62

At the station, he was waiting for Beth to be processed. He knew he had to make the phone call he was dreading. He picked up, knowing that he was going to make the in-person notification to Matt’s parents, but he was going to make this phone call first. It wasn’t normal, but Max needed to get it off his chest.

“Hello?” Mack answered.

“Mack,” Max said, and he found the words getting caught in his throat.

“You found him, didn’t you?” Mack said softly.

“Yes,” Max said as he hung his head down.

“How long?” Mack asked.

“Looks like the day of the murders,” Max said as he thought of his friend. He also had gone over the thought that Max had after he used Deanna’s paper as a clue itself. He thought he knew everything, but Mack was the one who had thought for weeks his friend was gone.

“I see,” Mack said. “Well, I know the next