Well, for your information, I know guys who are:
smart
cute
with very good social skills
athletic and great soccer players
honest
overall super likable
very gay
and who can get out of any handcuffs you put them in. One of my characters is an escape artist, who is also a real kid hero as you don't get to see many anymore.
So comparing them with the piece of dirt, fundie's spawn you try to defend is an insult. Implying that to manage this trick, you need to be slimey, sneaky, and underhanded is an outrage, actually one more from the pro-Ericcers. Of course, clues may lead to Eric being the rescuer, but it could be another one of CJ's trick, and the rescuer could turn out to be some unknown pizza boy from Piedmont who worked with Veronica. Or the renegade Jacobs, who sees his interest in actually calling the State Police and putting down the embarrassing sheriff? Lots of possibilities still open. We're dealing with a goat here.