Doug and Steve Hodel meet in Griffith Park near the infamous Sowden House, Steve’s childhood home and where he believes Elizabeth Short was murdered in the basement. Steve shares a wealth of information with Doug. In spite of some loose ends and question marks in the decades old case, Doug finds the retired LAPD detective’s story believable, if not entirely verifiable. It seems clear to Doug that no one knows more about this case than Steve Hodel, until Doug talks with former LA Times reporter, Larry Harnisch, who is ready to blow a hole right through Steve’s theories.

Larry Harnisch seems like the antithesis of Steve Hodel in every way but one. Both are widely considered to be the world’s foremost experts on the Black Dahlia case. But Larry has a very different theory about who killed Elizabeth Short, one he doesn’t so openly share. His theory has never been the subject of books--unlike Steve’s; and it has never been made into a popular TV series--also unlike Steve’s. Doug discovers that Larry is armed with all the same facts as Steve and will stop at nothing to prove that Steve’s claims about who killed Elizabeth Short are fiction.

Larry Harnisch tells Doug who he believes murdered Elizabeth Short. But even if Larry could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, would people even believe him after all this time? Larry’s theory lacks the splashy Hollywood appeal of Steve Hodel’s, but when Larry reveals the name to Doug, the pieces seem to fit together. But will there ever be a way to 100% prove the identity of Short’s killer? And how will Doug explain the bombshell dropped about a highly unlikely person investigating a very similar cold case murder... Elizabeth Short herself.