"I don't think so?" said Lapointe, flipping through her notes. "The dress is the same, maybe."
"She had a jacket thing instead of the shawl," said Thomas. "Can't say about the shoes, though."
"I will not be talked about as if I am not here," said Halliwell, nostrils flaring and face going red. "I am a woman of rank!"
"You're a murder suspect," said Lapointe, unimpressed. "Your rank doesn't mean beans if you killed those people."
"And tried to kill three others," added Alex, "including me. Four if we count Julian."
She harrumphed delicately and folded her arms over her chest, purse swinging into her lap. It was an oversized leather affair from some designer or another, and it looked like it could hold a whole apothecary of poisons. "Just because you suspect me incorrectly is no reason to be rude."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Lapointe. "Now, what were you doing out of your rooms?"
"The policemen were in there," she said. "I didn't want to watch them go through all of my delicates, it's not right."
She looked even more upset at that, but less watery than Julian thought she ought to have been going for if she wanted Lapointe's sympathy.
"So you thought you'd wander downstairs and into areas you were specifically asked not to go into?" said Lapointe dubiously.
"Where else should I have gone?" she huffed, offended again, though to Julian it all felt a little performative.
"You should have stayed where you were told, which is probably in your rooms helping the techs," said Lapointe dryly. "For now you can stay down here." She picked up her phone and sent a text, probably to figure out who was in her rooms and when they'd be done.
"When will you guys visit for a weekend again, anyway?" asked Alex, clearly intending to annoy.
Sometimes it had a purpose, though, so Julian let it go.
"Oh, I was hoping for aCastlesmarathon in two weeks when there's that big event," said Thomas, sending them puppy eyes. "I asked Nat to put it in your calendars."
Halliwell was cooperating nicely by growing more and more annoyed, her expression going from performatively pathetic to sincerely irked.
Julian looked and indeed the Golden Moon Event was blocked out for that whole weekend for both him and Alex, on both their personal and work calendars, which were really the same one with different colours. "That sounds great, I should have all those moonflowers grown in time, I've been watching over them carefully."
They devolved into a discussion ofCastlesthat grew more and more esoteric. Even Lapointe, James, and Jacques participated, though, used to them by now and the Guardians ever curious about this hobby that wasn't ever going to be one they could pick up. Miss Halliwell looked at first angry, then confused, and thenangry all over again when they continued to ignore her. Julian talked happily about the new plants pack that had come out last month, and Alex was already up to his elbows in experiments with whatever Julian had grown for him, to see what he could make.
No one even offered Halliwell some of the coffee still gently steaming on the tray in its keep-warm pot, despite the fact that she'd asked.
They had also all abandoned their own cups, half full or otherwise, as no one there was dumb enough to drink anything with a potential poisoner in the room, especially as they were irritating her on purpose to see what she'd do.
Julian hoped it would be something homicidal so he could go home in peace, but he supposed that was a rather selfish attitude.
Eventually she huffed loudly and stood up, going to pour herself a cup of coffee and putter about with the sugar and cream. She sat and looked primly furious as she sipped the drink, all of them watching her without seeming to.
Conversation had moved on to how their various territories were shaping up when she gasped and started foaming at the mouth, falling to the floor limp.
But not, Julian noted, dead.
"I think she took it herself," said James, coming over to administer first aid very mindful of getting any toxins on himself. "I'm not sure what it is but it doesn't seem as immediately fatal as her other choices."
"Get Geoff and forensics down here, I guess," said Alex, already on the phone to the good doctor from what Julian could tell.
Julian wandered over to the tray and sent his magical senses at it, finding all the cups were shimmering with some kind of doleful magic, when they'd been clean as a whistle previously.
"I think we've found our poisoner," he said with a sigh.
"I take it she poisoned all the cups to try to make herself look good?" said Jacques.
Julian nodded. "I don't think she thought it through, though. She was just mad about us ignoring her."
