I'll try to explain in more detail.
It's not the fact that you believed his claim that is fishy to me. It's that you stated intent to hammer because, and I quote,
If that was your thinking, your purpose, then why would you take it entirely at face value? It makes the whole thing seem staged, like "okay little buddy, time for you to claim now"...
The next quote I mentioned, aside from indicating your belief, added what looked like a slip.
Because again, why is this a thing worthy of " :/ "? If all the "lynch baits" can be established as conf. town, that's good news. That is, unless your "scum hunt" is just a hunt for easy mislynches.
p-edit: I'll look through your interactions with Gamma around the claim, and see if it looks congruent with the deputy claim. Were you offered a read last night, since Gamma died, or is it supposed to start tonight?