It's been really busy since I released my book, The Pickton File [4]. It's the first time I've done a book tour since 2001, and the difference this time is in the online media. I used to write a tech column and I love online stuff, so it's been fascinating.

The transition from writing for newspapers and magazines to writing books was a gradual decision. I didn't give up newspapers until probably 2002, when I was offered this job in Vancouver. I knew then I couldn't do anything other than this book. Of course, I've done some columns here and there, but it was basically all Pickton, all the time.

I've said I also made the transition from writing about white collar to blue collar crime. In all truth, they aren't all that different; they're all criminals, it's just that the white collar criminals don't often go to jail, whereas the blue collar criminals do. Even when they're guilty, white collar criminals sue like mad, and often newspaper or television publishers and executives will back away because of the cost of the lawsuit, regardless of who is right or wrong. Luckily, I've always had great publishers that would take it on.

*****

The Pickton File has been a huge undertaking. If I knew then what I know now, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It was a no-brainer for me; the moment it was offered to me, I said yes. But I wouldn't do a similar case again unless it was finished. A lot of people have asked me if I'd like to do the Highway of Tears [5] or Project KARE [6] in Edmonton. Sure I would, but not until they've convicted someone, not midstream, because you have no control over the timing.

Lawyers drag it out, and the Pickton case has been dragging on for years; we aren't anywhere near a settlement. The challenge of it being so ongoing is that I may be in the Golden Plough Lodge by the time this thing gets over!

I first became aware of the missing women in 1998 when I was still editing Elm Street. Daniel Wood [7], who is a Vancouver writer, had done a fabulous piece about it for the magazine. In fact, I think it was the first big, national piece that had been done on the missing women.

In 1998, we were only part way through seeing women go missing. At that time there was around 50 missing women; by 2002, when Pickton was arrested, the missing women list was somewhere close to 70. (They've pared it down to 65 now because four of the women have been found alive.)

There have been emotional moments at times. I have daughters, and I've worked with the homeless population before. I understand poverty and drug addiction pretty well, so the case touches on issues I am familiar with. It wasn't as though I was a stranger to this situation, but it was still horrifying to me when I started to research it. But I'm also a journalist, and I just saw a very powerful story. It had a lot of angles, a lot of richness to it, so it's been endlessly fascinating for me.

The story is not just the missing women and what happened to them, although those are the key ingredients; it's also the Pickton family, the communities, the families of the missing women, the forensics, the legal aspects, the Vancouver Police Department and the issues of neglect, poverty, addiction and homelessness-all of it.

It's a very big canvas. It's impossible to separate one angle when talking about my reaction to it, aside from absolute horror. Everything about this story is horrifying.

I'm no different from anyone else; I think law enforcement's response was inadequate at best. They've admitted it themselves. It has been subject to a 2-year investigation by Deputy Chief Constable Doug LePard. I hear it's a very tough report, and I'm hoping he'll release it at some point.

I am sure there will be a judicial inquiry into this case when Mr. Pickton's future has been resolved. There has to be one, because someone has to answer for the neglect of these missing women.

Many people are expecting answers because it's such a diverse cast of characters involved - the families, the women themselves, the lawyers, the court officials, the judges, the victims services workers, Pickton, the community of Port Coquitlam, the community in the Downtown Eastside. I have come to know many of the characters because so many of them shared their stories with me.

I interviewed residents of the Downtown Eastside in their hotels, coffee shops or neighborhood parks. I went where they were. I often took them to appointments with their doctors so I could spend some more time with them, and I became friends with many of them. Eventually they would introduce me to each other. It's a very interesting, warm community.

I wasn't comfortable in the neighborhood at first-the first time I went there I was by myself and I was afraid. Now I'm there a lot and don't have any fear. That's not to say I'm not careful; one has to be careful, just as I'm careful on my own street in Toronto. Of course, I didn't like everybody; there are some people in the Downtown Eastside that are difficult to deal with, as is the case anywhere.

In the courthouse, it's a very professional and interesting group of people. I think both sides are very well-served by a very good team of lawyers. I know that sounds a bit too nice, but I've watched them in action for five years and I've seen how hard the defence is working. It's not been easy for them.

Most of the victims' families have been helpful, but I would never force myself upon them; I would never go door stepping or knock on the door if they don't want to see me. But they've given me probably 95 per cent support and cooperation. I've found they're honest and unflinching in their descriptions of how their daughters got on the street.

Many of them blame themselves, and a lot of them blame an attitude of 'tough love.' They agonize over it. Although I don't think there's one family I ever talked to that shut the door on their daughter. They all said, "We'd take her back. We tried to help. We stayed in touch."

This is the thing I've learned: These girls stayed in touch; they all called their moms on their birthdays, their moms called them. Their moms sent money, they'd celebrate their grandchildren's birthdays. There was much communication in most cases, and there was a lot of love. I'm not judging anyone on this case. These situations are dreadful and addiction is such a horrifying problem. I don't know that I could have dealt with it any better than many of these parents.

The most elusive aspect of this story is Pickton himself. I've tried interviewing him and not succeeded, but I have listened to many, many hours of recordings. I find him slightly boring. He's not an interesting person. Anybody charged with crimes like these should be interesting, but it's as though a tape loop runs in his head and you just keep hearing the same stories all the time. Of course, it's fascinating to hear it once or twice, but I suspect I'd hear the same stories again and again.

Nonetheless, I will continue to try to see him. For a long time, Pickton's lawyers just told me he wasn't available. Then I realized I could contact him directly. I did write him and I will continue to try.

I came home part way through the trial to sit down and work on the book. When you're attending a preliminary hearing, a voir dire or a trial, it's a long day and it's tiring. I'm not able to write creatively when I get home. So, I realized if I expected to finish this first book, I'd better get back to Toronto and sit at my desk.

This first book is a guide to the story, and it's my own personal experience - meeting the families, sitting in court, introducing the characters to the reader, et cetera. My editor asked me to take people through what it had been like as a reporter to start with almost zero knowledge and work on it for five years.

But the next book, The Pig Farm, is not a first-person book. Although the trial is very interesting, it will not be a huge part of it. It will tell you who these women were, what happened to them, how it happened, how the police did or didn't do their investigation and how the public reacted.

I chose the title The Pig Farm because it's how people refer to this place where the end happened for many of the missing women. A lot of people have asked me why I didn't name it 'But What About The Brother?' This book is not about Dave Pickton. It is a book about Willie Pickton, and also the missing women.

The last book I wrote was called The Last Amigo [8], about an arms dealer, Karlheinz Schreiber, and his role in the Airbus scandal. Well, nobody in Canada knows anything about why he's called an 'amigo' and nobody understood what on earth the book was about. With 'The Pig Farm,' people know right away what it's about. I decided on a title that was immediate so that people would know what the story was.

I do talk about what I think Dave Pickton's involvement may be. I think it's safe to say I don't think he had any involvement in the deaths. I think he's a violent man. We know he has convictions on sexual assault and we know he was charged again on similar crimes, but it never went to trial because the woman was afraid to testify. We know that he hangs around with Hell's Angels and we know he's a rough character, but we don't know, from all these years of evidence, that this is a man who is involved in the murder of women.

I do want to say, let's not forget the other 20 women - there are 20 other counts of first degree murder after this trial, and I want to know what's going to happen with those counts. Also, let's not forget Jane Doe. The judge quashed the count on Jane Doe, but I don't forget her, and The Pig Farm opens with Jane Doe.

My hunch is if Mr. Pickton is found guilty on this case, Crown will stay the charges on the 20 to avoid the cost of going ahead with another full-fledged trial. I think you might have to have a new defence team, a new prosecuting team, maybe even a new judge. I don't know that the team of people that has been on this thing for so long could stand to do another trial. I wouldn't blame them if they couldn't.

But the families would be very upset, so they have to weigh all that. We don't know what's going to happen to Mr. Pickton, so I just can't predict that.