Page 34 of The Devil You Know
Joe looked at Johnny. “How much grief will the Cleveland covens give you over causing Osborn trouble?”
Johnny shook his head. “Trouble? Maybe applause. They fear him, but no one likes him. Especially after his ‘business partner’ in St. Louis got killed.”
“That was another one of the witch disciples and Osborn’s brother,” Evan replied.
Jenna’s eyebrow rose, but she continued. “Their partnership went way back—farther than good record-keeping. Whatever went wrong not only killed Osborn’s brother, but it took out most of the brother’s organization. We did the clean-up afterward—there’s nothing left.”
“Saves Seth and me a road trip,” Evan muttered. He looked to Johnny. “Do the covens know what happened, or are they just assuming the worst?”
“Not sure. Assuming the worst about Osborn is usually a wise choice. Something you must keep in mind is that Osborn’s supernatural drug ring goes beyond him personally,” Johnny warned. “There is a cartel that moves the drugs to users all over the country, maybe the world. They won’t like having their supplier removed.”
“Mob ties?” Jenna asked.
Johnny glared at her. “I wouldn’t know. But I suspect nolegitimatebusiness organization would deal with them.”
Great,Evan thought.It’s not just Osborn. He’s got a whole fuckin’ monster Mafia working for him.“I guess that explains the goons and the hitmen.”
Jenna looked at him with a cool, appraising expression. Adrian grinned, seeming to enjoy her surprise.
“We need a plan, fast,” Evan reminded them. “We’ve only got a couple of days until the full moon. Osborn can kill Seth for a battery-boost without needing to ‘harvest’ Derek Nelson early and lose out on a bigger power-up later on.”
Johnny stared at Evan with a thoughtful expression. “I don’t dispute that Seth is in great danger as Osborn’s prisoner or that Osborn would see removing Seth—and you—as a way to protect himself. But I wonder if there’s something else involved.”
“Like what?” Evan challenged.
“Osborn touts his drugs with a personal testimonial about how he was badly injured and then fully recovered with the help of his potions,” Johnny said. “But there have been rumors that his recovery wasn’t as complete as he would like others to believe. Talk on the street is that the ‘medicines’ are addictive—which would suggest that Osborn might be his own biggest customer. He might try to use magical means to sustain himself.”
“Which would be a reason to speed up the sacrifices—and do some extra,” Evan replied.
“Perhaps. I will make some discreet inquiries among the covens and other…associates…to see what’s being said,” Johnny said.
“I’ll have my team check the list of properties you came up with against the ones we’re already watching. If there’s been an uptick in activity, it might help us figure out what Osborn’s planning,” Jenna said.
Adrian leaned forward with a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile. “My family’s software company specializes in data mining. It’s especially good at finding obscure connections. Text me a list of names, and I’ll tell you more about them than they know themselves.”
“Deal.” Evan sent him the list of names.
“As luck would have it,” Adrian continued, “I’m attending a fundraiser tomorrow night for a charity Osborn likes to support. Good PR and all. He may be there. How about you go with me and see if that stirs up the hornet’s nest? The last time I saw him at a benefit dinner, he didn’t look well. If he’s had a sudden change of health, that could mean he’s drawing on extra power.”
“I don’t have anything that would be suitable to wear.”
Adrian gave him the once-over, making Evan feel like he’d been scanned with X-ray vision. “I’ll get you what you need. I think this could be important.”
“Thank you,” Evan replied. “I appreciate any help you can give me. I need to find Seth—and soon.”
He left with assurances from his new allies that he would hear from them quickly. Joe lingered to talk with Johnny, while Adrian and Jenna went their separate ways. When Evan returned to his truck, he found Officer Nelson loitering nearby.
“Is there a problem, Officer?” Evan asked, although he was certain Nelson had no real reason to bother him.
“You’re still here. That’s enough of a problem.”
Evan wasn’t in the mood to trade barbs. “What’s your point?”
“Just letting you know that we’ve got eyes on you,” Nelson replied. “When you make trouble, we’ll be there. Better stay on the straight and narrow, or you’ll be on your way out of town before you know what hit you. Or maybe you should just leave now.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Evan said. “If I’m free to go—”
Nelson gave a sarcastic salute. “I’ll be seeing you.”
