Jack bit his bottom lip. “Max could have been gay.”
“What about Bennett?” Decker asked.
“Not a chance.” Carlson smiled. “Although I suppose if he were drunk enough, which was often, he’d take it from anyone.”
“What about Zeke?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Carlson appeared to be thinking hard. “Truth is, I can’t remember him with a girl or a guy. He was into his studies.” He shook his head. “No indication of him being gay, and we roomed together. Then again, I didn’t keep tabs on his social life.” He stood. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
“Important case?” Decker asked.
“More than my usual DUI.”
Decker said, “What do you think happened to your buddies, Jack?”
“No idea. Not that I haven’t thought about it a million times.” He sat back down and looked at the hot, blue sky. “I had lots of theories. Maybe they got lost and starved to death. Or maybe something attacked them. Or someone attacked them. Which, in hindsight, is probably what happened because didn’t you say that Zeke was buried in a makeshift grave?”
“Yes, he was buried.”
“Then you know more than I do about what happened.”
“Did any of you boys have any enemies?”
“We weren’t the nicest people around—well, Zeke was a nice guy. I was rude and a wiseass, but I can’t think of anyone who’d want to kill me. Max could be annoying, but not enough to inspire that level of hatred. Bennett? Who knows? He had a lot of contacts, so a few of them could have been unsavory. But following them from the college to the woods to kill them? I just can’t see anyone I knew back then doing that.”
“Camping in late October can be cold,” McAdams said. “Why then?”
“For one thing, it was a three-day holiday because of Parents’ Weekend. Actually, I recall the weather being nice. It was cold a few weeks before but then it had warmed up. You can look up the temperatures.”
“We did. It was warm, but you didn’t know it was going to be warm.”
“Like I said, we planned it because it was a three-day weekend. I was really pissed about not going. Who wants to hang around Mom and Dad when you can have a cool time in the woods?”
“By ‘cool time’ do you mean drugs or drinking or both?” Decker said.
“Yes, part of it was getting ripped. Maybe it was a regular occurrence with Bennett, but not me. School was demanding. Even on weekends I didn’t party all the time because I had to study. This was an opportunity to just unravel. Like a Burning Man thing.”
“Did you guys pack up anything stronger than weed?”
“I don’t know, Detective. I didn’t wind up going.”
“I’m just wondering if they met someone in the woods and something went bad.”
“Like a drug dealer?”
“You tell me.”
“I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I wasn’t there.” Carlson checked his watch. “I really have to get back. I’m married, I’ve got a baby. I need this job.”
“One more question,” Decker said. “Did any of you own a gun?”
“A gun?” Carlson made a face. “I didn’t. I don’t know about the others.” A pause. “Was Zeke shot?”
“We’re still waiting to hear on the coroner’s report,” Decker said. “But his hand was shattered.”
“And that’s why you’re thinking about a drug dealer? Someone who might have a gun?”
“We have to consider everything. Zeke could have been shot. Or maybe he accidentally shot himself. Or it could have been something else.” Decker thought a moment. “Is it possible that Max might have brought a firearm to show off that he was a tough guy?”
“It’s possible, but I don’t know if he owned a gun or not.” He stood up again. “I really have to leave.”
“Thanks for your time,” Decker said.
“Sure.” Carlson hesitated. “You haven’t found the other two yet?”
“No.”
“Could they possibly be alive?”
“Until we’ve got remains, that’s always a theory.”
“How likely is it?”
“Jack, I don’t postulate. I just go wherever the evidence points. It’s not glamorous. But it usually gets the job done.”
The lawyer nodded, got up, and left. Afterward, Decker turned to McAdams and said, “What do you think?”
“What do I think?” McAdams looked straight ahead. “I think you have a theory even though you don’t postulate.”
Decker smiled. “And what’s my nonpostulated theory?”
“You’re thinking Max shot Zeke because Zeke and Bennett were buddies and Max was jealous of their friendship.”
“It’s possible,” Decker said.
“Or even a lover’s triangle. That Max was crushing on Bennett. But instead Bennett and Zeke had something going. And Max got jealous.”
“We have no evidence that any of them were gay,” Decker said. “Quite the contrary, Bennett seemed to be a player with women.”
“But according to Jack, if he were drunk enough, he might try anything. We know Bennett was a horndog. What better time to experiment than in college? And there they were, ripped, stoned, high, whatever. Why not experiment—away from all your judgmental peers?”
“Maybe.”
“Zeke and Bennett were gym buddies,” McAdams went on. “Both of them were into being strong, buff, and looking good. Gyms are notorious pickup places for men coming on to women and also for men coming on to men. Furthermore, if Max did get jealous over Zeke’s friendship with Bennett, it would explain why we found Zeke but not the other two. Both of them took off. They still could be alive somewhere.”
“Maybe yes, maybe no,” Decker said. “One theory is as good as another, because we don’t know anything. Finding Zeke was an accident. Now we’re actively searching for evidence. Let’s give it more time.”
McAdams said, “You must be thinking of Max as the bad guy.”
“Why do you say that?” Decker asked.
“You asked about a gun.”
“I’m going to ask all the parents about a gun. If there wasn’t a firearm, I am wondering how Zeke got a gaping cavity in his chest. It’s time to contact the other parents. I’d like to find out if they put a private investigator on their sons’ disappearances. If they did, I’d like to see what the private investigator uncovered. If they didn’t hire a private, that tells us something.”
“I’ll see if I can set up interviews. Both the McCraes and the Velasquezes have moved from New York.” McAdams paused. “Don’t you find that odd? Both sets of parents moving after their sons disappeared?”
“Not really,” Decker said. “Maybe they were escaping bad memories. Me? I find it a little strange that Keith and Mary Anderson have stayed put all these years with the ghost of their son lurking in every room and hallway. It would make me depressed.” A pause. “Do we know where the McCraes and the Velasquezes are currently living?”