It's Never too Late

“Yes. And there are mitigating circumstances.”

True. “Mitigators can lessen sentences, but they don’t suspend guilty verdicts.”

“They might not suspend guilty verdicts in court,” Greg Richards said, standing up straight and peering down at her. “But I know for a fact that they have been used to prevent charges from being filed in the first place.”

They were. She couldn’t deny his claim.

“So, as a cop, you think it’s okay for someone to do something wrong if they do it for the right reasons?”

He frowned, assessing her for a full minute before he answered her. “The question you asked is irrelevant to me,” he said slowly. “You seem to want there to be a clear line between right and wrong in all matters.”

“Isn’t there?”

“You surprise me, counselor. You’re making law the only factor in life and we all know that the human element carries as much or more weight than the law does. A person’s reason for doing what he does is sometimes as important as what he does.”

He had her full attention. Because she needed the absolution he seemed to be offering.

Was it possible that Mark would apply Sheriff Richards’s leniency to her when he learned why she’d been lying to him from the moment she met him?

“Self-defense in court is based largely on motive,” she agreed. “I uncovered some questionable circumstances involving Will Parsons,” she told the man.

“Tell me.”

“I already told you about Tory Evans.”

“Yes. I’ve been following every angle I can think of regarding that incident but so far nothing has clicked.”

“It could be something as simple as someone having read the article, seen the potential for a lawsuit and trying to get rich quick.”

“Of course there’s that possibility. And if that’s the case, there might not be much any of us can do until an actual attempt at extortion is made. What else have you found?”

“Will hired Matt Sheffield in spite of the man’s prior criminal history.”

“Matt told Will about his past. When in possession of the full facts, Will didn’t deem the man’s past a threat to Montford or his students.”

“Yet, within a month of starting at Montford, the man had impregnated one of Montford’s professors.

“He also had an accusation of sexual impropriety made against him by one of his students.” There’d been nothing further in the file except that the charge had been dismissed.

“An internal investigation was conducted and the student, who had an eating disorder and was looking for validation of her physical attributes, admitted to her problem and got help,” Greg said. “She’s married now to an attorney and they have a child together.”

She wanted to hear this. Needed to hear it. And yet, her lawyer’s mind couldn’t ignore facts.

“But what about the initial charges against Sheffield? He was convicted, did prison time.”

“The victim is now in prison. She admitted to falsely accusing Sheffield.”

“And is still in prison for that?”

“No, she’s in prison for abducting Sheffield’s son after her own son was killed.”

“The type of student that teachers fear,” Addy said, fully understanding now. Just because she was an educational attorney who fought for the rights of students didn’t mean that she wasn’t aware of cases where the students were in the wrong. “A child who is mentally off, but still a child, and thus deserving of empathy and compassion.” She told the sheriff about her failed attempt to get the drama adviser to show any sexual interest in her.

Another potential strike against Will had been erased. Or, at the very least, was arguable enough in a court of law that it would be tossed out the window if anyone tried to bring him up on charges.

“Just FYI, Sheffield sent the girl in question a check every single month from the time he got out of prison until she abducted his child and went to prison herself.”

“Guilt money?”