Chapter Thirty-Three
That morning, Dirk had skipped his breakfast. He drank a juice and then went directly to the phone. Largo Consolidated Real Estate was listed in the yellow pages.
“My name is Bailey,” he told the woman who answered, “I’m with the City Treasury Department.” The woman hesitated; sucked her teeth and assumed there was trouble. “It seems we’ve made an error calculating the property taxes on several of your buildings. We owe you a refund.”
The woman released her breath. “A refund? Oh my... and just how much are we talking here?”
“Nine hundred and forty-six thousand and fifty-three cents.”
The poor woman was sucking wind again. “Nine hundred and forty-six thousand?”
“And fifty-three cents.”
“Yes. Well, that’s substantial.”
“Yes it is, ma’am. And if you’ll provide me
