I’m not mainlining coffee yet, but I’m close.

Like this month’s blog post, I’m way behind schedule. Not for lack of effort, mind you. I was up and on
the phone last night (this morning) until 3 AM talking to one of two people who’ve taken pity on me and
are trying to assist in the research leg of this project. We were discussing, as we do, three or four of a
million nuances of the true crime book I’m writing. You remember…the one I was supposed to finish by
the end of last month? The good news is, there are several never-before-revealed bits of information
that will add nuance to facts surrounding the case. We’re quite looking forward to that.

Of course, those familiar with this case laugh at me for thinking I could synthesize information that
others have investigated for two decades and have it packaged into a completed tome in six months.
Mind you, two of the four books currently available in my seven-book saga were written in four months
or less. I guess I just figured that with my prior knowledge of the case, including having worked for a
year on the original documentary about it, I had a decent head start and would be fine.

Silly me.

Yesterday, I printed out 200 pages of notes. Sounds like a lot, right? I’m not even sure it made a dent in
what I need to read. And it’s not like I just started. There are now seven chapters (yeah―woo hoo) out
of the predicted forty-five completed. A few others have been more or less started. At the risk of
sounding like a broken record, I think there are another six chapters I need to write before I’ll stop
existing in full panic mode. It’s not the number; it’s the chapters that make up that number. Basically,
it’s the timeline of the day of the murders (3 chapters) and then the morning the bodies were
discovered (another 3 chapters). After that, it’s a bunch of mini-biographies, and bringing things to
“now.”

Sorry―thinking out loud while I try to wake up.

I’ve contacted both the current local Sheriff and the District Attorney in the county to request meetings I
predict they’ll never agree to, started prepping a letter to California’s Attorney General, and am fixing to
compose the hail Mary letters (original and a follow-up appeal) for what we anticipate will be a FOIA
battle. I’ve also reached out to a handful of hold-outs who promised I could interview them but then
subsequently ghosted me, letting them know I’m going to out their suspiciously evasive behavior in
terms of hoarding information that could help move the case along. Lastly, I think we’ve locked down a
factoid that will debunk a central conspiracy that has long plagued a particular individual who has been
unfairly targeted.

I’m not sure who, if anyone, reads this blog on anything resembling a regular basis. And, out of those,
who might be fellow authors. For those who are, you’ll understand. My desk is currently littered with
Post-it notes, torn scraps of note paper from a few pads scribbled with lists or one-off details, several
pens, five lotion tubes, a bottle of AV Display Cleaner and a microfiber cloth, eyeglass wipes, a digital
recorder, nail clippers and three emery boards, a large desk calendar stained with coffee rings whose
top page reads “March 2024,” reference books, a stack of travel receipts, a stapler, lip balm, a few
crumpled napkins, two thumb drives, the remote for my den fan, my wallet (hey – I was looking for
that!), several cords plugged into a 7-port USB extender hub for use if I need to charge anything, water,
my coffee cup, and an extra-large bottle of ibuprofen.

It’s a mess. I’m a mess. My primary function in this whole thing is writer, not investigator. Unfortunately,
I’ve been cast in both roles. But at least I’m neglecting my housework!

All’s not lost, though. Amongst the angst and chaos, I’ve successfully (so far) staved off an impending
migraine, which is no small feat because when I get one I go temporarily blind. I did manage to book a
large Air BnB for a select group of people in anticipation of the launch next April. A sort of “manifest
destiny” sort of thing, I guess, if I believed in that stuff. Hope springs eternal, right? In any case, the
place I chose has immense significance, both to me personally and as part of the book. I’ll gladly share
those details after the fact. I don’t want to give too much away.

So, at the risk of being seen as cutting and running this month, let me just say that my life right now is all
Keddie, all the time. I didn’t want to skip this month’s blog, because who knows? Perhaps one or two
people actually enjoy it! But right now, I have three serial killer mini-bios to produce, along with a whole
lot of digging into people’s backgrounds. You know who you are.

Adios until next month.