Deadly Declarations (The Indie Retirement Mystery Series Book 1) by Landis Wade

Author:Landis Wade [Wade, Landis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lystra Books & Literary Services
Published: 2022-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

The Godfather, Maximiliano Esposito, strode down the aisle like a man accustomed to being recognized in a crowd. Maybe even feared. He wore a finely tailored suit. A white rose adorned the lapel on the soft blue jacket. He presented a tanned and clean-shaven face, with the aged lines that come from an experienced life. A scar was apparent on his left cheek, something Travail hadn’t noticed before. Esposito pressed his lips into a smile as he bowed to the judge and jury and set his hat to the side as he took the witness chair.

The Godfather’s answers to Travail’s questions exuded confidence. He told the jury he’d moved from New York City to the New South city to retire, and added, “to get away from it all,” what he described as a career working in the cement business. Travail had seen a documentary on Netflix a few nights earlier about how the government took down the heads of the five crime families in New York in the mid-eighties because they extorted money from cement contractors and gained large-dollar contracts for a group called The Concrete Club. Travail wondered what part Esposito played in the concrete drama and how he avoided getting caught, but those were not the questions he intended to ask.

“How well did you know Matthew Collins?”

“Knew him well.” The Godfather explained they met when they moved to the Indie twenty years earlier and found they had much in common, such as their interest in books, writing, travel, and history. They ate together often, did favors for one another, and kept up with each other’s family. “Like me, Matthew Collins placed family first.”

“Did he ever seek your advice on financial matters?”

Esposito smiled. “He did. Neither of us cared for the government, particularly the IRS.”

“What kind of advice did he seek?”

“It had to do with his will.”

Travail needed to lay a foundation. “What experience did you have that could help?”

“I’ve had a lot of experience putting things over on the government.”

There were murmurings in the audience and a question from Judge Hernandez. “What exactly do you mean, Mr. Esposito?”

The Godfather laughed. “Some might call it stealing, but I assure you, judge, it was all legal.”

“Meaning?” Judge Hernandez didn’t let Esposito off the hook.

“Meaning I had experience doing what every red-blooded American citizen loves to do, find legal ways to avoid paying taxes to the government.” He emphasized the word “legal.”

Travail inserted himself back into the conversation. “What did this have to do with Matthew Collins’s will?”

“Matthew, like me, had come into a bit of money. He and I discussed ways to avoid paying the estate tax upon our deaths. I shared with him what my lawyer told me.” The Godfather turned to the jury. “It was really very simple. There was an estate tax exclusion of eleven million dollars. He could give that amount away to anyone he wanted and not pay estate tax on it.”

“And did he tell you what he planned to do?”

“No. He showed me.” The Godfather explained he was a witness to an earlier type-written will.

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