Tax Assassin by Claudia Hall Christian

watched him for a moment
before seeming to come to some decision.
    “ I’ll only help if you
agree to one thing,” Jocelyn said.
    “ What’s that?”
    “ You have to come in and
tell your personal story, warts and all, on record – audio, video
and what not – for the library,” Jocelyn said. “You’re a living
legend, Seth.”
    “ Done.”
    “ Oh, and you have to tell
me what happens,” Jocelyn said. “I always hate not
knowing.”
    “ I’ll take you to lunch,”
Seth said.
    “ With Sandy and the
baby?”
    “ I’ll ask her,” Seth said.
“She only met Andy the one time. She hasn’t met any of her mother’s
old friends. The whole thing is a little . . .
confusing. I bet she’d like to meet you.”
    “ Good. Follow
me.”
    Jocelyn picked up Rachel, tucked her on her
hip, and took off across the library floor. Seth had to hustle to
keep up. Jocelyn pointed to a large, heavy book of maps.
    “ That one,” Jocelyn
said.
    Seth picked it up and they trotted over to a
small study room. Seth set the book on the table with a thud.
Jocelyn stood by a chair until Seth realized she wanted him to pull
it out for her. He did. She sat down with Rachel.
    “ Take a seat,” Jocelyn
said. “Did you bring a recorder?”
    “ Don’t need one,” Seth
said. “I’ll remember.”
    “ You’ll remember?” Her
voice wasn’t unkind, but relayed her disbelief.
    “ I remember everything,
Jocelyn,” Seth said.
    “ Everything?” Jocelyn eyes’
flashed with compassion.
    Seth pursed his lips and nodded.
    “ I’m sorry.”
    “ That’s why I drank so
much,” Seth said. “To forget.”
    “ Did it work?”
    “ Not really,” Seth
said.
    Jocelyn put her hand over his and gave it a
squeeze. He nodded.
    “ Shall we?” Jocelyn
asked.
    “ Please.”

EIGHT
    “ What do you know about
property taxes?”
    “ Nothing,” Seth said. “I
think my mortgage pays them via escrow. I don’t know; Sandy set it
up. Should I call her?”
    Jocelyn smiled.
    “ I’m a drug addict and
alcoholic,” Seth said. “Money and I don’t mix.”
    She chuckled, and he shrugged.
    “ I meant the property tax
system.”
    “ Nothing,” Seth
said.
    “ I’ll keep it relevant,”
Jocelyn smiled at Rachel. “Ulysses S. Grant declared Colorado a
state in 1876. Property taxes were instituted that
year.”
    “ So fast?”
    “ Yes,” Jocelyn said. “They
looked around to see who could fund the new state and build all
these nice buildings, and realized the railroad had to come through
the state. The first property taxes were on the railroad and big
business. The original tax board was created in 1876 and in 1877 a
court ruling gutted the power from the board.”
    She looked up from Rachel to see if Seth was
listening. He gave her an affirming nod.
    “ Anyway, there was a lot of
this and that – create a board, disband a board, and on and on.
Typical Colorado,” she said. “In 1913, the State Tax Commission was
created. This second board brought property taxes to regular
people. 1913 was the first time residents and landowners –
individuals – were taxed and the first time anyone had assessed the
value of Colorado property.”
    “ How much was Colorado
worth?”
    “ I don’t remember
everything,” Jocelyn smiled.
    He smiled in return.
    “ Have you heard of the
Great Blizzard of 1913?” Jocelyn asked.
    “ Maybe,” Seth
shrugged.
    “ Forty-five point seven
inches dropped between December 1 and 6. It’s the greatest amount
of snowfall from one storm,” she said. “The storm blanketed the
western part of the state with snow. Georgetown was the hardest
hit, with more than seven feet of snow. They say there were
twenty-foot drifts.”
    “ That’s a lot of
snow.”
    “ More than twenty million
tons of snow,” she nodded. “Transportation completely stopped;
buildings collapsed under the weight of the snow; people and
livestock died. They didn’t have snow-moving equipment. They had to
dig their way out with shovels and