“Yes?”
“I think we might have a problem here, or it may be nothing,” the voice said.
“I’m listening.” Jackson sat down and used a long piece of string to lift the putty off his nose. Then he removed the latex pieces adhering to his face by tugging gently on their edges.
“As you know, two days ago we wired income from the last quarter to Catherine Savage’s account in the Caymans. To Banque Internacional. Just like always.”
“So? Is she complaining about the rate of return?” Jackson said sarcastically. He tugged firmly on the back edges of his snow white wig and then pulled up and then forward. He next removed the latex skullcap and his own hair sprang free.
“No, but I got a call from the wire department at Banque and they wanted to confirm something.”
“What was that?” Jackson cleansed his face while he was listening, his eyes scanning the mirror as layer after layer of concealment was removed.
“That they had wired all the monies from Savage’s accounts to Citibank in New York.”
New York! As he absorbed this stunning news, Jackson opened his mouth wide and removed the acrylic caps. Instantly, dark, misshapen teeth became white and straight. His dark eyes glittered menacingly and he stopped removing his disguise. “First, why would they call you if it was her account?”
“They shouldn’t have. I mean they never have before. I think the guy at the wire desk down there is new. He must have seen my name and phone number on some of the paperwork and figured I was a principal on the receiving account instead of being on the other end of the transaction, the sending account.”
“What did you tell him? I hope you didn’t excite any suspicion.”
“No, not at all,” the voice said nervously. “I simply thanked him and said that was correct. I hope I did the right thing, but of course I wanted to report it to you right away. It seemed unusual.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything you want me to do on follow-up?”
“I’ll handle it.” Jackson hung up the phone. He sat back and fiddled absently with the wig. None of LuAnn’s money was ever, ever supposed to end up in the United States. Money in the United States was traceable. Banks filed 1099s with the IRS, and other documents detailing income and account balances. Social Security numbers were communicated and kept as part of the official record; filings with the IRS on behalf of the taxpayer were required. None of that was ever supposed to happen in LuAnn’s case. LuAnn Tyler was a fugitive. Fugitives did not return to their homeland and start paying their taxes, even under assumed names.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
“Yes, sir?” the voice asked.
Jackson said, “The taxpayer’s name is Catherine Savage.” Jackson provided her Social Security number and other pertinent information. “You will find out immediately whether she has filed a U.S. tax return or any other type of documents with the IRS. Use all the sources at your disposal, but I need this information within the hour.”
He hung up again. For the next forty-five minutes, he walked around his apartment, wearing the portable phone and headset, a requirement when you liked to pace and your apartment was as large as Jackson’s was.
Then the phone rang again.
The voice was crisp. “Catherine Savage filed an income tax return last year. I couldn’t get full particulars in such a short time frame; however, according to my source, the income reported was substantial. She also recently filed a change of address form with the IRS.”
“Give it to me.” Jackson wrote the Charlottesville, Virginia, address down on a piece of paper and put it in his pocket.
“One more thing,” the voice said. “My source pulled up a very recent filing in connection with Savage’s tax account.”
“By her?”
“No. It was a Form 2848. It gives a third party a power of attorney to represent the taxpayer with respect to just about anything having to do with their tax matters.”
“Who was the requesting party?”
“A fellow named Thomas Jones. According to the file, he’s already received information on her account, including her change of address and last year’s income tax return. I was able to get a facsimile of the 2848 form he filed. I can send it to you right now.”