Early the next morning, Payton called another coach to him in the coaches' locker room.
"Tom, is the new client, Jack Delmar, in your charge?" Payton asked.
The coach nodded. "Yes. He comes here frequently, and every time he stays in the training center for quite a long time. What's more, he is talkative and he always asks me something about our training center."
"Talkative? Just with you, or the same with others?" Payton asked.
"Mr. Delmar is very kind to others. He talks to anyone," he answered.
He is looking for a new target as expected! Payton nodded with worry.
Andrew had come as part of an investigation, so it was natural that he would ask for information as much as he could. Therefore, he talked to others frequently to get more useful information. However, Chris Payton had misunderstood his intentions and thought that he was looking for a gay lover.
"Coach Payton, is there anything wrong with Mr. Delmar?" Coach Tom asked.
"Yes, you should be careful with Jack Delmar. He is gay..." Payton said in a low voice.
Tom smiled and said indifferently, "Chris, I'm straight, but I don't discriminate against gays. After all, everyone has the freedom to pursue love."
"I didn't mean you discriminate against gays. I want to remind you that he is gay, and he is… well, a psychopath. He came here not for training, but for hunting love." Payton moved closer to Tom and told him about what happened to Ford and Alexander.
"Did you say that he pretended to be a plumber and lurked in the men's bathroom?"
Payton nodded. "Both Alexander and Ford met him, and I don't think they were lying to me!"
...
Beside the water dispenser, Tom handed a bottle of water to his client and said, "Carrey, I just saw you talking with Delmar for quite a long time."
"Yeah, baseball. He's an Angels fan too," the client said.
"Well, I have to remind you that Delmar is special in terms of sexual orientation. Also, he has something wrong with his mentality," the coach said.
"You mean Delmar is gay and a psychopath?" The client was shocked.
"As a coach, I shouldn't disclose my clients' information, but considering we have known each other for such a long time, and we are friends… As your friend, I want to remind you that I don't want you to be in trouble. For a muscular man like you, you are likely to be his target!" the coach continued.
"Thank you, Tom. Don't worry, I'll be careful of him," the client said.
"And don't tell others I said so, or I'll lose my job."
...
The training center lounge not only provided coffee and fruit juice but also fresh fruits for free, to help clients to regather strength after training.
Two clients had just ended their training and walked together into the lounge. One got himself a cup of coffee, while the other got some fruit.
"You know what, the lawyer Delmar is a gay!" one client said.
"Really? I talked with him yesterday! He didn't seem like a sissy," the other said.
"Not all gays are sissies!" the first client continued. "Besides, I heard that he is a psychopath."
"But he looks normal. He is a lawyer and he should be sane," the second client said.
"Of course you can't tell from his looks. Those perverts in the movies all look like good people, and most of them are doctors or lawyers in disguise." The first client continued to say, "Anyway, just stay away from him in case he finds you and plays some weird games with you!"
...
As a saying goes, good things don't go out while bad ones spread far, which means that gossips spread quickly. Several days later, many people in the training center knew that new-comer Jack Delmar was a mentally-unstable homosexual.
Moreover, the rumor was growing quickly. Soon there were many versions of the story about Andrew.
Everyone had a different view of homosexuality. In Europe and the United States, a more inclusive society, many people with normal sexual orientations wouldn't discriminate against gays at all.
But it was different with psychopath. There were many criminal cases involving psychopathy in USA, and many directors adapted them into movies, which had brought them many awards. Therefore, people would exclude those psychopaths. Only psychologists wanted to deal with psychopaths. They might even take out a gun and kill you if what you said annoyed them.
A psychopathic gay was much more dangerous than psychopath. Anyone would stay away from them.
...
At nine o'clock in the morning, Andrew came to the training center and started his investigation again.
"Morning, Chris!" Andrew greeted someone he knew.
"Hi." Seeing Andrew, he just responded politely and left quickly.
Why so quickly? Andrew was confused.
Andrew entered the equipment training room and saw another acquaintance, so he went to him.
"Phil, did you watch the hockey game yesterday? Predator defeated Jet 2 to 1!" Andrew said.
"Oh, I was busy with other things and didn't watch the game." After saying this, he suddenly took out his phone and said regretfully, "Sorry, Jack. I nearly forgot, I have a phonecall to make. Excuse me."
Then he turned around and left quickly.
So quickly. It seems to be urgent. Andrew shook his head and walked to the coach.
"Coach, shall we begin the training?" Andrew asked.
"Sure, no problem. Do some warm up's first as usual." The coach nodded.
"Stretch first? Yesterday the stretch was effective. It made my legs very relaxed." Andrew pointed to his legs.
However, the coach misunderstood him. He thought that Mr. Delmar was pointing to the important organ at the lower part of his body. Thinking of the rumor about Delmar recently, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Mr. Delmar, wait a moment, I'll fetch my gloves," the coach said.
"You didn't wear gloves before when you stretched," Andrew said with confusion.
"Well, the training center has a new rule that in order to offer our clients better hygiene, the coach should wear gloves while stretching." After saying this, the coach ran quickly for gloves.
He thought in his mind that this Jack Delmar was a psychopathic gay, and that he must avoid skin-skin contact in case Delmar tried something immoral.
...
Andrew clearly realized that it was totally weird today. He usually got along easily with others, and he could talk about anything.
But today, everyone he met in the training center was deliberately staying away from him. They would ask to leave before they could even start a conversation.
What happened? Why do I think everyone is staying away from me? It can't go on like this. How can I get information if no one talks to me?
Andrew was confused and depressed. He had become acquainted with others over his time in the training center, and he had thought that he could get information about the drugs based through these connections. But suddenly, no one would speak to him.
What should I do? Continue or find another way? Andrew considered with his head lowered.
At this time, a big hand appeared on Andrew's shoulder.
"Hi Jack! You're done with your training courses today, right?"
Andrew turned around and saw a tall white man, nearly two meters in height and about 125 kg in weight, with long hair and strong muscles. He looked like a brown bear.
Andrew knew this guy. He was William Wood, a professional wrestler.
After a long day of being shunned by others, it was rare to get someone who wanted to talk to him. Andrew felt excited and said sincerely, "Yes. How about you, William?"
"Me too." William Wood smiled and asked, "You want to go for a drink?"
The wrestler has stayed here for quite a long time. I heard he has won five times in a row recently. Maybe he knows something about the drug. And I can get something from him. Thinking of this, Andrew nodded immediately. "Sure, let's go. I'll change my clothes."
"See you at the gate. I know a great bar!" Wood winked at Andrew.
...
In the bar, the singer was half-naked, hanging his guitar from his bare shoulder. The song was slow and his voice was soft also.
Not many people were there in the bar, whether whispering to each other or drinking alone.
A great bar? Too quiet. No atmosphere at all! Besides, everyone here is male, not a single woman! Looking around, Andrew complained in his mind. If it wasn't for getting information from Wood, he would never come to such a place.
The bartender knew Wood and when he saw Wood, he greeted him warmly.
"William, you brought a new friend here, aha?" His voice was high and effeminate.
"Yes, my new friend, a lawyer!" Wood said with a smile.
"Lawyer!" The effeminate bartender looked at Andrew and said to Wood, "William, you are so lucky to find such a handsome lawyer friend!"
Andrew didn't notice how the effeminate bartender stressed the word "friend."