MISS OCTOBER VOLUME 3

"VERY BAD MEMORIES"
Writer: Stephen Desberg | Artist: Alain Queireix | Colorist: Kattrin

Puzzle pieces finally fall into place in this third MISS OCTOBER volume. It opens with the serial killer striking again, this time taking the life of Miss April. Meanwhile, Detective Clegg overhears some officers discussing Ariel's affair with his wife. Clegg confronts her at home, but before he can bring up her indiscretions, she mentions his dalliances with the hooker-turned-detective, Juanita Jones. She then tells Clegg that she either wants a divorce, or wants to leave Los Angeles.

Elsewhere, Viktor's father withholds new of Maddie's murder from her, and Viktor soon receives a note from the letter-writer/killer, informing her she has been selected as Miss October. At UCLA, Juanita questions a young man named Laurel Finch, who used to have a thing for Viktor, while Viktor sneaks into her father's office and finds photos of a girl named Audrey (who the letter-writer reminded her in the previous book to 'remember.'" The pictures trigger some memories in Viktor, and she begins to recall the night of her assault. She went to a party with her friends, and Laurel was there as well. Viktor chose the occasion to tell him to stay away from her, leading to an altercation.

Following a lead from Laurel, Juanita visits Jill and Mason Corton, the hosts of the party, while Viktor leaves the photos of Audrey out to let her father know she's figuring things out, then she leaves her house to go meet her friend Lana, who was also in attendance at the party, at a café. After a brief chat, Viktor leaves to find her tires slashed and a note on her car informing her that the "issues from May to September have been canceled." She's then attacked by the killer, but escapes with the aid of a taxi driver. While all this has been going on, Clegg has visited the motel where Miss April was found, and has promised the press that he will arrest the killer or resign in two days -- which happens to be the same ultimatum his wife gave him on her divorce demand. Not long after, during their usual rendezvous, Ariel thanks Clegg's wife, Margeaux, for making that demand, because when Clegg is forced to resign, there will be no one stopping his ascent to the top of the LAPD. This scene finally reveals the truth about Ariel, which I wondered about the past couple weeks: he really does despise Clegg, and sees him as an obstacle to his career advancement. So he has used Margeaux, pretending to be Clegg's friend (a friend who would have sex with his wife, but a friend nonetheless) and planting the idea in her head that Clegg should seek reassignment for the sake of his family. Ariel then reveals himself to Margeaux as a scumbag, thanks her for her unwitting help, and leaves.

Meanwhile, Clegg goes to visit Juanita at their usual diner, but finds Viktor there instead, also looking for the lady detective. Clegg takes Viktor back to the scen of her assault, then to Juanita's house for safekeeping while he leaves to find Juanita. But the pair has been followed by the killer, and when Clegg leaves, the killer breaks into the house.

Clegg catches Juanita on the phone. She has been following the trail of the car accident and finds herself in Lana's house, where she begins to realize the truth. Then, in a fantastic scene that jumps back and forth between the phone call and Viktor's struggle against the killer, it all comes together as Viktor's suppressed memories fully return: she was not at home when she was assaulted; she was at the party. She went to a bedroom with Laurel, who tried to force himself on her, but he "finished" before he could even ger her undressed. Viktor got wasted downstairs and demanded to leave, so she and her friends piled into the car and drove off. Viktor and Lana got into an argument over Laurel, which turned into a physical altercation. There was a car accident (turns out this wasn't a cover-up by her father after all). Viktor's sister, Audrey, was killed in the crash, and the otehr three girls -- Viktor, Lana, and Maddie -- were taken to the hospital. Viktor lost her hearing, while Lana was scarred.

And guess what? In Lana's house, Juanita finds a letter from Hugh Hefner, predating the crash and accepting Lana's application to become a Playboy Playmate. Only problem is, the scars resulted in her candidacy being revoked, and she has blamed Viktor since. She snapped and became a serial killer, giving her victims the exact same scars she suffered in the crash, with the intent to finish her spree with Viktor in October, the month of the crash. She planted semen on all her victims to make it appear as if a man has been raping them (though where she's been obtaining all this semen is comically unexplained) But Clegg and Juanita arrive on the scene as Lana is preparing to kill Viktor, and Clegg takes her out with a shot to the head.

The climax of this book is so thrilling and cinematic in its execution, that I suddenly find myself thinking this story would make a fantastic movie. I will say, however, that it seems a little... dishonest, I guess, to introduce the character who will be revealed as the killer in the same volume in which the killer is unmasked. I feel like Lana could've appeared in the previous couple books, even in small scenes, to help set up the revelation here. It's also pretty obvious from the moment she appears that Lana is the killer. I mean, she meets with Viktor at a remote diner, and then after she leaves, the killer attacks. I did wonder in the previous book's killer scenes whether "he" might turn out to be a woman, based on the murderer's slim build, but if Lana had been introduced earlier, I don't think my mind would've gone straight to her since there are other female characters in the story who could also fit the bill.

Anyway, I guess that just about wraps it up for MISS OCTOBER. It's a well-written, beautifully drawn sto-- Huh? There's one more book left?! Oh, right. Well, then. With the mystery wrapped up pretty definitively, I'm quite curious to see what more is going to happen! Let's find out next week, shall we?