now it's on her. Now it's on the client. So if they say yes, I think this could be used in court later. That helps me to know that, okay, number one, we need to do things by the book. And number two, this person is prepared to use this information in court. So.

[Hannah]

Right.

[MacKenzie]

It helps me to see that they're not going to use it malicious me.

[Hannah]

They're not just going to go seek revenge on their husband if he's having an affair.

[MacKenzie]

And she said, well, I will. I don't. I don't know if there's going to be anti. If there's anticipation of litigation.

[Hannah]

Like, she's like, what do you think I'm going to find?

[MacKenzie]

She's like, I don't think I can divorce him. This is a Christian woman. They don't do the divorce. Right. So she's like, well, I. I don't know. And I said, answer Me this, if someone has stolen your identity or stolen your car or whatever, are you prepared to press charges? And she's like, yeah, yeah. I said, okay, that's anticipation of litigation. So I decide I'm going to go do surveillance. And I'm like, I want to know from early morning, I want to know all day, what is this guy doing? So I do surveillance for two. Now she's not getting them often. It's just a couple times a month. That's why I knew. I was like, this is not an everyday event. So I was prepared to do surveillance for a couple days. Right? So I take.

[Hannah]

True. Oh, true. Okay.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, yeah. So I take a couple days off in between surveillance cases and I do surveillance on this guy. And I kind of tell her what I'm doing, but not really. Only because this is a woman who's very like, she's very by the book also, and also very naive. And so I don't want her to say the wrong thing or too much things to the husband. So I'm like, let me look into it and see what I can do. And I took the dates and the times of when the car is going through the toll booth and kind of.

[Hannah]

Was there a pattern?

[MacKenzie]

No, there was no pattern. There was no pattern as far as the days. And whenever they take the picture, it's always a black and white picture that you get on the paper that they send you. And it's always just at the back of the car. You can't tell who's in it. Right. And so that was my idea. Like, let's see who's in it.

[Hannah]

But you can't just zoom in. Okay. Yeah.

[MacKenzie]

So I decide I'm gonna do surveillance and figure out what's going on from the beginning of the day to the end. So I go to her house first thing in the morning. I'm doing surveys early, super early. Like I'm there at 4am okay. And the guy leaves at like 6:30 in the morning. He goes to work. So he goes to the car dealership, he does his thing. He's there for a good portion of the day. Sometimes he would get off early and come home. So for about a week, like four days, during a week, during a one week period, I did surveillance on this guy. Nothing happens. And when you're not only when you're doing a case, but when you're doing it for free, you're like, oh, questioning yourself. Like, oh, am I doing, like, this could be another month before I see anything.

[Hannah]

I was gonna ask you, when do you throw in the towel.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, you. You. Well, you don't. Because when you're a P.I. you take pride in finding it, so you don't stop.

[Hannah]

Yeah, but what if there's nothing? Like, what if this genuinely was, I don't know, like somebody else putting the wrong plates on their car and it had nothing to do with his car? You'd still be there to this day.

[MacKenzie]

Well, not. I mean, there's. There comes a point where legally you just, like, can't. Like, you just. And financially, you just can't afford to do it anymore. So you have to make a decision there. But you. It's.

[Hannah]

But you're not thinking that way. You're like, there's no plan B right now. We're gonna find this.

[MacKenzie]

Right in this moment. There's no plan B. I'm gonna find out what's going on. So I decide I'm gonna go back one more day. And I'm like, I don't know what's going on, but I just feel like if I give this one more day, something's going to happen tomorrow. And so I go to bed at like, 7:30pm and, like, I'm going to get a long, decent night's sleep, and then I'm going to get up early and I'm going to go do the surveillance. And next morning, I pack my cooler full of all my snacks and I got my.

[Hannah]

I'm imagining the Rocky theme song that's like, yeah, she's like, going out early, ready to do this.

[MacKenzie]

Like, we are going to do this, right? Today is the day. Okay? So I go do surveillance and the guy goes to the car dealership. And usually I would like, okay, he's at the dealership. This is stupid. He's here. He's at work, whatever. Blah. Well, today I was like, something's going to happen. To feel it in my bones. Like, my PI Spidey senses are tingling. I just know it. Sure enough, a car pulls up with, like, the little. The little Uber, like, thing in the windshield.

[Hannah]

Yes.

[MacKenzie]

A young woman gets out of this Uber and it parks. It pulls up in front of the car dealership right in front of the service department situation, and not in front of any windows. Like, it literally went around the building to the service department where there's no windows in front. She gets out and she walks around the other way to where there's no windows. So I'm kind of trying to keep an eye on this girl. And she gets into his car without. She never goes to see him. She never sees Him.

[Hannah]

She gets into the car, has a key.

[MacKenzie]

So homegirl has a key. And so I'm like, either she's hijacking this car every day, and dude knows nothing about it, and she's just stealing his car and bringing it back.

[Hannah]

Can you describe her for us?

[MacKenzie]

Yes. So at the time when I saw her, I'm like, she's really young. She's like, I don't know, 20. She looks like a baby. Like, she looks into bitty. Well, I don't know her identity. She gets in this guy's car, she drives to a local community college, and she's going to classes. What? So she gets dropped off in an Uber, drives far but not too far to a community college that's almost in the next county. And she does her classes, she comes back, she drops the car off at the dealership, doesn't talk to the guy, and then gets on her phone, calls another Uber, picks her up, and then she leaves.

[Hannah]

What did you think that was? Because I don't have any theories.

[MacKenzie]

Well, that's the thing, is that I don't know what to do here. Okay? So I'm like, do I follow her? Like, I want to see who she is, so I want to see, like, where she lives or whatever. Right. But it is the roads that she's taking are the toll roads, and it's the same tolls, and it's the same amounts, and it's the same everything of the. The notices. So this is clearly what's going on. Right? This young woman is taking the car, and I'm like, well, I don't want to assume. Like, you never want to assume, oh, he's got a mistress. Like, you know, whatever.

[Hannah]

Right. Well, I want people. I do want the commenters to assume. Like, tell me at this point in the story. Yeah, I don't know. Put a. Put a pencil emoji, because this is where she's going to college. And tell me what you think at this point, Because I'm like, is it his daughter maybe, or something like. I don't know. I don't know.

[MacKenzie]

Okay, so what's going on? Does he have a secret family? What's happening? Right. Yeah.

[Hannah]

Well, my thing is just, why does she need to borrow the car if she has the money to Uber to the car and Uber home, then Uber to class.

[MacKenzie]

Why can't you Uber to class? I did not end up following her that day because I wanted to keep an eye on the car. And obviously this is something where she wouldn't get a toll notice until later. Which also I'd want to know, like, how is it? How is the guy? Like, this is going on for like six or eight months. She said. And so you're telling me that now for like a year this is happening? And he's just saying, no, it's fine. Like, you would think he'd be like, hey, don't. Through the toll road or something, like. Right.

[Hannah]

If he's in on it, he would be like, we're gonna get caught.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, exactly.

[Hannah]

He's a man.

[MacKenzie]

And mind you, she is reporting this as fraud. And she's getting responses back saying, we'll look into it, we'll look into it. But your car hasn't been reported stolen. And she's like, no. And they're like, well, then you have to pay. She's like, I'm not gonna pay it.

[Hannah]

Maybe he really underestimates his wife. Maybe he thinks she's too stupid to do anything. She's not gonna do anything. I'll just tell her, stop to worrying about it.

[MacKenzie]

And that's, that's what it seems like to me. But then she wants to be his hero and say, listen, I. I knew I wasn't supposed to, but they weren't really helping you. So I kind of took matters in my own hands. To me, it kind of seemed like, you know, that's what it was. I'm like, all right, so anyways, I didn't follow her home, which, it could have gone either way. If I did follow her home, I could have gotten her identity. But also I wanted to see if the car was going through tolls after I got off work.

[Hannah]

Right. Plus you could do another day.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. Which was hit or miss, because I didn't know if she would show up the next day. So the guy goes home after work, he goes to the gym, all of these things. Like, he's by himself, he's not seeing any other people. He dropped some rented, like, books, book whatever's at the library. Like, ah, normal stuff. So he does all of this and meanwhile I'm keeping up with my client and I'm telling her what's going on. And I didn't want to spill the beans about the girl yet because I didn't want. I. I wanted to know more her identity. And if she told me, what if.

[Hannah]

The wife knows who it is?

[MacKenzie]

Number one, but number two, I didn't want her to assume who it was. And number three, if she told him, then he might not have the girl. And then I could never find out who she was. And then I would die. So right. I was like, let me find out who she is first.

[Hannah]

And then ripb.

[MacKenzie]

Exactly. So I have to find out who this girl is.

[Hannah]

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[MacKenzie]

So the next day. Because whenever the. I take that back. When you said, was there a pattern? No, there wasn't, but actually, I guess there kind of was. Every time there was a toll, notice, there was always two days of it, and then it would skip maybe one day, but they were never one day. And then 30 days later, and then 15 days later, they were close together.

[Hannah]

Interesting. Okay.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. And I was like, okay, well, according to the tolls, like, it's. She didn't do anything yesterday, so I'm gonna stay. So I did another day of surveillance, right? So the next day, I do this today, and she doesn't come in the morning, And I'm like, I made a big mistake. I should have followed her home. Whatever. She shows up in an Uber that afternoon. So I was like, all right. So she comes in the afternoon after lunchtime. She gets dropped off in a different Uber, and she walks around the whole back of the building, away from the windows, gets in his car and leaves.

[Hannah]

No hello, no kiss, hello or goodbye. Nothing. No interaction.

[MacKenzie]

And so I follow her. She goes to the community college, and I sit there, and I'm like, all right. I sit there, you know, during the class, whatever. Same thing as before. She took the car back to the dealership. He was rushing her. By the time she got back to the dealership, he was off. And he was standing outside tapping his foot like a maniac and, like, looking at his.

[Hannah]

The first time you see them interact, too.

[MacKenzie]

This is the very first time I saw him. And, like, basically, that was my acknowledgment. He knew she's taking the car, because you never want to assume. But now he. I know that he knows that she knows, okay? So whatever. So she arrives back. She parks the car in the spot. She walks back around the building, around the other way, gets an Uber, and leaves. Meanwhile, he walks to his car, and he leaves, leaves. So now she has a key to the car, and he knows about it because he's waiting for her to get back. He gets into the car. I found out that he was waiting for 35 minutes that day, right, for her to get off. And that actually kind of gets him busted because the co workers like, whatever. So she drops the car off, and she knows that she's in trouble, right? And so now I'm like, do I follow him? Do I follow her? Well, I end up following her to a grocery store, right? She goes inside.

[Hannah]

She takes an Uber to the Uber.

[MacKenzie]

To the grocery store. She's walking around inside, and then she calls another Uber, and she Goes home. So I'm like, this is just like. Like, she's at the grocery store, but, like, she's 20 and she's buying, like, real groceries. And I'm like, it just doesn't make sense. And I followed her into the grocery store, and when I got close to her, I was like, she does look really young. Like, maybe I'm wrong. Like, whatever. She looks like a young woman, right? So she gets another Uber. She goes home, but it's an apartment complex, so I can't figure out which apartment she goes into because it's a huge building. It's one of those that you would imagine college people live in because it's got the door and you can't get in. It's one of those really difficult ones. Got the parking garage thing. I still don't know her identity because I can't get into the building to find out what door she goes into to find out more, Whatever. And this is just day two of actually finding her. Right. So I have no idea who she is. Well, this is where the power of social engineering comes in. So I end up calling the Uber company, and I said, hey. I said, I need your help, and you guys are going to get so mad at me for this, and I'm really sorry. So please.

[Hannah]

Which is a great thing to do. I learned that from that FBI masterclass on negotiation. You should start the negotiation by saying, like, you're going to be so mad at me for this.

[MacKenzie]

No, you guys are. Listeners of the Dating Detectives are gonna be mad.

[Hannah]

Oh, I thought you were gonna say that's what you said to the Uber people. Wait, why are they gonna be mad?

[MacKenzie]

Our listeners are gonna be so mad because I made up a situation to get information, and it was not a good situation. So I said, I think my boyfriend roofied my drink and made me forget everything. But I called this Uber, and I think I lost my wallet or whatever, and it's missing. And so. But I remember the. And so anyways, I'm not going to say the whole conversation, but I did lie.

[Hannah]

I think that. I mean, I'm sure you.

[MacKenzie]

Because they weren't going to give me anything, and I knew that they're not going to be like, oh, let me tell you that. So I kind of.

[Hannah]

You had to generate the sympathy.

[MacKenzie]

I generated a sympathy. And they were like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. Hold on, honey, let me get that. And I was like, I want to make a police report, and they need my id. And I cried, and I'm really sorry. But that's, everybody's going to want to know how I got the information, how I got it.

[Hannah]

I think, here's the, here's the difference. It's like, if we lie about that kind of thing as a normal, like, person, a civilian, that's really awful. You are licensed to socially engineer. You are licensed to get this information. Like, it's so different.

[MacKenzie]

And so, side note, this is called pretexting. A pretext is where a private investigator might say, hey, I've lost my dog. It went in your backyard. You mind if I walk back there and take a peek? Right. And so it's, it's, it's, it's not illegal. I feel personally in my heart that if you're trying to get information, like, sometimes you gotta lie, but usually they're not big lies that'll hurt anybody. And like, telling a lie like that could really trigger someone or hurt someone's feelings. And so I get that it's not great, but I knew that the Uber driver wasn't gonna give me any information unless I were to share a story that somehow made them feel sorry for me immediately. And they were like, oh, my God, I wanna help you. Let me get that for you.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[MacKenzie]

And so I had to make it their idea to help me. And people want to, in general, they want to help a person in distress, especially a young woman who's calling and saying, whatever. Anyways, I ended up. I said, this is the car that it was, because I had documentation of the tag numbers of the Ubers, because when everything that happens on a case, I document with my video records. So I had the tag numbers of the Ubers. So I said, I happen to be video chatting or something and I got the tag number and it was, it happened to be on my phone and thank God that it was, and I just need to, you know, talk to whatever. So I got the information of the drive and they were like, oh, okay. And they told me my name and they said when they were on the phone, they were like, they were like, oh, Jane Doe, here you are right here. And I was like, bingo, bango. Got like, now they. And to be honest, this is not things that you plan out. Like, you have to know, like, what the next thing to say is on the spot. You can't plan out what someone's going to say on a phone. So anyways. But I was able to kind of manipulate the conversation a little bit and learn who this person was from the Uber company. And I'm, I'm really, really sorry and please don't be mad at me, but that's what I did. Okay?

[Hannah]

Don't do that if you're not a private investigator. And we know that lying about that as well.

[MacKenzie]

That's a good point too. I'm licensed. So like I've done background checks and fingerprints and the hair whatever test and like the drugs and the whatever. They've background checked me and they, the state said we trust you enough to do these investigations. So that's the difference between me and someone who doesn't have a license, right, Is that I've been through, thoroughly vetted every two years for the last 20 years.

[Hannah]

And also we know lying about that thing, it discredits victims. But that's not what we're talking about. Like, we're just saying that so you guys know we're talking. We aware I felt bad, but also.

[MacKenzie]

Something was going on. There was no other way I was going to get. Like, I couldn't just say, hi, I'm an investigator. Can you give me this information, please? They're going to be like, no, screw off, get us.

[Hannah]

And how sad that it's so such a believable thing that it happens probably so much, right? The Uber driver had no.

[MacKenzie]

Which I would like to point out that date rape, the date rape drug, the roofies, that is no joke. That has happened to me before. And you don't remember anything. So this is my story. Wasn't like even believed. Like, there's no. If anybody had gone through that, they'd be like, no, that's not how it works. Like, like. And I knew that, but I just had to come up with something to make like, oh, like, oh, I think he tried. Whatever. Anyway, so I'm really sorry. Please don't come at me. And I'm, I've already asked for forgiveness. And the Lord said so. He washed away my sins. Anyways, so I get information. So now I know who this girl is. She's a professor at the community college. She is not a student, which I thought she was very young. She's a professor. She's 29 years old. Okay, so I find her. So if I can find her, what else can I find her? Social media. Bingo, bingo, bango. So she's been with this guy for the last eight years. The children are seven and nine.

[Hannah]

Wait, what children? Hold on.

[MacKenzie]

They're children. They have, they have kids. The seven year old, the nine year old and they have a little baby.

[Hannah]

Oh, I thought you're talking about this professor.

[MacKenzie]

No, no, the kids. I was like, I'm Sorry. Okay, okay, okay.

[Hannah]

Husband, wife have been together.

[MacKenzie]

So they've been together on and off for eight years. But him and the wife have been together. Like, they've been together since. They're like, you know, 17, 18, 19 years old, whatever. So now the woman who called and said, hey, I've got these toll notices, but this is definitely fraud. I need you to investigate this fraud. Like someone's fraudulently using my tag or stealing my car or something. But really, once I look on this girl's social media, it wasn't all like, on Facebook, this is, hi, this is my. This is my boyfriend. We've been together for eight years. This is like, on her social media it said this, and on her Twitter, it says this. And I'm like, oh, yes. So that means that they've been together for six years. And then this says another year. And you're like, oh, that's eight years.

[Hannah]

Wait, can you tell me what the posts were? Are they photos of them together? Are they just interactions that are older?

[MacKenzie]

But it's never a picture of them together looking at each other or like looking at the camera. It's always a picture that is candid, like of the side of his face or something. But you can tell that it's him. And so it made me wonder if he was like, oh, yeah, you can post that on social media, but just don't show my face. But how does she not know that he has a wife and kids? Like, she knows all of this. There's no way.

[Hannah]

So what is his social media presence? Like?

[MacKenzie]

He doesn't have a social media.

[Hannah]

He doesn't have anything. He's just his wife.

[MacKenzie]

He. No, she's not really like, she does, but it's very like, you know, played.

[Hannah]

Yeah, Candy Crush.

[MacKenzie]

Like, what, it has those posts on it or whatever.

[Hannah]

Totally.

[MacKenzie]

But like, the kids aren't posted like they. On the, like, on the church website. You can see that they're involved. And this is so and so. And it says her name and it has her family's bio and all that stuff. Right.

[Hannah]

But he's not interacting with community college professor. With professor. We'll call her professor.

[MacKenzie]

So then I'm like, okay, I, I want to do. I want to find out more about her because that's going to tell me more about him because obviously he's not going to spill his guts. Right. But also, why would she uber to his work and then walk around the building if people knew about her? Do you know what I mean? So I was like, for sure she knows about the Family.

[Hannah]

She knows it's a secret. She knows it's hush hush.

[MacKenzie]

She knows. But for ages. 8 freaking years anyways. So I'm like, okay, what's the dealio? Right? So I do a little bit more of an investigation, and I run what's called a comprehensive report. And a comprehensive report is basically something that private investigators have access to. We put in your name and information. It tells us your name, your Social Security number, your date of birth, your aliases, your phone numbers, email addresses, all.

[Hannah]

The way down to your AOL instant messenger from 5th grade prodigy, all of that stuff.

[MacKenzie]

You've got mail, all of it. It tells us where you work, who you've worked with, whatever. So I'm able to find all of this on her. And when I'm looking at her comp report, I just thought it was really weird that, like, she has no criminal record or anything. But she does have bankruptcies, which would explain why maybe she doesn't have a car, right? So she has no car to her name, whatever. And so I'm like, okay, well, she's got these bankruptcies. Two bankruptcies. Like, she's barely. She's still. She's just a baby. Like, she had 29. You said, don't they fall off after like seven years? So you had to file bankruptcy at least seven. So you're following bankruptcy when you're like 12, like, you know what I mean? And then to have time. Yeah, so. So she's not, like, very financially sound, right? Which for working for this, you know, pretty big deal community college, like you would think, whatever. Anyways, so I end up talking to the client, and once I found out all the information I pieced together for her, everything that's gone on and I've said, this is. Is what I found. This is what I did. This is. How do you tell her?

[Hannah]

Do you. In person? Phone. What's the page?

[MacKenzie]

Oh, that's a good question. So I did ask her to meet with me. So she gathered the baby while the kids were at school, and she ubered herself to the grocery store. Like, she, she was like. She told the husband. She's like, I'm gonna go to the grocery store. I just want to get out of the house. He's like, okay. So I meet her up at the grocery store, and it's in this plaza, and they have this little bench, like, outside one of the restaurants. So her, me, her and baby, who doesn't know English yet, sat there on this bench and we chatted. And here's the reason that I don't want to do things like that over the phone is because I want to know that this person is safe. I want to know that they're not going to do anything like self harm if they get bad news. I want to make sure like she's home with the baby especially. I know she's a mama, so I want to number one, make her safe. So there's all kinds of different reasons and a lot of it's for safety and I don't want her to get like half the story and then call the husband and then totally she could.

[Hannah]

Hang up on you and go, yeah.

[MacKenzie]

And then I'm like, wait, there's more like just kidding or something at the end. And then she misses that part because she didn't like, you know what I mean? So I want to make sure that they're with me and that just a lot. Not oftentimes I can't do that, but I try to when I can. So I did.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[MacKenzie]

So I tell her all the things and she's dead ass. Just looking at me like, she's not like, oh, clutching my pearls like I can't believe this. Like she's like. And so you can tell that the wheels are turning and she's mapping in her head and she's doing all the tolls and she's like, but why? Like neither of us can figure out like why? Like why is he letting her and why the tolls and why all the things? So she decides while I'm there that she wants to call him and ask about the tolls again. But she lies. She's. Now she's doing her little investigation. I just kind of sat back with my arms crossed like, good for you. So she calls him and she says, hey, I'm at the grocery store. And she said, I, I just. Something popped in my head. I got a question for you. And he says, okay. And she said, you said that you called about someone using our, our license plate fraudulently and someone's using our license plate that has a car like ours and trying to get us stuck with the bill. Those cotton headed nanny muggins. Like how dare they? Right?

[Hannah]

Yes.

[MacKenzie]

And he's like, and you can hear him. He's on the speakerphone. And he goes, he goes, yeah, I'm just having a hard time getting anybody to get back to me. And she goes, you know what? Me too. They said that we had to report the car stolen. He goes, no, no, don't do that. Like if you report the car stolen and then it was never stolen and then we'll get in trouble, and you can't do that. So just pay the bill. How much is it? Well, by this point, it's over 200, because they haven't paid it in over a year. Right. So. So it's a lot of money. And she's like, you know, well. Well, I'll be right.

[Hannah]

He's probably like, dang it. She's. My nagging wife is making it so hard for me to have my little affair.

[MacKenzie]

Exactly. And she's like. Like, honey, I just. I wanted to tell you I solved it. I solved the. The mystery. And he said, oh, you. You. You did? And she's like, yeah. She said, I actually ended up getting a hold of someone at the. I called myself because I knew that they were giving you such a hard time. So I called them myself. Honey, you'd be so proud of me. And guess what they did. They sent me a picture of the car where you can see in the windows and we can identify the person who's driving it. She's a woman. And she describes her. She says she's got blonde hair. And now we know exactly who this person is. We just have to figure out, like, who she is or whatever.

[Hannah]

The husband shits his pants. You know, he's in his pants.

[MacKenzie]

I think she's watched one too many movies, because this would never. Like, you would have to you. It would be an act of Congress to get this kind of investigation. Unless it's on a show on HBO like House of Cards. But he doesn't know that. So she says, and they sent me her picture, and guess what they did. They also sent me this. The camera footage of following her car. Because I don't know if you guys know this, like, side note, Big Brother's watching along the roads, especially in Florida, but I'm sure it's another state.

[Hannah]

Cctv.

[MacKenzie]

There's CCTV everywhere. So I can go to my Google machine, or not the Google. I can go to my PI resources, type in a tag number, and it'll show me every camera that's ever picked up that tag as recently as this morning. So, like, it'll tell me, oh, it's all them here. And they were on i4, and then they were on i75, and then they were at this parking lot in this Publix or whatever. Like. Like, so I can get that.

[Hannah]

I wish I could get a CCTV footage of this man's face when he was on the other end of that call.

[MacKenzie]

She said they were able to get me the footage and follow the car along the roads to everywhere. It went all the way to her house. Y'all, that. This is in the movies. That would. It would be crazy.

[Hannah]

Do you know what does she have to lose? I mean, what. He's either gonna call her bluff and then she's gonna be like, well, too bad. I know it's this woman, right? He's gonna just pee his pants, which he deserves.

[MacKenzie]

So she says, so the Department of Transportation, or I don't remember what, I think it was like Florida highway, motorcycle vehicle, Whatever she says. And this is, this is her. I have not coached her at all. Naive, skirt wearing Christian woman with a baby on her hip. She barefoot in the kitchen. She is doing the damn thing and I'm loving it.

[Hannah]

It. I love her.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, I do too. She's like, she's her own hero. So she says they follow her to this apartment complex and you'll. And this is after I've given her all the deeds, right? We know who this girl is, whatever. And she said, so all we have to do is. Now all I have to do is call the cops and I can tell them everything. And the cops will go there, identify this woman and arrest her. And she said, they've actually done this before. And they said it's actually really easy. So we're just going to call the cops. So together, after you get off work, let's go to the police department, we'll make a report and we'll do the thing, right? So she's like, that's what we're gonna do. And he's like, I. I have to work late tonight. And she's like, well, the. The Police Department's open 24 hours. Like, it's fine. Like you can just go in. Like, they don't close. And so anyway, she's like, well, we can go in together whenever you're ready, but we're gonna nail this young lady, right? And he's like, no. Oh, we. Well, that's not. That's not necessary. I guess it's fine. Let's just pay it. It's fine. Like, it's. It's fine. And he's like, oh, I have a call. I gotta go. I'll call you back. So he hangs up. He doesn't even wait for her. Let her say, oh, no, Stanley. Nothing.

[Hannah]

I'm surprised he didn't offer to do it himself and be like, I'll go to the police, I'll take care of it. And then come back and say like, they, you know, are doing what they can.

[MacKenzie]

Right? Exactly.

[Hannah]

Because he's. That's his move. Okay.

[MacKenzie]

So anyway, so her and I are sitting there talking, and we're sitting there for about another 20, 30 minutes. Like, she's waiting for him to call back. She's like, he's going to call back. I want to know what he's going to say. And now she's excited. And I was like, good for her. Like, she's really getting into it. I love this girl. Right?

[Hannah]

It also makes me think. I'm like, does she not want to be married to him? It feels like this response. Maybe it's like she's in shock about the actual affair, but it also could just be that she's like, I'm ready to.

[MacKenzie]

I think she. For me, personally, I think she knew and she didn't want to be mad because she didn't know for sure, but now she knows for sure. So anyways, so we're sitting there for the next 20, 30 minutes, and we're just kind of. I'm playing with the baby a little bit, and we're talking a little bit about his situation, kind of. She's replaying it back to me. Oh, and over. Because when you get news, don't. Do you ever find yourself, like, replaying it over and over, like, okay, yeah.

[Hannah]

You're, like, trying to make it make sense.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, you're trying to make it make sense. You're replaying it over and over in your head. Well, while we're talking, we're looking at her social media, and her social media disappears. All of them. Her Twitter account, her Facebook account, all the social media that she had. Just. We can't find her at all. Oh, boy. She has deactivated or deleted or something all of her accounts, right? Like, she's done everything. And so.

[Hannah]

Too late, lady.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, we, like. We already know, like, who you are. Like, it's. It's fine, right? So she's going dark, right? So she decides, well, you know what? We're here. I got some shopping to do, so I'm gonna do my grocery shopping and I'm gonna head home.

[Hannah]

She better charge it to his card, right?

[MacKenzie]

So she goes home, and I don't hear from her for a little bit. We've figured out that this is the woman. We figured out what she's doing, how she's getting his car. So not only is he sharing a car with his wife, but he's going to work, and then he's sharing with his mistress, whatever, who wasn't his daughter. And I was. At first, I was like, this Is too easy. There's no way it's his mistress. There's no way it's his daughter. Like, that's too easy. It's got to be something weird, right?

[Hannah]

Yeah. And why is she just using the car to go to her job? I'm so confused.

[MacKenzie]

Like, what is she doing?

[Hannah]

When are they hooking up? When are they seeing each other?

[MacKenzie]

That was my question. But this is where y'all gonna get mad at me again, because although I formed a relationship with this wife, right? And I found out that they. Upon continuing to talk to her little by little over the next couple months, and she. She still. Like she said, we still haven't gone to the cops. He wants to decide what he's gonna do. He doesn't know that I know. And that's kind of. That's where she's. Where she stands. Right.

[Hannah]

How long did that go on?

[MacKenzie]

Well, so I ended up doing a little investigation a couple weeks later and find out that they were able to Rene tags, which means that the tolls have been paid. If you don't pay your tolls and you can't renew your tag, it'll say a toll violation hold, which means that you. The tag can't. So if I look up your car and you have a toll violation, it'll tell me. It'll say, hannah owns this car. But there's a toll violation hold, which means that you can't renew the tag, which is why it's not updated until you pay the tolls. And that's not on there. So either they were able to file a fraud claim, which they weren't able to do because she couldn't legally do that. That or they've paid the tolls, Right? So I tried getting a hold of her a couple times, which I don't make a habit of doing. Like, I don't make a habit of calling these people over to be like, hey, so what happened? Right. It's very unprofessional, and it's. It's none of my business, but you really want that closure, right? I did talk to her one additional time after that. I left her voicemail, and she was able to.

[Hannah]

What? Hannah's, like, ready for you to be like. And they're still together, and I don't know what happened.

[MacKenzie]

And I'm getting.

[Hannah]

Be like, flipping a table.

[MacKenzie]

Okay, she's going to pull her hair out. So I did talk to her one time after that, and she said, I'm making plans, and I'm making sure my children are taken care of. And Last I checked, before I told the story, just for due diligence, they are not living together. He still lives in the residence alone, as far as I can tell. And as far as the Professor Sexy or Professor Professor Toll violation, whatever.

[Hannah]

Professor Bankrupt up.

[MacKenzie]

Professor Bankruptcy. Yeah, we'll call her Professor Bankruptcy. She still does not have a car in her name. She still lives in the same apartment and she has a new social media account with just a picture of her and her dog that is totally private and it's only one platform. So all the email addresses that she has, and that's all I can find on her. No pictures of him, no sign of him, no anything as far as I can tell. And so that's all I know is that he no longer lives with the wife life. And they have a. There has been civil. In the state of Florida, you can look up court cases, but if they have anything to do with children, you can't see the details of it. So I know that there is a custody situation only because you can't see the details that tells you that there's children involved. And there is no divorce filed yet, as far as I can tell. So I. I'm going to keep an eye on it and see if I can. Hey, there ever is a divorce or whatever. But that's.

[Hannah]

I'll take that as a happy ending because Diva needed to leave that man. Because. Because who cares why, who cares what? Who cares how he was lying?

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, strike one. But what sucks is that, like, I. And here's where it's tricky for me. And here's where your ethical guidelines kind of come in. Because I sure as hell I want to go sit outside their house and be like, okay, where's he at? What's he doing? Is he with the girl? Whatever. I can't legally do that. Not like, then it's harassment. Then it's stalking. And that's not right. So I have to mind. I have to mind. Mind my manners. By way of the Florida State statutes. Right? Florida Statute, Chapter 4.

[Hannah]

She's just getting ahead of all the comments that are going to be like, go find them.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. Like, I can't. I can't. I legally can't. And if I were to pursue that, knowing that she has my number, like, she could have been calling me 27 times a day and she chose not to. And so I have to take that as a sign that she. A lot of times in this case, like, like you, it's. A lot of people feel ashamed. They feel stupid. They feel like they. Like they should have known. And so I imagine that you don't want to talk to the person who found out all the information.

[Hannah]

Also, she's moving on. Like, her. She's Mama Bear. She's like, my next step is now. It's not even to humiliate this man that ruined me. It's to protect my children and make it safe for us to live without him. And, you know, you did your job.

[MacKenzie]

But I will tell you also on the church's website, where they had their family bio, now, it has a picture of her and the children, and it says, this is Sister so and so. And she's doing this with the youth program and whatever. So they changed it from them to her wait.

[Hannah]

And I love that the church was supportive. And I don't know the details, but it seems like if that's what the website looks like, then they were like, yeah, gtfo. And also if she's, like, doing what she needs to for her kids, that's why I talk about. I got this from the Instagram account and podcast. It's called her first 100k. An FU fund, if you will. I think it's very important that all people, no matter who you are, have an FU Fund, which is just a fund that you have if you ever need to be independent and you just allow yourself to leave.

[MacKenzie]

I forgot to tell you, but it's important when I. I'm sorry to cut you off, but I have. I feel like Kanye right now with Taylor. So what happened was after she found out about all the things, right? And after the couple weeks went by and I looked her up, like, you kind of see, like, where she was now or whatever. She has a vehicle registered to her and only her now. So she has a car for her, the kids, and she did not buy it at that dealership that he works at just a point. She did not buy it.

[Hannah]

Oh, okay. That's great. No, I think that's great. And you did a really good thing by helping her get this information however you could, because. Yeah, it did not make sense. You know, if it. Like you said, if it looks like a duck and acts like a duck, there's something ducky about that.

[MacKenzie]

This now she lives. She bought a house. Like, she's doing well, so good for her. And I'll be honest with you, when I first talked to her, my first instinct was she does, like, bless her heart. Like, she's so naive, right? And I think there was a lot of naivete there, but I feel like she knew there's no way that she didn't know something. Right. And she was. I just chalked it up to, oh, she's just a naive woman. She's a good Christian gal, and that would never happen, whatever. But I feel like. Like, at the end of the day, in my gut, I feel like she probably knew. She was able to have that phone call with him so easily, and I was like, holy, good for you. So she was more than what she appeared to be, is what I'm trying to say. She was less than, I think she put off.

[Hannah]

As was he, obviously. But I think also, if you're calling a P.I. like, you don't just call a P.I. right away. There's more that has to happen. There's more suspicion and doubt. And even if you're not conscious of it, it's like there's another thing going on here.

[MacKenzie]

Well, that's why at first, when she called me, she's like, can you investigate this? And I'm like, not really. That's a government situate. Like, that's a. Like, you gotta call the government. Like, you gotta call the transportation department, the county.

[Hannah]

She would have done that if she didn't think there was something fishier, Doug. Fishier, I feel like.

[MacKenzie]

And she never admitted this, even when I asked her. And she's like, no, not really. But I feel like she might have talked to someone and said, hey, is this weird? Like, have you ever experienced this? And they're like, oh, oh, call a PI or whatever. I don't know. But I do feel like. I feel like her femme tuition was going off from the beginning, and maybe she really didn't know, but by the end, she knew.

[Hannah]

Yeah, y'all. This is also. Why don't. I don't think it's a good idea. You know, to each their own. I'm not saying you're wrong if you're doing something, but I don't think it's a good idea to have only one partner dealing with all the bills and all the money, because she was able to look at these toll charges, which, you know, things are electronic now. Like, it would be so easy for somebody not get the mail and not see the charges and then have no idea that this is happening. But these little charges are how you find out that something is happening. And it puts you at a deficit and a disadvantage if you are barred from accessing that information by your partner.

[MacKenzie]

One thing that still that I lose a little bit of sleep over is, why would he let this go on for months unless he honestly was like, she's stupid. She's never gonna.

[Hannah]

I genuinely think that's what it is. I do too.

[MacKenzie]

I think that he disadvant of her naivete. Yeah, he doesn't respect. Absolutely. Yep.

[Hannah]

Anyway, that was a good story. Can I verify you that. That was a bonkers one and I can't wait to hear what people think.

[MacKenzie]

Yes. Thank you for validating me. But I want to know what questions you have. What questions did you have that maybe I missed? That's what I want to know.

[Hannah]

This douchebag. Excuse me, sorry.

[MacKenzie]

Like what would you have done differently? And I just. I guess I feel like.

[Hannah]

Like if we were a PI. Dude, you're amazing.

[MacKenzie]

I guess I just feel like all the things could I have identified her better but. And the reason like when she went into the. The community college, I'm like, is she studying one of these things? And so I couldn't find her as a student. But that's why. Because she was actually doing.

[Hannah]

If somebody looked young and was going into a community college, of course I would assume that there's.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah, I definitely. That's why you don't assume. I guess.

[Hannah]

I guess. But. But I. Hey, you got her out of there. And he was obviously up to no good. That's all I need to know. And I don't like him. And I hope you're doing well. If you find this for whatever reason, hun, and your kids, you're an awesome lady who is better than that man treated you by like a million. Wow, that was a good one. I love that. And, and I'm glad he got caught. Guys, check your. Check your records. Check those, check those toll charges. Just give them a little looksy loo.

[MacKenzie]

I'm just saying.

[Hannah]

Who knows, man? Wow. Okay, so tell us what you think. Obviously go to Patreon or social media and all of the theories, please. And if you thought something different throughout, if you had a different theory throughout, even if it was debunked, I want to hear it. Also I want to hear how other people kept catch cheaters. Like I need to verify this again. But I heard recently that you know, obviously Shakira Hips don't lie. Shakira, the singer. I'm actually seeing her in concert soon. She was cheated on. Which is like if Shakira can get cheated on, you know, Right. There's no hope for anyone. But I heard that she found out because she was looking in the fridge and saw that somebody had eaten this jam that she knew she was the only one that liked. And she was like, who's been eating My jam. You're having an affair. And she was right. And I was like, well, duh. Because femtuition. But also it's like the little.

[MacKenzie]

Her jam.

[Hannah]

Yeah. How did you. How to take the husband. It's another to take the jam.

[MacKenzie]

Don't take the jam. Don't take.

[Hannah]

Don't take the jam. But no, I would feel that way if there was like a dessert or something that I loved that I noticed somebody had been eating. I would be like, the betrayal.

[MacKenzie]

Don't touch it.

[Hannah]

But I'm curious if there are any other things like that that have tipped off a betrayal that are kind of like ridiculous.

[MacKenzie]

Yeah. Like what weird ways have you caught someone being dishonest or unfavorable adoption.

[Hannah]

You know what? We just got to keep our eyes. Our head on a swivel. I like that. Ever since you said that with the swivel.

[MacKenzie]

Keep your head on a swivel. Yep.

[Hannah]

Head on a swivel. And hopefully this doesn't happen to you. But if it does, you know where to find us.

[MacKenzie]

You can email us your story if you have something to share. Our email address is investigate at the Dating Detectives podcast dot com.

[Hannah]

Send us all the things and put in the subject. Like this one would be I caught my husband cheating because of a toll violence. His. His mistress was stealing her car.

[MacKenzie]

Like, wouldn't he be like, hey, stop taking the toll roads if you're gonna take my car, idiot or something?

[Hannah]

Yeah, I. I don't know. I don't know. I don't. I don't hold him in the highest regard, so I don't particularly expect the brain to be used so.

[MacKenzie]

Well, he's a little slow. It's fine.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I think he's a little slow. But I guess we bless his heart, we wish him well and we let karma do her thing.

[MacKenzie]

Let her. Anyways, I love you guys. Thank you for listening to this episode of Mackenzie Undercover on the Dating Detectives and give us five star. A five star review on thing. And if you can't, if you think it's. But just do the five stars, please. Thank you.

[Hannah]

Thank you. And as always, trust your fem tuition.

[MacKenzie]

Okay. Let it by.