Noun
someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information
Source: WordNetThe private detective of fiction is a fantastic creation who acts and speaks like a real man. He can be completely realistic in every sense but one, that one sense being that in life as we know it such a man would not be a private detective. Raymond Chandler
I am a private detective. I am paid to be inquisitive and presumptuous. Douglas Adams
I used to work as a private detective years and years ago. Errol Morris
I'll survive,” Floyd said. "I'm a private detective. If I don't get clouted on the head at least once a week, I'm not doing my job properly. Alastair Reynolds
At the time, Morris had been making a living as a private investigator for a well-known private detective agency that specialized in Wall Street cases. Source: Internet
From science fiction episodes to the most popular “Barnaby Druthers” private detective, the episodes are not only presented vocally with clarity and expression, but written with sharp wit and originality. Source: Internet