Page 65 of Equalizer
“What did you hear?” Calvin paused with his fork on the way to his mouth.
“The Russo-Lombardi alliance didn’t survive the finger-pointing when details started to come out about Humphries,” Owen told him.
“Maria Bianchi and her allied covens had a nasty showdown with the Russo-Lombardi witches,” Arabella spoke up. She and Louisa had joined them for a farewell brunch before they left Chicago. “I didn’t press for details, but some problem witches have gone missing, just like Humphries’s necromancer.”
“Imagine that,” Calvin murmured. “What have the papers said about the warehouse fire?”
“The articles said that an electrical fault burned the warehouse and several nearby vacant buildings.” Owen pausedto sip his coffee. “They blamed an apartment fire the same night on an oil lamp that tipped over.”
“Hmm. That’s…plausible.” Calvin reached for another slice of toast.
“I told headquarters that we closed the case. They were miffed that we didn’t hand over Humphries’s notes for safekeeping, but I told them everything was lost in the fire.” Louisa smirked.
“Like anything good could have come out of letting those exist,” Calvin muttered.
“My thoughts exactly,” Owen replied. “Winston made sure Humphries’s notebooks didn’t survive.”
“As for the Russo-Lombardi-Conti war, the papers ignored it like they usually manage to overlook Mob activity.” Louisa set aside her muffin. “But there was a small article about the murder of the Wild West show’s security director.”
Calvin looked up, and Owen knew his partner could see the sadness he felt over Steven’s death. “What did it say?”
“Only that Steven had been brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. They left out details of the mutilation, probably to avoid a panic,” Louisa said.
“Just as well, since we took care of the problem,” Owen added with a bitter note in his tone. “The show is leaving town early. I can’t imagine how they could stay after everything that happened.”
“No, they couldn’t,” Calvin agreed quietly. He reached to take Owen’s hand and squeezed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah.” Owen let out a long breath. “So am I. But there’s no changing it.”
Winston came in, bearing a steaming pot of coffee to refill their cups.
“Along with stopping Humphries, all the revelations and activity has led to some reshuffling in the witch world,” Arabellaadded. “Thanks to the necromancer’s death and the coup Maria Bianchi’s coven pulled off against the rival witches, the covens tipped the power to more responsible practitioners,” she reported.
“And the Contis are firmly ensconced as Chicago’s top Mob family, which, considering the alternatives, is the best we could ask for,” Louisa added.
“Is it always this exciting when you two come to town?” Arabella teased.
“We’re the life of the party,” Owen replied.
“Never a dull moment when we’re around,” Calvin chimed in.
“We couldn’t have done it without you both, and all your friends,” Calvin said. “What about Pearl?”
“Got a telegram letting me know she’d gone West after leaving Chicago without problems and reminding me of our deal,” Louisa said. “I pulled a few strings to get lesser charges dismissed. As long as she plays nice with us and lends a hand if we need it, the remaining charges could languish for a long time and eventually go away as well.”
“And the toughs her gang and your folks were fighting?” Owen asked with a glance at Louisa.
“The cops took the suspects that my Pinkertons left trussed up for them, and as it turned out, they had plenty of prior arrests,” Louisa replied in a droll tone.
“I’m shocked.”
“Figured you would be,” she snickered. “My team gets credit for a high-profile bust and having a hand in averting a Mob war. Pearl gets bragging rights and her charges put on hold. She and her gang took the midnight train out of Chicago that same night before the police could catch wind of them.”
“Do you think anyone will try to pick up where Humphries left off?” Calvin looked away and fiddled with his napkin. Owen felt certain that his partner still had a long way to go to recoverfrom the horrors of his abduction. “After all, there was supposed to be a rift between the traditional witches and the technology mages. I wouldn’t think the technology fans would give up on science so easily.”
“My Pinkerton team paid a visit to Augustus Gordon, the showman doing the galvanism demonstrations,” Louisa replied. “We were…persuasive. He packed up and left town, closing the show permanently. If someone tries to fill Humphries’s shoes, I don’t think it will be Gordon—even if he has the talent, which I don’t think he does.”
“And my coven will make sure that the other covens find out whatreallyhappened to Humphries and his necromancer,” Arabella added. “Short of nailing his head to a door, that’s a pretty severe warning, even by Chicago standards.”
