Out of the Frying Pan

“Oh forget about internet dating,” says Iris. “get a death-row pen-pal.” She pulls a book from her handbag. THE NIGHT STALKER screams the title in huge letters. It is the story of Richard Ramirez, an out-and-out sociopath who killed thirteen people in Los Angeles, having raped several of them. Despite the vicious nature of the murders and his total lack of remorse Richard Ramirez apparently has a huge fan club of women who write to him in San Quentin prison. One of them even got married to him. Iris flicks open the book. Inside are photographs of a shockingly handsome man. He looks like a cross between Mick Jagger and Che Guevara. “There's a website and you can just do a search for the kind of psycho you want. Of course, you can’t have sex with them,” says Iris, grinning.