"It was cold out, and he was wearing a balaclava, so I had no idea who it was, and without saying anything he punched me in the stomach, then in the head. When I came to, Diane was gone. A couple of guys were there to help me, and soon came the ambulance. I needed stitches for my jaw and also had some internal bleeding, so they kept me in hospital for a couple days under observation. Diane was gone, disappeared. Her dead body was found three weeks later. She had been raped, then bludgeoned to death. They never found out who did it, but I already knew. Then came the death threats, little notes slipped under my door, or in my coat pocket, and finally a verbal warning from a friend of Rob and Jim's, Trevor, who simply warned me to get out before it's my turn.
"So, in the spring of 1966, I discontinued my studies, and caught the first train from Hamilton to Vancouver. I knew no one there, but it was far enough away from Hamilton and Toronto was way too close to be a safe option. I already knew about the West End, and after a couple of nights in a hotel downtown, I moved into a rooming house on Barclay Street, and soon sniffed my way into the more or less welcoming and safe queer community...
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