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he couldn’t be a proper husband or
    father if there were children and continued to dedicate his
    life to the church. I suspect if he were to take a mate,
    though, it wouldn’t be a woman.”
    “He’s gay?” Chad nodded. “That makes sense. That
    explains why he’s in a church for alternative life styles.”
    “Possibly, but he says it’s because of his father. Jason
    makes no secret of his father’s lifestyle. His father was gay,
    with a healthy dose of kink. The man died a few months ago.
    Jason had a difficult time dealing with it, fell into a
    depression, wouldn’t leave his house for days. They didn’t
    have a good relationship, but Jason said he had always
    hoped they would someday.”
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    “You’re close enough to him to know all that?” Chad
    asked, tucking away all the bits and pieces Adam gave him,
    making particular note of the mention of the time frame—
    two months, about the time when the killings started. Maybe
    Jason wasn’t the only one adversely affected by the father’s
    death.
    “Everyone knows all of that. Jason’s quite open about
    it. He’s preached about it a few times.”
    “How old is this brother of his?”
    “Two years older, I think, although they look enough
    alike to be twins, except for the disreputable way Jeremy
    keeps himself, unshaven, hair dirty and uncombed. There’s
    no excuse in being slovenly.” Stopping for a red light, Adam
    twisted in his seat to look at Chad. “The brother has really
    caught your interest.”
    “Yeah, he has. Has he ever worked at the University?”
    “Not to my knowledge.”
    “Did all of the victims attend this church?”
    “No, only the two buried today.”
    “But you do?”
    “No, I’m in a support group at Jason’s request for
    troubled young men whose families have difficulty accepting
    their sexual orientation. That’s my only connection.”
    “Does the brother work at the church?”
    “I believe he has at various times, but not
    consistently.”
    “What—hey, where the hell are you going?” Chad
    exclaimed, coming out of his train of thought enough to
    realize they were not driving to Adam’s home.
    “To the club in Atlanta.”
    Chad started and whipped his head around to face
    Adam. One hand gripped the arm rest and the other the seat
    edge. “It’s the middle of the day!”
    “Yes and attendance should be light this early. A good
    time to let you see the operation and meet the few who’ll be
    there.”
    “Wait a damn minute!”
    Adam did more than wait. He pulled over and stopped
    the car. “Is our association to end this soon?”
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    Page 31

    Furious over his panicked reaction and at Adam for
    goading him again, he didn’t hold back his temper. “It’s the
    first freaking day, and I’ve got things to do!”
    Adam glanced at his watch. “What else do you have to
    do?”
    Getting control of his voice, he spoke more calmly. “Go
    in to the office and start research on this brother for one
    thing.”
    Adam’s voice remained mild. “As I understand it from
    my conversation this morning with your chief, your
    assignment is to stay with me—while I follow my normal
    patterns—and leave the field work to the other detectives
    assigned to the case. Isn’t that correct?” He didn’t wait for an
    answer. “I believe you could easily call in the information
    you’ve gathered to start them on research. Until then,” he
    cast a wicked little sideways glance over at Chad, “you’re all
    mine.”
    Chad steamed in silence, shocked at how the last
    comment gave him a funny little twisting sensation in his
    gut. He shoved it away, fuming over the fact Adam had been
    speaking with his chief. It felt a little like going behind his
    back, and he didn’t appreciate it.
    “Could it be that you’re afraid of attending the club?”
    Adam asked, filling the silence.
    “I’m not afraid.” Curious, terrified, fascinated was
    more like it, though Chad was not going to admit to