Old Habits: A Tag Nolan Mystery Novel (Father Tag Nolan Book 1) by Ryan Fowler

Old Habits: A Tag Nolan Mystery Novel (Father Tag Nolan Book 1) by Ryan Fowler

Author:Ryan Fowler [Fowler, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781685491734
Publisher: Rough Edges Press
Published: 2022-11-01T00:00:00+00:00


CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The front office was cluttered with sagging bookshelves, four file cabinets, and a beat-up desk that had seen better days.

There was a metal card table with empty Chinese food cartons atop it and two folding chairs around it. He pointed to them. “Grab a seat.”

He plopped down behind his desk.

I retrieved the two chairs, put one in front of the desk for Jenna, then sat in the other one.

I looked at the ceiling and noticed a few tiles were busted. One had a large water spot on it, which accounted for the musty smell. The bookshelves held only a few law volumes. The rest of the space was taken up with old, yellowed paperbacks.

“Okay, what do you want?”

This guy was a real charmer. I felt somewhat self-conscious and feared Jenna might be giving him a “come hither” look. I was thankful when I realized she was not.

“Houston Security,” Jenna said again.

“LTD,” I added.

She sighed.

Richard Trevor leaned back in his chair and appraised us both. “Okay, what about it?”

“You own it.”

“Sure.”

“One of your employees is in the hospital,” Jenna said. “Sean Holleran.”

“I don’t know no Sean Holleran.”

“He works for you,” I said.

The attorney blew out another heavy lungful of air. “Look, I’m gonna shoot straight with you because you’re a priest.”

“The Lord loves a straight shooter,” I said.

“That in the Bible?” he asked.

“Sure is. In the same part that says cleanliness is next to godliness.”

“Huh,” he said with a snort. “I ain’t read it much.”

I tried to hide my shock.

We waited for him to in fact shoot straight.

Finally, he leveled his chair, folded his hands on the table, and said, “I incorporate companies for people who, uh, you know, don’t want their names on the documents. All legal, of course.”

“Why would someone not want their name on the company they own?” Jenna asked, though she knew the answer.

His shoulders rose and fell. “Oh, lots of reasons, mostly tax and financial. Or they want to hide their ownership. Again, nothing illegal. Say a celebrity wants to buy rental property. Or someone wants to have an anonymous charity. That sort of thing.”

“So your work is mostly in the charitable arena,” I said.

“That’s right, Father.”

His piousness was commendable.

“Now sometimes, say, a spouse wants to hide something and that sort of thing. I don’t condone that but as a practicing attorney, it is my obligation to help them. Everyone deserves fair legal representation.”

“Of course,” I said.

“So you only own the security company in name only?” Jenna prodded.

“Exactly. I don’t know any of the employees. The actual owner handles all that.”

“What about the taxes?” I asked.

“I own these companies but hand them off to acting managers. They handle all that. It’s up to them to send the info to my accountants.” He waved it off. Richard Trevor could not be bothered with such menial tasks as filing taxes. No, he was too big time for that. “There are trusts set up and stuff. If anything were to happen to me, everything goes on as it was.



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