“I haven’t any idea, but I would guess that it’s a bit. They were very wealthy people before they decided to invest in the School of Wiccan Arts. The school is now defunct due to no one being there to run it, but you might want to look into how much money there is. Mercy will love the help, but I’d hope there was enough to go to all the classrooms rather than just a couple. Understand?”
“I do.”
Getting into the shower after she left the bathroom, he decided that today was going to be a productive day. He had plenty to keep him busy at work running the charity groups, but today he was going to take care that Nathan got just what he deserved for running his parents’ goodwill into the ground. After getting dressed, he headed downstairs for breakfast.
“Lady Blaze is in the office. She said for you to start without her.” He said that he’d wait. “I thought you’d say that, so I made you a fruit platter to keep you from starving.”
Their cook, Stella, laughed when he ate most of the watermelon first. It was something that he’d enjoyed all his life. When Blaze joined him a few minutes later, she was all smiles. Whatever she’d been doing, it had come out the way she wanted it to.
“I’ve called a buddy of mine with the IRS. He just looked up your friend Nathan. He’s been in the red since he’s taken over the Coats and Warm business that he stole from his parents, claiming that it’s a charitable organization and he donates all his money to the kids. His words to Jamie, not mine. So Jamie Nolan is going to meet you at the offices. I was able to point out that there is a big yacht in the docks in Florida, and that Nathan owns two homes abroad—one in France, the other in Switzerland. That’s where I bet he runs to when things are found out here. So the fire drill is going to be helpful that way too. Oh, and Jamie is going to call in a couple of favors this morning, and have the fire department call in for a drill. It’s all set up for you.”
“Thanks. I wouldn’t have thought of the other things. You’re brilliant.” She laughed when he kissed her on the mouth. “This is going to be epic. I have a feeling that he’s not going to know what hit him before the end of the day. Holy shit, I wish his parents could have lived to see this. They would have loved him getting his comeuppance.”
“Just you be careful. I don’t want you hurt in any way.” He promised her that he would. “I have to go to Columbus this afternoon to look into some things there that we have running. I’ll be back at dinner. Keep me informed. Remember, tomorrow we work on the magic that you have. I would love for you to be able to call on it when you need it. I’m sort of jealous that you have some of the things that you have.”
He knew what she was talking about. One of the things that he’d figured out on his own was being able to converse with ghosts. Twice now he’d been able to help out a household that was having issues with the otherworldly people. And once Chadwick had people with children in the home that he and Blaze had gotten for free, he’d been happier about things too.
Chapter 11
Nathan hung up the phone and laughed. A fire drill? He’d never had so much as an inspection when the coffee maker he’d brought from home at his old job had blown a circuit and taken out the entire block. Now this? They were going to pull the alarms at eleven this morning, and he was to make sure that he got all his people out.
He supposed that he could understand the reasoning behind it. A new owner would want to make sure that things were up to par. But today wasn’t a great day to be doing this. He had a lunch meeting with the said new owner at twelve-thirty.
“What do you want us to do?” He looked at his longtime lover and friend Trinity, and asked her what she meant. She had been the best find he’d ever had when it came to wheeling and dealing. “You know, do we shut all the computers down? Do we leave one person behind to make sure that things are the way we want them? I don’t feel good about people having access to what we’re doing here.”
“I don’t either. But I got a call from Hamby, the fire chief, and he said that it’s routine and shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes. An hour tops. We’ll just do what we’re told and be done with it. I think that if we were to put up a fuss, that would bring everyone down on us to see why we’re not wanting a simple fire drill. Don’t you?” Trinity shrugged. “We have those shipments coming in today too. And then the meeting with the new owners. We’re having a busy day, don’t you think?”
“I do. And it’s too much. Why didn’t we buy the stupid building when it came up for sale?” He told her, again, why they couldn’t. “I can understand that a charitable organization wouldn’t have the money to do that, but damn it, don’t you think with all our money we could have put it under a different corporation? Like we did the houses and the boat. Christ, what I wouldn’t give for a few days more of warmer weather to be out there on the open seas again.”
“I know. Summer is much too short for what we have planned all year. But, as I said the other day, this is the best way to have a business. Anything ever goes wrong, we don’t have to fork out the money to have it repaired. The air goes out, or the heat, call the landlord. Like I keep saying, we really have to appear to be broke all the time from the charities that we’re supposed to be supporting.”
“Did you see that all the designer coats that were donated last month are gone? Sold almost half of them within the first hour online. Then the kids boots sold, too. I wish we had about ten grand more of those. That was a great donation to our cause.” He laughed with her. Their cause was lining their pockets with all the cash that they could get. “By the way, when you have your meeting with the new guy, see if you can get him to upgrade the Internet server. With all the online purchases, we’re running really slow. I’d hate to lose a sale simply because the computers take too long to load up.”
“I’ll put that on my list. After today, we’ll have all we need to keep us in the black. Or in the red, as the tax people think. Can you imagine what sort of shit would come down on our heads if they knew just what we were doing here?” He shivered. “Good old Dad had a great idea, but executed it stupidly. We could have been richer than we are now had he done what I wanted him to do in the first place. It was easy after he was gone to take over the business, since no one wanted to donate to him anymore. And shoving Mom into a nursing home was a stroke of brilliance on your part.”
“I love that old house. And now that it’s been updated and the rooms brought to this decade, it’s a great place to party in.” She sat down on the corner of his desk. “What time is the drill supposed to be? I’m guessing that they don’t want us to tell the others that work here.”
“No, they don’t. They want to make sure that we can get out of here in a reasonable amount of time. But you can let it slip, can’t you?” Trinity told him that she knew just the person to let it slip to. “Good. That way they can at least not be missing a sale when this shit takes place. Why don’t you let it slip when it’s happening, and say something about how we’re going to have to stop taking calls about ten minutes prior to the drill. That way, we can at least have the service pick up for us for that timeframe.”
“I like that idea.” He nodded to her and asked her if she had any other things that he should talk about with the new owners. “I was thinking that we should ask for a new fridge, because we need one for the basement at home. Maybe if he’s willing to get us one, we can trade the new one out for the one we have at home. I’d like one with ice, and even a computer on the outside. It’s really annoying to have to move shit out of the way to see what we have it there.”
“I’ll bring that up too.” His list wasn’t very long. It did have appliances on it that they were going to use at home when they came in. No one would be the wiser once the new things were delivered after hours. “Trinity, do you think we should take another vacation before winter sets in? I mean, go someplace warm for a month or so? I’d love to redo the houses and have them ready for next traveling season.”
“Sounds like a great idea.”
When she left his office, he settled back in his chair. He hated the one that he had here. It was nothing like the one he’d ordered a month ago and had at his desk at home. But, he knew appearances needed to be maintained. If they looked like they were making a bundle, they’d have every government office on their asses in a heartbeat. Pulling out the catalog that he’d gotten just yesterday with new toys in it, he looked over what he wanted to get for their newest acquisition—the house out west.
At ten-thirty Trinity came into his office to remind him of the drill. He’d already made several purchases. Some of them had been online, and a few from the catalog that he’d gotten. Nathan didn’t want to be interrupted when he was having so much fun. However, he also knew that the sooner this was done the sooner he could get back to the real business of having this building, and that was making big time cash.
Everyone was lined up at the door when he exited his office. Not saying a word to anyone, Nathan winked at Trinity. She’d done her part perfectly. Looking around, making sure that there was nothing out that would make anyone look harder at what they were doing, he was happy.
Right on the nose the fire alarm went off. Since he’d never heard the sucker before, it scared the shit out of him, and the noise it made was horrific. Going out with the rest of his people, he was all the way out into the sunshine when he realized that he should have remembered his coat—or maybe not. If he looked like he didn’t think about what was going on, it would sell better for those that were there to time them.
“Mr. Raglan? Nathan Raglan?” He said that was him, and smiled at the gentlemen that was standing in front of him. “I’m Jamie Scott. I work for the Internal Revenue Service.” He started to nod when he realized what the man had said. “You’re under arrest.”
There was more being said to him, but all he could focus on was that not only was he being arrested, but also Trinity and the eleven employees that worked for him. As he was being shoved into an awaiting van by himself, he turned and looked at Scott.
“There must be some kind of mistake. We’re a not for profit charitable organization that deals in winter and summer merchandise for the needy.” No one listened to him no matter how many times he repeated himself. When he was handcuffed to the hooks in the floor of the van, he looked at the man across from him. “I think there has been a huge mistake here. I don’t know what’s going on, but I file my taxes, and the not for profit charitable organization that—”
“You know as well as I do that you’re no more not for profit than any other business that works around here.” Nathan started to protest again. “We have all your records from your home, and by the time the IRS leaves here today, we’ll have all the files and records from here. You’d better start to come up with a plan. Not that I think you can get yourself out of this, Nathan, but a plan that tells the courts why you’ve been stealing and making a profit since your poor dad was gathering coats and giving them away. And to think that you broke both his and your mother’s hearts when you took away the only thing that they loved.”
“How the hell do you know anything about my parents? I have my mom hidden away so no one could talk to her.” The man nodded. “Do I know you?”
“Yes. I’m Bryson Andrews. You might remember me, I think. I used to come into the place your dad had when I was a kid. Your mother used to make the best cookies in the world that she’d give to the kids your parents were trying to help.” Nathan knew the name, but he couldn’t place it. “Also, I’m the new owner of your building. The one that you’re never going to enter again. You should have carried on in your father’s footsteps rather than being a jerk and selling off the things that were donated. Sending them through the mail, that’s a big no-no too. You are in a world of shit, Nathan.”
Nathan had to get back into the building before they were able to find out just how much he’d been making from selling off the coats. Just a second—that would be all it took for him to go into his office and pull the lever that would destroy every computer in the place.
“I want to cooperate.” Andrews nodded and said that was good. “I have records on everything that we did. All of them. You just tell them that I need to get into my office so that I can open the safe for them. That way I can have a lesser sentence.”
“Too late for you to get in and destroy evidence, I’m afraid.” Andrews then gave him the combination to the safe that was in the floor, telling him that they had all the information they needed to arrest him. “You’re going to have to do better than that, I’m afraid. There isn’t any way that you’re going to be able to get into the offices now that we got you out. What do you think we were doing when we had a fire drill? That’s not for the fire department to do, but the population, like business owners. You should have looked that up. Companies run drills. The fire department cleans up the damage if you have a fire.”
“I have money.” Andrews told him that he’d had money. “What do you mean, I had money? I’ve worked very hard for that. I did nothing wrong. It was all Trinity. She’s the one that made me sell the coats. Arrest her. It’s all on her anyway. I promise, I will testify that she’s the one that set up the offshore accounts. As well as made the business look like it was a nonprofit. Arrest her, not me. I’m innocent. I swear it.”
“You might like to know that she’s saying the same things about you. How you forced her into making money off the coats that were for the poor and underprivileged. And on top of that, she said that even though the three houses were in her name, you’d done that to make sure that if anything happened, no one would know that they were for you both to use when you were sick of the—and this is her wording—the nasty people that can’t get a job. If you two hated dealing with people that had less than you, you should probably have gone into a different illegal business deal.”
By the time he was taken to the jail, there were crowds of people around the front. Wondering if they were going to take him around back, he wasn’t really surprised that they stopped in front of not just people, but news crews as well.
There was nothing for him to cover his face with, though it didn’t seem to matter much—they knew who he was, and were shouting out his name like they were best of friends. Microphones were shoved into his face and questions asked, like how could he do this? Where was his heart? Other things too that made him sound like he was a terrible person. Nathan had enough when someone asked him what his parents would have thought of this.
“They didn’t have any idea the amount of money they could have been making on this shit. Every day, someone would call up and ask us if we were still taking donations to give away. Well, I’m not a stupid man. You would have all done the same thing, and you fucking know it. I made a profit. So what? I made money off the donations instead of giving the fat lazy people on welfare a coat that cost more than they’d make in food stamps in an entire year.” He looked around at the shocked faces. “Who here would have done the same thing I did, and made a billion dollars on this kind of shit?”
No one raised their hands. One woman even spat on him. Christ, what fools. He just hoped he got a jury of his own peers and not the idiots here. Otherwise he was going to be going to prison for a very, very long time, he thought.
“Oh yeah, something else you might want to know. They’re exhuming the body of your father. For your sake, I hope he did die of natural causes. Not that I wouldn’t put it past you to kill him. But that’s just more for you to think on.” Andrews was laughing as he walked away.
Christ, would nothing go his way today?
~*~
Bryson was still laughing when his cell phone rang. He didn’t know the number and almost didn’t answer it, but figured that if it was anyone he didn’t know, he’d just hang up on them. Having no more bill collectors hounding him for something that Curt had done was all right with him
Three days ago Blaze and Piper had turned over e
verything they had on Curt to Bryson’s grandparents, and he hoped the man rotted in Hell. He was surprised, really, that they’d taken it better than he thought they would. Of course, they’d had a great deal of time to deal with this. Thinking all along that Curt had killed their daughter and taken him would make them feel more justified than saddened, Bryson thought.
“Hello, my name is Holloway. I’m working on the case against Mr. Bishop Wolf, the third, and Ms. Bethany Wolf Carpenter, children of Bishop Wolf Jr., deceased. I was wondering if you have a minute or two to answer some questions for me.” Bryson told him that the case was for Ellen Wolf. That she’d been married to Mr. Wolf. “Yes, I have that all here. A great deal more information than I’ve ever had for a case before, to be truthful. But I was wondering if you knew if Ms. Ellen has gotten anything from the estate.”
“I don’t believe so. I know there was a house that she was supposed to get but didn’t, but I honestly don’t know what else she might have gotten. I think there were his ashes, but as far as her getting those, I’m not sure. Why are you asking me?” Holloway laughed. “I’m sorry. Did I miss something?”
“Nothing, no. I was just thinking that I’m glad I’m going to be there when Bishop and his sister get the news that they’d been left out of the will all together. Not only that, but they actually owe the estate several million dollars between them. Their father, he kept very good records on what he lent them and how much they paid back. Did you know that once you pay part of a loan from someone, that you’ve acknowledged that you owe them money and that you’re saying that you’ll pay it back? I doubt they did, or they’d have kept their money instead of paying a little on their debt to their father.” Bryson asked him how that had come about, the changes in the will. “Well, I shouldn’t tell you this, but I’ve been friends with Remi for a great many years. In fact, she helped me get the money to go to college to become an attorney. She told me that I could trust you as if I were talking to her. The will that they’re tossing around is no more real than Remi is human.”
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