KERRI'S WAR (Volume 3 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 44

New York. Wednesday, January 3, 2002.

Marsha Cooper opened the heavy glass door of the I.R.S. building on Madison Avenue, allowing Kerri to enter. Normally, she went out of her way to avoid handling income tax issues, but she made an exception in in Kerri's case. Kerri was a friend and a very special person who needed a break. Marsha was determined to do whatever she could to ensure her client got one.

They were met by a smiling Niel Johnstone, again wearing his government issue dark blue suit. He still featured his black tasseled loafers, but perhaps in sympathy with his newest and largest client, he has switched to a fire-engine red tie. He was flanked by a tall sinister looking man with a helmet of greased jet black hair, parted in the middle. The tall man looked angry, ready to do battle.

"Hello, Miss King," Johnstone sang, extending his chubby hand to her. "Nice to see you again." He shook hands with Kerri, then turned to Marsha and extended his hand. "Hello, I'm Niel Johnstone. And you are?"

"Marsha Cooper, Miss King's attorney," she said. No smile.

Johnstone's smile evaporated as he waved his right hand in the tall man's direction. "I'd like you ladies to meet Henry Markoff, my boss here at the I.R.S."

Kerri took an instant dislike to Markoff. She had difficulty understanding why, but her instincts flashed a warning. She accepted his hand. "Hello," she said with a forced smile.

Markoff turned to Marsha. "Nice to see you again, Marsha. We're all very impressed by the work you're doing in the city these days."

"Thanks, Henry. It's very kind of you to say that." She pointed to the elevator door. "Shall we," she said.

All four moved to the elevator and took it to the top, then Markoff led them to his corner office, an clinically decorated space that exuded the atmosphere of a dental waiting room. Markoff pointed to a green and brown striped velour upholstered triple seat couch, several feet to the right of his glass-topped desk. "Please have a seat, ladies," he said, then took his own behind his desk without offering coffee, tea, water, or any other nicety. He nodded to Johnstone, signifying to him that it was time for him to sit, then glared at Kerri. "Allow me to begin this session by thanking you for stepping forward with your information, Miss King. We at the I.R.S. appreciate it. We've all grown tired of the hide and wink culture that has prevailed for decades. It's a cancer that feeds off of the honest taxpayers of this great nation, and I can assure you that we plan to bring it to an end, as soon as we can get the politicians to pass the necessary legislation."

Markoff's attention was diverted by a loud two-handed ovation by Marsha Cooper. She hated pontificators, and enjoyed bringing then down to size by cutting them off at the knees. "That's all very impressive, Henry, but I don't think my client is interested. We're here for a reason. I think you know what that is."

"All right, we'll get right to it...In view of the large amount of money involved in this case, we have expedited our review, and as a result, we plan to assess substantial penalties." Markoff lifted three sheets of paper from his desk and handed one to each of Kerri and Marsha. He removed his spectacles from his vest pocket, scanned the third, then looked up. "Thanks to the cooperation of the Geneva division of Iacardi & Sons, and the folks at Liechtensteinische Comco, we have assembled accurate records of your trading and banking activities over the past ten years. Miss King, the amounts you gave Niel were indeed accurate. As you can see on the sheet I've just given you, we intend to assess monetary penalties to Miss King for the following: failure to file, failure to pay, intentional disregard, failure to provide a tax shelter registration number, and compound interest on all unpaid taxes and penalties, all for a period of ten years. The amount owing as of the date of this writing is two hundred and thirty-eight million, five hundred and ninety-one thousand, two hundred and six dollars."