Exclusive interview with Dillion Harper

Me: Hello Dillion. Thank you for joining me today. I am sure a lot of people are looking forward to reading this interview. You are quite a remarkable person with all of your achievements.

Dillion Harper: Thank you for having me and for your kind words. It is my pleasure to be your guest. My schedule just had a small opening to make this meeting possible. I am glad that happened.

Me: I am reminding everyone that my guest today is a private detective straight from Russia – Dillion Harper. And here is the first question: what does the name Dillion mean and how you got it?

Dillion Harper: Oh, Dillion has a very short story: the name has Celtic or Irish origin, it means faithful. I know my mother liked Irish stories a lot and it was her first choice. My middle name, Erast, the one I don’t use it much, has a peculiar story. There is a Russian novel that every middle-schooler knows. It is called “Poor Elisa” by Nikolai Karamzin. The story talks about a young Elisa who falls in love with a man named Erast. He takes advantage of her and then leaves her. He loses all his fortune in gambling and had to marry a rich girl. One day Elisa sees them in the city and decides to drown herself in the pond. It is a tragic story. Erast kills Elisa. My mother’s name was Elisa and she died in labor. My father thought it was a good idea to also give me the name Erast, just like the book character. But in general it is not a very common boys name. It’s derived from the Greek “Erastos” that actually means “loving”.

Me: What about your last name? I am dreading this question, hopefully there is a less tragic story behind in.

Dillion Harper: No, nothing tragic at all. I am the 8th generation counting from a German horseman Cornelius von Horn. He relocated to Russia in the late 17th century. With the years passed the German von Horn having been merged and simplified for the Russian folk to Horndorin in the 18th century, and ended up becoming Harper last century when my father wanted a more western name for his family.

Me: How was Dillion Harper as a child?

Dillion Harper: Quiet? (laughs) It was a time I spoke only a little. I don’t know, I’ve found it difficult to learn and speak. It solved by itself with passing years and exposure to real life. Then my childhood was filled with risk and adventure. Frankly speaking I can remember mostly feelings, less facts. So what I can say today is Dillion Harper as a kid was a happy one.

Me: I know readers can’t really hear, but how come you know English so well and speak it fluently with almost no accent?

Dillion Harper: I was fortunate enough to grow up in a wealthy family where education was a key to the future success. I’ve learned English from my American governess, French and German at school. At the age of 25, I ended up seeking travelling and living for a while in the Great Britain and then in the United States.

Me: Very impressive. Any other languages you are looking to add to your so-called Collection?

Dilion Harper: I am thinking about something easy, Spanish and Italian, maybe. I will keep it for when I retire and have more free time. I like oral conversation with the men or women in front of me and I like to get myself understood without much efforts.

Me: If I may ask, why have you left Russia in the first place?

Dillion Harper: I had some problems with some problematic people and, as you can imagine, they don’t like anyone who try to find their secrets.

Me: That turned out to be quite a remarkable jump in your career, wasn’t it? From the ease of living in your own country, you have come down to renting a room in an old lady’s house. That’s when you have discovered that you can make a living as a private detective?

Dilion Harper: Not necessarily because I already had such activities by then but, it was in Bristol where Miss Palmer was my gracious host for some time. She was a woman of high intelligence and wit. It was my pleasure working with her. But honestly it was her, who have found missing old Lord Berkeley and solved a mystery of the Milky Way family jewels. I didn’t have all the knowledge of the family’s secrets and intertwined relationships. We have received a hefty reward that day and that’s what I have been doing ever since. I hope she was able to fulfill her dream of buying a small cottage by the sea.

Me: Some of the readers may know that you are extremely lucky in gambling. Have you ever tried that way to gain the riches?

Dillion Harper: Indeed, I have this strange ability to win any game of chance. I am cursed or blessed, not really sure. My father gambled heavily and left me nothing but debt after his passing. I have given myself a word, that I will not repeat his mistakes. I must confess I have used this peculiar ability of mine once or twice, when the situation was really bad. But I would never use it towards my financial advantage. Even though sometime I was cowardly considering it.

Me: Some people compare you to Mr. Sherlock Holmes. I am sure all girls and women reading this interview are dying to find out if, just like him, you have The Woman in your life?

Dillion Harper: I have never heard that comparison, but I am flattered. A few years ago, I was fortunate to meet this remarkable fellow in France where we were trying to save Mr. Des Essar’s daughter and fortune. It was a pleasure working with him.

Me: Are you avoiding the “love” conversation on purpose?

Dillion Harper: Love is a complicated commodity. Mr. Holmes was right by settling on just one Woman. A woman matters only when she leaves a cavern in your soul. As per me, you are probably aware of the tragic events of the past. So Dillion Harper is more of a solo. (Editor’s note: his wife died on the day of their wedding when he was just 20 and she was 18. Her name was also Elisa and Erast was again the indirect reason for her death. He was working on uncovering the members of the secret circle who were hiding behind the orphanage for talented kids. Unfortunately, he found out too much information and they were trying to get rid of him. On the wedding day a bomb was sent as a gift and his wife opened it).

Dillion Harper: That event has followed me around like a trauma. You know that your bone is more likely to break where it was broken before. I would prefer not to touch that wound. Moreover, I firmly believe that a person who chose a dangerous path for himself should live without life. And it’s not because I am trying to protect my soul from the new wounds. Those who refuse to let love in their life because of cowardness or egoism deserve nothing but content.

The thing is, you can’t allow another to love you. My karma is surrounded by dark clouds and I doubt that I will meet the end of my days in bed. I can’t allow the only soul that loves me to end up alone in this world. No matter how heroic my death might be, I will never forgive myself for this treachery. I don’t want to betray the most important person in my life. Hence, the result is easy to deduce – don’t let anyone in your heart and don’t invade someone else’s. Allow yourself to leave this world when the time comes with ease, just like a cloud floating to the horizon.

Me: Thank you for this explanation, I am sure not that many people have seen this side of your life exposed so much.

Dillion Harper: That is about the most they will ever see.

Me: Let’s move on. Can you please share one of your most interesting cases?

Dilion Harper: Let’s talk about the most recent one. There is a new wave. Young boys and girls, also adult women and men become members of the “Lovers” club, who one by one voluntarily commit sexual encounters with others who are, let’s admit it, total strangers. There are some problems deriving from this behaviour such as videos, sex movies, pics, which, you can imagine, can hurt somebody’s image and reputation. I have to trace them and make sure nothing leaks to the public or on the internet. Imagine massage sessions ending with sex, lesbian sex by women who are quite respectable and reputable in the rest of the time. New videos are always at hand and easy to record starting from professional cameras to miniatural cameras, from HD quality to smartphone recordings. They make this step then they regret and I have to clear after them. Obviously age is a problem for some of them, reputation is the most sensitive for others.

Me: It feels like some young people have nothing better to do.

Dillion Harper: I agree, some of them are very intelligent, but somehow they join the club. Then it’s too late for regrets. An innocent meeting can turn into an orgy and in a minute the life changes.

Me: But you make sure to figure it out.

Dillion Harper: I sure do. It’s not easy, it’s not easy at all, but I manage. In the end they realize it’s not something they should continue doing and risking their lives so currently I have less and less clients from this sex club.

Me: Did you ever search for your name on the Internet?

Dillion Harper: (laughs) I know where you’re heading. Of course I did. You have no ideas how many names I have to search on the Internet during work. Those kids and adults’ lives are now online so you never know when your name gets up there. As for me, I know there’s a porn star having the same name as myself. But I don’t know if this is her real name Dillion Harper. Anyway, I don’t know who’s more lucky in life, me or her. But I admit, that’s strange to share the name with such an actress, if we can call her an actress, given the kind of work I am doing lately. At least the Dillion Harper porn star doesn’t have a problem with what she does for a living. My clients have.

Me: So where to next? I have heard you are up to something extremely remarkable. You have been setting up for this for quite some time.

Dillion Harper: You have heard right. I am headed to Aruba. I have made myself into a successful detective and I have done well for myself. Now, I can afford to forget about profit and focus more of my time and efforts on following my dream. It combines my passion for technological progress and solving puzzles. I have spent some time learning engineering and teamed up with an American fellow to be able to build a small submarine. Please don’t ask what happened to the first prototype (laughs). I am searching for the Spanish galleon San Felipe, which sank around the island with nearly 40000 pounds of gold aboard. Can you even imagine that much money?

Me: Wow, that’s incredible! So are you doing it for profit?

Dillion Harper: Well, it will be the last time I will ever need to work which is nice, but moreover, I want to do something remarkable.

Me: Like you have not done enough great things already?

Dillion Harper: It is in the human nature to always search for greatness and never settle for anything.

Me: With all of this head-spinning adventures and danger, do you think you had a fulfilling life? Are you happy with your achievements?

Dilion Harper: A life is a book and you can only make any decisions about it after you close the last page. Some books are long and full of wisdom, some short like poems. You can’t be certain that one is better than the other.

Me: I am hoping there will be many more interesting pages in your book for us to read. I would certainly want to think so. Last question, if there is any advice you can give to my readers, what would it be?

Dillion Harper: This world is ugly, dumb and dirty. One person can’t fix all the imperfections. So the best you can do is to work on yourself and on fixing your own imperfections. Only daily work on your mind and body will produce results. And one more thing – the key to the peace of mind is to stop watching the news.

Me: Well said. I am sure our readers will pull this interview apart from quotes.

Dilion Harper: (laughs) Every Wiseman has idioms that contradict one another.

Me: I would like to thank you, Dillion, for your time with me today. This has been an incredible interview. I really appreciate you being open to this conversation, as I know some of the topics we have covered were not easy for you.

Dillion Harper: I am grateful for the opportunity.