Page 45 of Equalizer
“Any ghosts?”
Owen paused for a moment, then shook his head. “Not yet. And if there are other witches, they’ve hidden their abilities.” Arabella had warned them that she would be cloaking her power during the lecture just in case representatives from other covens were in attendance.
The crowd quieted, and an unremarkable-looking man strode out onto the stage. He looked to be in his fifties, balding, with a paunch. Gold spectacles perched on his nose, and a pipe peeked from a pocket of his tweed jacket. An assistant followed him, a thin man in dark clothing who immediately stepped toward the rear of the stage, clearly intending to stay in the background.
Humphries’s gaze swept over the crowd, and Calvin got the impression that the man was assessing the size of his audience. He seemed annoyed that the seats weren’t all filled.
Arabella’s eyes widened. “The man with him is a necromancer. I can feel the magic. Makes me want to take a bath,” she whispered and shuddered.
Humphries stepped to the podium and was greeted with polite applause.
“Greetings. Today, I will share the latest research in transplantation principles, as well as insights into where this emerging medical field might take us and what that future could mean.” Humphries spoke like an educator, not a showman, and while his voice was loud and his diction clear, Calvin suspected they were about to be bored to tears.
His prediction was correct. Humphries started with a recap of the thyroid experiments and some work with skin patches for burn victims, most of which Calvin and Owen already knew. Humphries presented the possibility of replacing larger organs someday and the lives that could be saved.
Murmurs stirred when Humphries first brought up the idea of using dead flesh to repair a living body. Two people stalked out in a huff. No one interrupted in righteous anger, but judging from some of the furious expressions Calvin saw in the crowd, the idea did not set well with a number of attendees.
“The crowd seems to be following the ideas so far,” Owen murmured, watching the people around them. “Although they aren’t all excited about the topic.”
Then again, academics are used to sitting through interminable presentations on a regular basis. They’re probably half asleep and only here because they’re required to attend.
Calvin suspected very few people could make practical use of the information Humphries shared. The academic kept his presentation high-level, never admitting that he had attempted to replace any body parts himself, and spoke in purely theoretical terms.
Humphries droned on, but Calvin noted that the man was long on hypotheticals and short of specifics. He never explained how a transplanted body part might be fully reanimated and made no mention of magic despite the shadowy presence of his witch, who stood in the stage’s wings.
“I’ll take questions now,” Humphries said at the conclusion of his talk.
Hands shot up in the air. He pointed to a man in the front row who stood. “Dr. Humphries, what you’ve described is difficult to believe, bordering on miraculous. But could youprovide more specifics on how the nerves and blood flow would be reconnected?”
Humphries’s expression looked like he had caught a whiff of an unpleasant odor. “There are many areas still being studied. You’ve named a very complicated aspect that is under research. As I said at the beginning, this specialty is in its very early stages.”
His non-answer satisfied the man, who took his seat without protesting.
“How do you deal with the potential for infection?” another speaker from the audience asked.
“Strong pharmaceuticals administered before and after the procedure should ward off adverse reactions,” Humphries side-stepped.
“What about ethical considerations?” a third questioner asked. “Have religious authorities expressed an opinion?”
Anger colored Humphries’s expression before he carefully brought himself under control. “The Church has a poor track record of support for scientific advancement,” he said, and muted murmurs suggested the audience largely agreed. “That will be a matter of conscience for individual patients and surgeons.”
But the dead don’t get a choice.
“Will you be publishing your research?”
Humphries cleared his throat. “This presentation was intended to share leading-edge concepts. I have no plans to publish until we have a larger body of findings.”
Interesting. Humphries seems desperate for the respect of his peers, but perhaps he’s not keen to have his name publicly connected to the concept. If he’s being bankrolled by the Mob, maybe he can’t stand the scrutiny. An article like that would make national news—and generate quite a bit of reaction, pro and con,Calvin thought.
“Thank you for attending. This concludes our presentation.”
Owen, Arabella, and Calvin moved counter to the crowd, making their way toward the stage and into the wings in search of Humphries.
“Professor Humphries!” Calvin called out.
The witch was farther up the corridor, but Humphries turned toward Calvin and frowned. “You’ll have to see me during office hours. The presentation is over.”
“You never said where the replacement parts come from, all those hands and feet,” Calvin pressed.
