It's Never too Late - By Tara Taylor Quinn Page 0,37
any justice. James Keller had died in the fire. There’d been no one to arrest for arson.
Only a little girl’s life to try to preserve.
But the exposure of an insurance settlement erroneously paid could create a mess she didn’t need. She hadn’t had any culpability in the situation, but she’d benefited from it.
Greg watched another car go by and turned to wave. The sheriff had probably still been in high school when her house burned down.
What would any of them, the Parsons family included, think of her if they knew the truth? That she was the daughter of a murderer? Of a man so unstable he’d lost all sight of right and wrong.
Would they understand and agree with the fire marshal who’d taken fate into his hands for the greater good?
Would they be willing to bury wrongdoing if it served their purpose?
“What do you know about Tory Evans?” Addy couldn’t let Greg Richards walk away without expressing her concerns. They’d hired her to do a job. She had to do it. She hoped, for Will’s sake, that the sheriff knew more than she did about the Evans situation.
Knew something that would protect Will if his blackmailer was tied to that situation.
“Tory?” Greg Richards stood with his hands on his hips, facing her. “Why do you ask?”
“Because she taught classes under an assumed identity, putting Montford in jeopardy of lawsuit, at the very least, and as far as I can see, no charges were ever pressed.”
“First, Tory is a friend. A good friend who’s had a tough life and given more to Shelter Valley than the town will ever be able to give back. Anytime anyone needs anything, Tory is quietly there, providing. Food, clothing, a helping hand...”
“I’m not out to get Tory, Sheriff,” Addy interrupted quietly. “I’m looking for possible lawsuit opportunities against Will Parsons. I read the article that was published in the newspaper regarding Tory’s...indiscretion. I’m asking you if there was more to it than what was written in that article.”
“Tory’s mother died when she was ten, leaving the girls in the custody of their stepfather. I can’t speak to all of the man’s sins, nor would I speak of Tory, period, but because you’ve been given access to records, I will tell you that Tory’s stepfather married her off at seventeen to a man with connections. Ties to the underworld. Anytime she tried to leave him, anyone she associated with was in danger. She hid her true identity more to protect those around her than to protect herself. And she didn’t steal an identity so much as accept the one given to her when she woke up in the hospital after the accident.”
“Mitigating circumstances, I understand. A grand jury might not have charged her, a jury probably wouldn’t have convicted her. I’m not questioning that. I’m questioning Will’s culpability, or apparent culpability, in the situation. As far as I can tell, he didn’t press charges or sanction her in any way. Tory is married to a Montford. She’s a close friend of Becca’s. That doesn’t look good. It looks like he played favorites.”
“She’d only been in town four months when Will made the decision not to press charges against her. And no one knew that Ben Sanders was a Montford back then. Sam Montford, his cousin, was long gone and Sam’s parents, the only other living Montfords, were in Europe for an extended stay. None of the Montfords or Sanders family had even met.”
That would help if Will were ever taken to court on discrimination charges. Help, but not necessarily exonerate him.
“Will weighed the decision heavily,” Greg said, his arm on the top of her car again as he leaned down to look her straight in the eye. “The first thing he did after Tory presented herself in his office and confessed what she’d done was arrange to have tests administered to every single student who’d taken her classes. It’s a test given to any student who believes he or she has surpassed the requirements for a given class, but who needs the credit hours for their degree. As long as they pass the test and pay for the hours, they get credit for the class. Every single one of Tory’s students passed and Will was able to award them the credit hours, which meant that, in theory, no students were hurt by her indiscretions. He visited with me and with his board and the university attorney who, by the way, doesn’t know about the current threats.