Tax Season Is Coming To 'Miami' In 'Death And Taxes'

See Also: 'Sex And Taxes' Episode Guide

It's a hectic tax season in Miami when two seemingly unrelated murders both link back to the IRS in the upcoming CSI: Miami episode, "Death And Taxes".

According to CSI Files sources, the episode opens in Miami's ritzy suburbia at the first light of dawn, where homeowner James Whitley witnesses as a man dressed in black sneaks into his backyard and onto the house's private dock. The man in black places a toolbox on the ground, making his intentions clear, or at least clear to Whitley - his 64-foot yacht is about to get stolen. But Whitley is not going to sit back and take this lightly. He quickly grabs his hunting rifle, steps into the backyard, and confronts the robber. The man in black is confident Whitley is all bark and no bite, but perhaps he's underestimating man's primal territorial instinct. The man in black smiles, but his smugness quickly disappears when Whitley fires his rifle.

It's still morning when Horatio arrives at the crime scene, and the case doesn't seem very complicated to Yelina, who explains Whitley was defending his property, he even called 911 himself. Horatio, however, would rather wait and see what the evidence has to say. He notices the toolbox still sitting on the dock, and it's clear to him there's more to this story than a simple breaking and entering case when he notices the toolbox contains padlocks and knuckle-busters. A pro, no doubt, but what kind of pro? Horatio doesn't need to identify the body to know the answer. He confronts Whitley, who is still shaken over the incident, and inquires about the man's finances. Whitley admits he was having problems keeping up with the yacht's payments, but doesn't understand where Horatio is going with this. Horatio doesn't beat around the bush, and even Yelina is shocked when he reveals the man in black was not a robber, but a repossession man.

IRS Agent Melissa Bourne arrives at the crime scene. Young, beautiful, and no-nonsense, Bourne identifies the body as that of Craig Renfro, a colleague of hers at the IRS. Renfro had been assigned to Whitley's case long ago; in fact, the two had talked on the phone numerous times. Bourne confirms Renfro had not broken into the house to steal the yacht, but to rightfully claim what now belongs to the government. A rather crass way of going about it, but when you're with the IRS, Bourne explains, the job needs to get done by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately for Renfro, the same toughness that enabled him to do his job may have been the reason why he ended up dead.

But despite these revelations, James Whitley remains adamant in his defensive stance. IRS agent or robber, Renfro broke into his home, he felt his life was threatened, and that, as he saw it at the time, gave him the right to defend himself through the use of force. But Whitley's unyielding character is no match to the CSIs' tenaciousness. With the help of Melissa Bourne, Horatio and his team are determined to find the evidence that may prove Whitley's life was never threatened, nor was his house broken into, by Craig Renfro.

No sooner do the tangles of one case begin to unravel, however, when another case opens. Later in the day, Horatio arrives at a different crime scene, where the bloody body of a man sits behind the wheel of a red convertible. Frank Tripp has nothing but the victim's name, but as Horatio watches Melissa Bourne arrive at the scene, he knows they will not remain in the shadows for long. Two isolated cases are now part of a dangerous pattern when Bourne reveals the man in the car is Simon Campbell - another IRS agent.

Please note that the above plot details have not been confirmed by CBS, Alliance Atlantis or Bruckheimer Films, and until such time you should treat this information as you would any other rumour. The above information comes from early script drafts and the details and the airing order of the episodes are liable to change before the episodes are shown.

"Death And Taxes" will likely air in April, 2005.

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