His dark hair was gelled back, he had gold rings on four of his fingers, and he stared at May and Kerry with absolutely no warmth whatsoever.
“You need to release my clients now!” he thundered. “They are innocent of this crime!”
May was unimpressed. She was sure Kerry was too.
“I’m sure everything will become clear soon,” Kerry said calmly.
“You can’t hold them indefinitely,” the lawyer said. “Not without evidence. They’re innocent until proven guilty.”
“So long as a crime has been committed, we will do what is necessary to ensure the safety of our community,” Kerry said. “Murder is a very serious allegation. We need your clients to answer some questions.”
The lawyer glared at her. “I will use every resource I have to protect my clients. I trust you have some evidence that supports your accusations?”
“We certainly have discovered this case is a lot more complex than we thought.” Kerry stared at him smugly. “Nobody in this room has so far mentioned that Shawna Harding filed assault charges against Callum because he threatened to make public some revealing photos of her during their break-up. Perhaps you handled that issue? I believe lawyers got involved on both sides? And I believe that there were also further issues that arose after the charges were dropped?”
May saw Callum’s face turn brick red. The young lawyer shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I don’t believe that is of interest to you,” he said.
“If it was not of interest, you wouldn’t be here,” Kerry said, with a smirk.
“I want them released,” he demanded. “There are no grounds to hold my clients with regards to that matter.”
“We are just beginning to collect evidence. This is only the first day of our investigation. The point is, both the McGees have real motive and opportunity for this crime, and we need to talk about that.” Kerry sounded calm but firm.
“That matter is irrelevant,” the lawyer insisted.
“It’s very relevant,” Kerry said. “We all know now that Shawna was a very, very angry young woman. She filed charges. She was seeking further revenge or recourse. And now she’s missing. To further complicate things, Emily, the girlfriend who wanted to get back together with Callum, but he didn’t feel the same way about her, is dead.”
The lawyer looked startled by the amount of information Kerry possessed. He was clearly beginning to feel uncomfortable.
“I will not have my clients intimidated,” he demanded, but May thought he was actually talking about himself.
She felt like someone watching a tennis match, her attention swinging from Kerry to the lawyer. She didn’t feel ready to offer anything useful. With a feeling of admiration, but inferiority, she decided to stay in the background.
“What played out after Shawna dropped the charges?” Kerry pressured.
“Nothing that is relevant,” the lawyer insisted.
“Tell me, or I will hold them here for as long as it takes.”
“You haven’t filed formal charges!” The lawyer was getting louder now.
“Oh, but we can,” Kerry said, with a grim smile.
“You can’t do this to them! It’s not fair! Callum is part of a state football team. You’re going to damage the career of a promising young athlete by exposing him to reputational harm!” he said, looking more and more desperate.
“We’re only trying to find out the truth,” Kerry said.
May felt impressed. She was staring at Kerry, who looked like a different person in that moment.
But the lawyer was silent.
Suddenly, May thought she knew what the missing piece of the puzzle was.
She cleared her throat.
“Did the McGees give Shawna a payout?” she asked the lawyer. “That’s what it seems like to me. I guess she wasn’t happy and she demanded reparation for her emotional pain and suffering. Did you pay her out in a private settlement deal?”
Three shocked faces turned in her direction. Actually, when Kerry swung around to stare at her, May counted a fourth.