Chapter 67

“Crazy with hatred,” Teague replied quietly.

“As my mother once said…” Hoyt glanced at Teague, adding with a slight grin, “Yes, she was full of pithy quotes. Anyway she told me once that the first reaction to truth is hatred, and in this case that could be what’s going on. Frye doesn’t get that being gay isn’t a choice so he blames Teague for what happened to Chris.”

Jake nodded. “Teague told me about the memorial service and how Paul Frye implied Teague was the reason Chris was murdered.”

“Yep,” Hoyt said. “Then, before Irwin’s trial, either Paul got in touch with the defense attorney or vice versa, wanting to discredit any testimony Teague would give. Paul may have seen Irwin as a hero who was eliminating gays.”

“This is all guesswork,” Teague pointed out. “And it gets us no closer to catching him.”

“Nope. You and I will do that with…Jake?”

“Yeah, I’ll be the backup,” Jake said.