I'll Be Gone in the Dark

The beginning of Part 2 follows McNamara in 2012, as she attempts to track down the GSK. McNamara’s interest in the case begins when she reads Sudden Terror, a book written by Detective Larry Crompton about the GSK. As McNamara seeks out more information on the serial killer, she turns to an online forum devoted to identifying the GSK. McNamara notes that much of the forum members’ “analysis is first-rate,” and the forum is rife with possible evidence and plausible theories as to who the killer might be (170).

One particularly prominent member is an individual McNamara calls the “Social Worker.” The Social Worker lives in Sacramento, and first became interested in the case after seeing a television show about it. The show led the Social Worker to remember a series of phone calls she received from a stalker in the 1970s, leading the Social Worker to believe she had been targeted by the GSK. The Social Worker occasionally works with the Sacramento police, posting evidence provided by them onto the forum to see if any users have further information.

McNamara also describes an individual she calls the “Kid,” who lives in Florida. The Kid has spent “nearly four thousand hours” investigating the GSK, searching through telephone directories and other documents to identify possible male suspects living in both the Sacramento area and Southern California when the GSK committed his crimes (173).