His office and field skills weren't the worst in the shop, but he knew that what distinguished him was a keen sympathy for the invisible.
* * * * * * * * * *
Lew was a mediocre detective who had an ability to see that which others could not. More importantly, with the use of the word "sympathy," he probably had some empathetic bond with the people of Chicago whom the rich and powerful would rather not notice. This is absolutely speculation on my part and probably a healthy dose of projection. But I feel like we're learning Lew was not what Nate Privett actually wanted in an employee. Sympathizing with the less fortunate will cost Nate money since, it seems, Nate's main business is harassing them for the rich and powerful.
Why am I not treating this sentence as literally as possible?! It's a Pynchon novel! He might actually mean that Lew can see invisible things! He already seems to be a dimension-hopping traveler of space and time! Why couldn't he also see invisible things? Remember, this book (or chapter, at least?) seems to have something to do with light! And light has everything to do with making things visible. So perhaps we're going to encounter some invisible beings later, maybe the ones whom Penelope Black and the Bindlestiffs of the Blue encountered over Mount Etna!
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