Haunted by Poppy Taylor’s final diary entry from June 10, 1975, in which Poppy feared Danny and lamented losing proof of something critical, Olivia questioned whether Vincent’s portrayal of Danny as dangerous truly explained both murders. She acknowledged the possibility that Vincent might be building toward a confession but resisted treating his stories as fact, choosing instead to record them and look for the truth beneath.

Olivia spent multiple afternoons at the Ojai library, reading the Ojai Valley News from 1975 beyond crime coverage—local government, schools, businesses, gossip, weather, and politics—to reconstruct the era. She wrote with 1975 music in her ears and explored the Ojai Meadows Preserve and nearby oak groves where Danny once camped and buried a neighbor’s cat, using place and atmosphere to animate the family’s past.

In parallel, Olivia pursued the 1993 grand jury thread: the now-deceased coroner who may have miscalled time of death while impaired. She compiled a list of contacts including the district attorney and the lead detective, aiming to confirm the coroner’s condition the night of the autopsies. The investigative work helped her avoid checking John Calder’s response in Vincent’s inbox.

Reflecting on her ghostwriting method, Olivia described building trust and inhabiting subjects’ voices, recalling past collaborations with an Olympic skater and a country star. She tried to keep the Vincent project professional despite its personal stakes, staying open to his slow-unfolding account of siblings who loved each other until one became a threat.

Late in her third week, Olivia visited Jack Randall and his partner, Matt. They talked casually until Matt asked about Vincent and whether Olivia would contact her mother, who left years before. The question prompted Olivia to break her usual silence and speak honestly about her mother, aware that in Ojai she cannot hide the past.

Olivia recounted childhood fantasies of a present, nurturing mother and later daydreams of being rescued from Vincent’s alcoholism. She admitted years of blaming her mother for leaving and for the exile to boarding school, and for failing to withstand the town’s rumors after the 1975 murders. She concluded that a mother should protect her child, but hers abandoned her—something she has never forgiven. Jack quietly affirmed her openness.