His name was Jerry Cohen, a pre-med student whose father was a doctor. He walked Mary to her car and kissed her softly on the lips. "I want you now, tonight," he said. Mary, absolutely stunned by what she had just heard, could not resist. They drove to a motel where they did not notice the somewhat tacky environment. Mary realized that she had a sexual appetite that needed to be addressed, and Jerry seemed like the perfect solution. It was Jerry who suggested they keep the relationship a secret, supposedly to protect against prying friends. He explained that no one was being deceived if no one knew. Mary wondered if there was another reason for keeping the secret, but at the same time the scenario was exciting to her and she agreed to a secret affair.

Jerry had truly fallen in love. Mary was comfortable with Jerry as a lover, but she did not want a husband yet. The arrangement was ideal for Mary but became difficult for Jerry. He wanted to express his true feelings about where he would like the relationship to go, but he was afraid of scaring Mary off.
When Mary didn’t see Jerry at their specified location, she assumed that he was either not feeling well or that something personal had come up. When Mary arrived home, her roommate asked if she had heard the news about the man who was found murdered in San Francisco.

Mary replied, "No. Was it someone we know?"

"It was Jerry Cohen. Remember, you mentioned him once."

Details of Jerry's death appeared in the newspapers. He was found in a cheap hotel room in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. The police found his car close by, but they had no witnesses. Headlines read, "The Boy Who Had It All." Speculations were that the son of a prominent doctor was involved in drug buys and sadomasochistic sex rings.