26
I had anticipated my meeting with Valerie to progress beyond the party but it didn’t. Our goodnight kiss took place in the car. She never invited me inside. Instead, she told me she planned to visit a girlfriend in Vancouver and that she would be gone for three days. We agreed to get in touch when she got back.
At home I picked up my copy of Jacqueline Summerfield’s book, Total Stranger, determined to pay attention to the erotica this time. I had skipped over the erotica the first time since I wasn’t a fan and I didn’t believe the s****l activity would shed any light on the mystery. Reading it the second time, I realized I may have been wrong. Midway through, I was jolted by the erotic asphyxiation Sondra, the protagonist, and her lover Julio engaged in. Since I was a psychiatrist, I
