"That's good," said Julian. "Are you going to be sick again?"
Alex closed his eyes and nodded.
"Now?" asked Julian, holding up the receptacle can he'd been using.
"Now," croaked Alex, and brought up what felt like the rest of lunch and also breakfast. "Ugh."
Eventually the vomiting stopped and Alex was allowed to sit up and rinse his mouth, wrapped in a cocoon of fluffy blankets. "How long?" he asked.
"Including the digestive dramatics, a couple of hours," said Geoff. "Everyone's phones have started working again, so that's kept them occupied spreading the gossip all across the land."
"I talked to Thomas, he and Murielle will be out soon, they got assigned to the case because of us," said Julian. "I haven't called James and Jacques yet to tell them we're targets, because they can't help."
"Smart husband," croaked Alex, throat sore from the throwing up and head pounding in the too-bright room. "I don't suppose I'm allowed that potion now?"
"Yeah," said Geoff, handing over the little phial. "It's one of ours."
"Good." Alex downed it in a single draught, making a face at the bitterness but finding it flowed through his systems fast and efficiently, relieving all the small pains he'd barely been aware of along with the giant headache. "That's so much better."
"Good," said Julian. He handed over a cup of very weak tea with sugar and no milk. "I've checked this one as best as possible."
"I'll take it," said Alex, sipping on his own tea. "Is Winterson awake yet?"
Geoff shook his head. "No, you got even less of a dose than she did. Or you metabolised it faster, or differently because it's belladonna. I'm not sure. Strangely, magical poisons aren't really my area."
"They might be Gallowglass's area," said Julian, thinking of their idle conversation. "Doesn't she have a poison garden?"
"Why isn't she a suspect?" asked Geoff.
"Nowhere near any of the crime scenes," explained Alex.
"She'd have to also be magic to have gotten any of us," added Julian.
"Or have a magic item, though what a weirdly specific one," said Geoff.
Alex shrugged. "I haven't heard of anything that can introduce a substance into a cup from afar, but I haven't heard of everything, either."
"Oh, that reminds me, you have heard from Lapointe," said Julian, pulling Alex's phone out of one of his jacket pockets and handing it over. "Finish your tea and call her."
A servant had already discreetly disposed of the barf bucket, and Alex had managed not to get it all over himself, so he was almost restored, croaky voice aside. He supposed he could check his messages, though he'd decide later about answering them.
There were a number of texts from family about the storm, nothing exciting, just updates that everyone was okay and snowed in at their various residences. Those he answered with, "Good to know. Snowed in at Chudleigh's."
They'd either hear the gossip or not, and he'd know when more messages began to flood in.
Next he read through entire threads full of messages from Thomas, Lapointe, Smedley, and a couple of Lapointe's junior agents, all asking him questions about the case. He answered Lapointe only, telling her he'd call soon with what details he had.
After that came the texts from Alys and Nat, which were mostly reassuring them that the house and grounds were doing okayin the storm. Alex replied to that with the news that they'd just gotten their signal back and were okay, but that there was murder afoot and they'd explain when they got home.
Nat sent back a leaf icon that was somehow very unimpressed looking.
After that, Alex was out of tea and excuses both, so he called Lapointe rather than listening to any of his voicemails.
"Took you long enough," she said by way of a greeting.
Alex snorted. "I've been without signal first, and then poisoned. What's taking you so long?"
"Fair enough," she said. "Wait, poisoned? You're not going to die on me, are you?"
