William Henry Devereaux, Jr.’s removal as department chair is confirmed when colleagues vote eighteen to nine in favor of recalling him, meeting the required two-thirds majority. The result makes the chair’s loss official through a brief announcement, while the scene’s tense handling of a folded paper gives the decision a moment of uncertainty before it is declared.

The Ballot and the Interruption

As colleagues gather below, Jacob notices a folded sheet of paper in front of Billy Quigley and assumes it is another ballot. Billy seems to reach the same conclusion, but when he opens and reads the paper, its contents are not disclosed. He wads it up and starts to throw it toward the wastebasket. William Henry Devereaux, Jr., narrating the scene, sends Billy a telepathic thought; Billy stops mid-motion, then unfolds the sheet again. The interruption briefly suspends the room’s movement toward the result, though the evidence does not explain what Billy has read.

The Recall Is Declared

While Billy handles the paper, Finny announces the vote count: eighteen yes votes favoring the recall and nine no votes. Finny then states, “The chair is recalled by the necessary two-thirds majority,” making the procedural consequence explicit. The count is not close to the threshold: the eighteen votes for recall are twice the nine opposed, and the chair is therefore formally recalled.

The Immediate Aftermath

After the declaration, colleagues begin filing out of the room. Billy Quigley clears his throat as they leave, but the scene ends without explaining what he intends to say or what follows from the gesture. The vote’s immediate consequence is clear even as that small unresolved beat remains: William Henry Devereaux, Jr. has lost the chair, and the departmental meeting has produced a binding result rather than another disputed count.