Intelligence, as it turned out, wasn't something which could be quantified by the number of facts someone knew alone. Detectives knew intricately the ways in which surrounding conditions effected Rigor-Mortis, one-thousand-and-one creative ways piano wire could be used for murder, and how to cooperate with the police without legal trouble. But socially, they tended to be awkward or distant.
Some people were gifted with social, artistic, or some other type of intelligence rather than the usual kind, but from what detectives understood, most people had one form of intellect or another.
Detectives know better than most: Every life has value.