I'm making the mistake (or the genius choice, depending on how you look at it) to read a book about the Trailside Killer while housesitting in a big spooky house in the middle of his killing grounds. It is both awesome and terrifying.
First of all, the book I'm reading is by Robert Graysmith, so as far as I'm concerned, Jake Gyllenhaal wrote these words I'm devouring. Second of all, you KNOW I love a true crime I can find a connection to. Most of these murders took place in Mill Valley or on the Mountain. You know, the Mountain I grew up on? Murder in my hometown, my mom worked with one of the victims, my day job is mentioned repeatedly, the killer's on death row with Scott Peterson ... I'm in heaven! Why haven't I read this earlier?
But as I dogsit for one of my bosses, lounging in this gorgeous home with sweeping views of the mountain and thus, the book jacket of this thriller before me, my heaven lasts until sunset. Then the creaks and the cracks of three floors of old, wooden house begin their symphony.
The mountain looms like a shadow in the distance, leaves rustle the curtains, I methodically turn every light in the house on.
Do I put the book down? No.
I simply text Hastings, who kept asking until 1am, "Can you still hear the creaks and the cracks?"
I've cut and pasted my 1:15am response for you:
"Yes I can still hear them! I just woke up (from a dream about my book, naturally) and it's like a stab factory upstairs. Psychos emerging from closet hiding spaces, killers finding the knife drawer in the kitchen, a ladder placed against an open window. YES. I CAN STILL HEAR THE NOISES."
I did an entire search of the house last night, poking my arms in every single closet, locking every window, convinced some vagrant with mother issues and sex addiction was going to stab me to death in a woman-hating frenzy before defiling my remains is a sea of DNA.
At one point, I paused on the stairs. What the hell is the plan if I reach into a closet and hit someone?
The plan is to scream, folks.
What is it about books, much more so than movies or TV, that gets into your subconscious? God, when I was reading ALIVE, I was dreaming skull bowls non-stop. Anyway, once I finish the Trailside Killer, I'm moving on the the Zebra Murders. Then, I'm open to suggestions. I'm also open to not giving any more clues about where the hell I'll be tossing and turning tonight, my book in one hand and 911 on speed dial in the other...
4 comments:
this is my favorite true crime novel:
http://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Darkness-Joseph-Wambaugh/dp/0553269321/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242175674&sr=8-1
UCSC had (statistically) the highest crime rate for years because they had a serial killer picking up students and murdering them...they told people not to get a ride with anyone without a UCSC parking sticker..and it turned out the killer's mom worked there!
That Henry Crowell park outside of Santa Cruz (near Felton) where the guy survived that was able to ID the Trailside Killer has a little swimming hole called The Garden of Eden.
Seems appropriate.
When I got to Massachusetts I told someone I had lived in San Rafael. He said "oh - I read that book about the murders there". HUH? So he goes on to send me the link to amazon... it's about a daughter that killed her mom and dad on HIBISUCS STREET!!! The HIBISCUS STREET that I lived on before I moved to MASS!!! The HIBISCUS street house where you came to hang out with me!!! The murder happend four houses down the street - and I NEVER KNEW!
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Blood-Marin-County-Murders/dp/0394508874/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242229159&sr=1-1
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