Page 78 of My Sister is Going to Kill Me

Her sister’s words flooded Mandy with warmth. On one level, she knew Liv was just playing into her game—which was remarkable in itself. But the compliment felt real. She hoped it was real.

“What does stippling mean?” Liv asked.

“Tiny bumps,” Fiona said. “It looks a little like acne.”

Mandy nodded. Now that Fiona mentioned it, she did remember a surprising smattering of bumps across Babette’s forehead.

“It was shiny too,” Mandy said.

“That’s right.” Fiona looked somber. “But I don’t really understand how you saw those photos. The accident happened after the focus group was over. Devon and her siblings did everything they could to cover it up.”

Finally, Mandy made the connection. “Justine Long. The woman who died in the third focus group.”

“After the focus group,” Fiona corrected.

“How did Justine Long die?” Liv asked. “The same way Babette did?”

Fiona glanced one more time to Devon and Charlie. The siblings’ heads were bowed now, and each had a hand on the marbled rock. The blossoms before them wilted in the last tendrils of sun.

“I can’t be positive,” Fiona said quietly. “Not without tests. Tests we’re never going to be able to conduct out here.”

“Datura flowers,” Liv said.

“What?” Mandy asked.

“Those white trumpets Devon laid on that rock. She showed them to me when she picked them earlier today. They’re another strain of the datura used in CareFree. A deadly varietal.”

Mandy turned to Fiona. “Did Justine Long eat datura flowers?”

Fiona said nothing.

“Hey, Katy.” Mandy looked over to where the guide was roasting green chiles with a pair of tongs. “Can someone die from eating datura?”

Katy put down the tongs. “Definitely. It happened here in the canyon three years ago. A guy thought they were grape leaves and tried to wrap them around some beans and rice.”

“It’s the leaves that can kill you?”

“Leaves, flowers, seeds . . . Any part of it can. My friend, the plant mystic? She calls it a devil drug. Like, death magic. Especially the seeds.”

Mandy looked back at Liv. “Do you remember any remnants of seeds or leaves by Babette’s body?”

“I don’t know,” Liv said. She turned to the river with longing in her eyes, as if she’d consider swimming across to scour the Throne Room once again.

“I told you,” Katy said. Her voice was low.

“Excuse me?” Liv said.

“I told you the plant wouldn’t like it if they tried to commercialize her.”

“You think the plant killed her?” Mandy asked. “Of its own volition?”

“Magic is magic. Lady Datura is a deadly sorceress.”

The guide looked completely serious. A true believer. But even Mandy couldn’t conceive of a scenario where a killer plant witch had come down and slain Babette.

“I think Babette would have known about the dangers of consuming the live plant,” Liv said. “And Justine Long wasn’t exposed to a bunch of flowers, was she? She was exposed to CareFree.”

Mandy turned to Fiona. “Is that what happened? Did Justine and Babette overdose on CareFree?”