“Lisette Plouffe.” Nik nodded, despite his aching head, to an Objet d’Art flyer on the wall. “Lafontaine murdered her too. For working with you.”
Nicolette leaned back. “We figured.”
“But you don’t know how.” Nik took the chemical equation from his pocket. “Elara said you took this from Lafontaine.”
“Yes. What is it?”
“It’s complicated. Lafontaine was testing it on Gaetan the night he killed him.”
“How do you know that?” Fernand asked darkly.
“I watched him.” Nik held up his palms. “Before you rearrange my face again, I’ll tell you the same thing I told Elara: I tried to save him, but I couldn’t.”
Chantal tapped the paper, urging the conversation away from another brawl. “What does it do?”
“It’s a medicine or a poison. Something that kills at high doses.”
“What about low doses?” Nicolette asked.
“No idea.”
She tossed a knife, catching it by the handle only to toss it again. “Useless.”
“Seems Fernand did just as well figuring it out.” Nik motioned to the pocks on his arms, where he’d obviously been experimenting on himself like a fool.
“I’m not the Souverain’s anointed apprentice,” he sneered.
“Son,” Nik corrected him. “Son.”
Fernand blinked once before he moved to throttle Nik again. Chantal kept him in check with the end of her cane against his chest.
“Care to help me out here?” she snapped at Blai, who had their feet up on the table.
“Nah,” they replied. “Besides, I’m taking a bet.”
“On?” Nicolette asked.
“Who won’t make it out of here alive. My soms are on Nik.”
“Blai!” Chantal snapped.
“Fine. Fine.” They sat up straight. “We know the serum kills at high doses, and Nik said Lafontaine seemed pretty pissed off about it, which means he wants it to do something else. But what?”
Nik thought of the questions, the papers on the clipboard, his father’s frustration.
“No idea.”
“Wait.” Chantal took Plouffe’s flyer from the wall. “Why the Souverain of Arts Culinaires? What did she know that Lafontaine didn’t want out?”
Fernand tapped the chemical equation. “She said Lafontaine wanted her to vote him into a new position as Grand Souverain.”
“A position the Counseil would never agree to,” Nik added.
“Because it would diminish their power,” Blai said. “Even so, refusing him isn’t enough reason to kill her.”
“She said he had a plan for her,” Fernand said. “She was terrified of it.”
Nik frowned. “She didn’t say what it was?”
