And that belief, not any lack of intelligence, was the thing that destroyed him.

Because a person who believes he is uncatchable stops being careful.

He leaves the phone call running.

He expenses the hotel under a client’s name.

He assumes his tired wife is helpless, his employer inattentive, his luck permanent.

The very success of his deception, the fact that it had worked for six months, was what made it collapse in a weekend, because it had taught him that he did not need to be careful, and carelessness, against someone actually paying attention, is fatal.

My skill mattered, yes; I knew where to look and how to document what I found.