Every now and then, a story is published granting an intimate portrait into a world wholly unfamiliar to the overwhelming majority of us. The Dallas Observer recently ran a long article called Cruising with the Whore Cop, in which reporter Jesse Hyde follows around Dallas PD’s Terry Peters, who, for reasons that aren’t quite explained, is the apparent authority in the department on prostitutes, and the shady underground economy at truck stops.

The article is careful to mention that the overwhelming majority of truckers are upstanding citizens, but that a very small number are not. It’s not so much that they hire prostitutes that causes trouble, but that they buy crystal meth and kill prostitutes. All in all, it’s a fascinating glimpse into a foreign culture.