the trail of a killer : thirty-seven years after his mother's murder, crime writer james ellroy hopes to uncover the life of the woman and find out who took it away. - simple necklace set

James Elroy was bold in his 1987 crime novel, Black Dahlia-
What he called the power of justice "---
Find a solution to one of Los Angeles's most famous unsolved murders
Ellroy, who led his readers to visit the City of Angels's most bustling streets, wrote that a young murderous Dick was obsessed with Dalia ---a would-
Elizabeth Short was found killed and beheaded in 1947.
In the novel, Ellroy did what a real detective had never done: he paid Dahlia's killer salary.
Now, Ellroy has been working on another decades. Old Los Angeles-area killing.
Just got it from his highly acclaimed 11th nov el "American tabloid" campaign tour (Knopf, 1995)
He has started working on a book about the mysterious 1958 murder of Hilliker Ellroy in Geneva, his own mother.
The criminal literature may never be the same.
After all, this is what Ellroy said about the murder that made him the man of the day. The 47-year-
The old author dates back to the day when his mother was found, strangled, and semi-strangled, his fascination with all criminal things
Nude near Arroyo High School in El Monte.
He admits that he has used her death for years to stir up interest in his novel.
"I 've used it," he said calmly, recalling how a former publisher eager to promote Black Dahlia encouraged him to tell the interviewer about his past.
"He said, 'If you are willing to talk about it in the media, we can put you there and sell some books.
He's right.
I told this story 9 million times. "A self-
Describe "master self
Promoting promoter in pop musicpsych show-and-
Elroy once told reporters that his mother-
A divorced drunkard, sometimes tough on her son. -got "whacked.
More than once, he called the killing of her at the age of 10 "Geneva nose smoke ".
But today his tone is warm, not understatement. Thirty-
Seven years after losing her, he tried to find his mother again and recognize the woman who gave him the voice.
"I exploited her to some extent, or ignored her.
I have understood this for a long time.
But now, I know the real impact of this woman and her death on me, "he explains, and by investigating her murder, he also wants to know more about her life.
"It was an attempt to go back and paint the woman with love and bring her murderer to justice if possible.
"* Thus, Ellroy, his original, refined, and black-written book has earned him a friend of loyal followers and critics, and has come to an unusualspoken place.
This is a person who creates a career by recording the lives of burn patientsout cops, has-been or never-
Two Pigeons.
Little Thief and three-time losers.
This is a yes--and does--
Use the word milieu and Zeitgeist in a sentence, a 6-foot-3-
The inch espresso is addictive and even in a loud Reyn Spooner Hawaiian shirt, he will look thoughtful (
His favorite costume).
This is not a mother's child.
Instead, Ellroy said he hated her when his mother died.
"On my 10 th birthday on March 1958, she said, 'You are a young man now.
"You can decide whether you want to live with your dad or with me," he recalls . ".
When he chose his father, "she hit me in the face.
I have made up my mind that this is the last time she has done so, and of course this is. . . .
The next thing I know is that she's dead.
"Ellroy decided to start a new investigation into the killing of his mother after a newspaper reporter
When a friend studied a report about the unsolved murder in the San Gabriel Valley, he found the murder file of Geneva Elroy.
Ellroy never thought about tracking the file himself, but once he knew it was there, he couldn't get it out of his head.
If nothing else, he knew, it would be a great story: an adult faced the terrible events of childhood, and a strong criminal novelist faced the most private crime.
He wrote an article for GQ magazine about reading murder files-
Collection of police reports, mug photos and coroner data--
First time.
The article titled "The killer of my mother" was shortlisted for the National Magazine Award.
But it did not bring the peace he had hoped.
"I thought these pictures would hurt me," he wrote in GQ . ".
"I thought they would agree with my previous form of nightmare.
I think I can touch the literally horror and reduce the sentence in some way. I was mistaken.
The woman refused to give me probation.
So he was determined to go further and expand the article into a book titled "My Land of Darkness ".
"Starting a real homicide investigation is a daunting task, even for those who have written so many fictional cases.
Elroy hired a detective who met him the first time he checked the murder file.
Bill Stoner, who retired 32 years after working in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, is looking for new challenges.
Stoner, a restrained man with a neat moustache and a gentle attitude, was the first to tell Ellroy that they were unlikely to solve the case.
The Trail of the murderer is cold.
So many years have passed, many key players-
Maybe the killer himself. -were dead.
Other people will work hard.
On June, Geneva Elroy lost her life and she was forced to recall the details of that hot 1958 night.
But this unusual partnership-
Elroy in White Jack Purcell sneakers, Stoner in his wine-Color casual shoes-
One thing is good for it.
Stoner knows from experience that in rare cases, the passage of years can unlock the secret: previously reluctant witnesses wanted to relieve their conscience before they died.
Today, there is a special person in Elroy and Stone who wants him to come forward, a woman they call a blonde woman.
They believe that contacting her is just to let her know that they need her help.
* Geneva Elroy was beautifully dressed the night she died.
Her sleeveless blue and black dress is beautifully set off by bluelined, full-length coat.
She wears artificial pearls. -
A simple necklace with a huge ring on the left hand.
It was a Saturday when her son lived with his father and she was going out.
At about 8: 00, she came to the Desert Inn on East Valley Avenue El Monte.
A few people remember a woman with a man with her.
The man is in his 40 s, white with dark skin and is about 6 feet tall.
The woman is younger and described as "hard-faced.
She wore a brown summer dress and tied her blonde hair into a ponytail.
The black man and El Roy in Geneva left the Desert Inn at about 10: 00. m.
20 minutes later, they pulled a dark-green Oldsmobile into a nearby lane.
I also ordered a snack.
Carhop remembered that they had a good chat and seemed to be drinking all the time. By 11 p. m.
Three hours later, they drove in again.
Arroye ordered peppers in Geneva.
She chatted happily, but her clothes looked messy and the people who jumped the car guessed that she was with her companion.
At the same time, black people look unhappy.
He ordered coffee and was bored with the woman next to him.
The couple left at 2: 45 A. M. m.
Eight hours later, Elroy was found dead in Geneva.
One of her socks is tied around her neck.
Her broken necklace lay under her body and 47 pearls were found nearby.
Customers at the Desert Hotel said in an interview with police that the blonde and the dark-skinned man were not regulars. One hard-
The drinking customer said that the black man gave his name, but he couldn't remember it.
An artist drew a sketch of the swar people, which was circulated in newspapers and law enforcement across Los Angeles County.
But the police were empty and there were no clues or suspects.
Today, the Desert Inn is a Mexican restaurant called Valenzuela's. Stan's Drive-
In was demolished a long time ago.
But the mystery remains, and Ellroy and Stoner say the blonde is their biggest hope to solve the problem.
They often talk about her and guess why she is silent.
"Blonde is the key," Stoner told Ellroy . "
"Is she your mother's girlfriend?
Suspect?
Maybe she married the suspect.
"El Roy picked up from the place where Stoner left.
Maybe the blonde married someone who had a criminal relationship with the black-skinned man.
Maybe she's afraid of revenge.
But he said she must have told others what she knew. "She's a bartender.
"Juicer," says Ellroy.
"These people shot their mouths down. Stoner agreed.
She told someone--
Probably an acquaintance of the bar. -
About her murdered girlfriend, it's not her how lucky she is.
All we have to do is find the right person.
"If they do, they will make it easy for that person to get in touch.
Elroy charges
He repeated the free tip line to anyone willing to listen :(800)717-6517.
Stoner and Ellroy were disappointed.
One of the original investigators was dead and the other did not remember much.
They have found the car and its memory is perfect, but she admits she has never been very sure about the type of car this black man drives.
They already spoke to the landlord in Geneva.
When she saw James, she cried and provided him with some details about the mother he did not remember.
For example, she used to like making popcorn and eating it with a spoon.
But when it comes to identifying dark men and blonde beauties, the landlord doesn't help.
Ellroy and Stoner work under the publisher's deadline: the book must be completed by mid-term1996.
If they haven't found their man by then, Ellroy will write about the search, about his intense friendship with Stoner, about his mother's life and his own.
To some extent, he thought, such a result was a proper irony. "It [would be]
He said, "when he imagined what she would say, her voice flashed for a moment.
"You're using me now, Jimmy. . .
You have three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.
You will get 83 [weeks]
If you find the killer before the hardcover book is published!
But Ellroy says he'll keep looking until the killer gets caught.
If that day is after the deadline? "Then [my publisher]
I would say, 'Come here, '"said Elroy, waving with a long finger.
"Come here and write an appendix for the paperback.