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Craig had been asked to come to a comic-book convention as a guest speaker. Trip had come with him to spend time with his friends. Fritz didn’t have any idea why they had gone to the nightclub or why they were there at 2:00 in the morning.

I’d watched many newscasts by now, and they kept emphasizing that the nightclub was a gay bar. I didn’t understand why they thought it important to make that distinction. While I had a good idea why Craig and Trip were there, my gut told me that Craig would face some serious problems when everything came out. He’d been careful not to out himself, and I expected the media not to care and to smear him.

“David, what about Craig and Kent?” Rita asked.

“They didn’t have any information on them,” I admitted. “When will you be here?”

“We have about another hour of flight time. Can you see about getting us hotel reservations and a car?” she asked.

“I’ll get Caryn on it. You might want to call Frank Ingram.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Can you call him for me? I’m not sure what good I would be for him right now,” Rita admitted.

I wrote down their flight information; Rita had hired a private jet. I called Caryn and told her what I needed. My next call was to Frank.

I spent nearly forty minutes talking to him. He understood the danger for Craig, but there wasn’t much Frank could do for him. His concern was Rita, Halle, Trip, and me. He said that once the press got wind of a celebrity connection, it would be a big deal. He assured me he would get his people working on talking points. Frank threatened to kill me if I did any interviews before he got to Orlando.

◊◊◊

I took Fritz to the hotel Caryn had booked for us. Once we’d checked in, I turned on one of the 24/7 news programs. The death toll was now 50, with 53 injured. This made it the largest terror attack on US soil since 9/11.

The President came on and gave a speech to the nation. Here are the highlights:

“Today, as Americans, we grieve the brutal murder—a horrific massacre—of dozens of innocent people. We pray for their families, who are grasping for answers with broken hearts. We stand with the people of Orlando, who have endured a terrible attack on their city. Although it’s still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage, and in resolve to defend our people …

“This is an open investigation. We’ve reached no definitive judgment on the precise motivations of the killer. The FBI is appropriately investigating this as an act of terrorism. And I’ve directed that we must spare no effort to determine what, if any, inspiration or association this killer may have had with terrorist groups. What is clear is that he was a person filled with hatred. Over the coming days we’ll uncover how and why this happens and we’ll go wherever the facts lead us …

“This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends—our fellow Americans—who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub—it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.”

I don’t think the media could help themselves. They spent the majority of their time trying to guess at the motivation.