“And Callum got arrested?”
“Callum got arrested. Then we all got involved in trying to manage the situation before it exploded way out of control.”
“What happened in the end?”
“In the end, both sides lawyered up. Callum agreed to apologize in writing and sign an affidavit that he would delete the photos and would not share them. And she agreed to drop the charges, which she did.”
“And was Shawna happy with the outcome?”
Mrs. McGee shrugged. “That, I’m not sure. I don’t think she was. I think there was more to it. Something more was said, or threatened, or done after that. But I never found out what it was. My ex-husband refused to tell me.”
May raised her eyebrows. She could understand why, after having had that play out, neither the father nor the son had wanted to speak out about the assault charges. She could see now that they both had a strong motive for wanting to silence Shawna, if she had not been happy with the apology and had wanted to escalate the situation further.
“My son is not a killer,” Mrs. McGee said firmly, as if reading May’s mind. “He’s made bad decisions and done stupid things, but he is not a murderer.”
“And his father?” Kerry asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know what he’d be capable of, but I have to say I would not expect he could do such a thing. And to be honest, Shawna was no angel either,” Mrs. McGee said.
“What is your impression of her?” Kerry asked. May could see she was fascinated by this information. She was leaning forward, looking curious and focused on the other woman’s words.
“Please, this must be off the record,” Mrs. McGee said. “She’s a missing person, and I do not want to speak badly of her in this small town.”
“It will be off the record,” Kerry promised.
Mrs. McGee sighed.
“She’s a beautiful girl. And a good student. But she’s a bully. She takes advantage of weakness. She’s a very hard, brutal person for one so young, and I’m sorry that my son ever got involved with her.”
May felt her eyes widening. Mrs. McGee had spoken with real resentment in her voice.
“Is that so?” Kerry asked.
“Yes, it is. Thanks to her, my son has a criminal record that will stay with him for life. And as I said, although she dropped those charges, I think she tried hard to make sure that was not the last of it.”
“Thank you for that information,” May said. “And what about Emily? I know Callum dated her a while back?”
Mrs. McGee nodded.
“Emily wanted to get back together with him recently, I believe. But I am not sure if Callum wanted to do the same. Things between those two were very complex. It was also a rather destructive relationship. He still has to find the right person for him, but he keeps choosing women who aren’t.”
“That’s very helpful,” Kerry said.
May felt encouraged after this interview. It put the focus firmly back on the father and son again. Lawyer or not, they now had a lot more ammunition for their second round of questioning the McGees, and she hoped that it would allow them to get to the truth.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
May felt determined to get past the McGees’ resistance as they sped back to the police department. She was sure Kerry felt as confident about this new information as she did.
For once, she actually felt in harmony with Kerry as they climbed out of the car and strode into the department.
“We’re going to get them this time. You watch,” Kerry said.
“The McGees’ lawyer arrived about ten minutes ago,” the deputy at the desk said, sounding apologetic. “I let him go through.”
“That’s fine,” Kerry said.
They stepped into the small interview room, where May was immediately hit by a powerful wave of cologne emanating from the resolute-looking young lawyer who was sitting next to Mr. McGee.