Although facing down to the page, I look up under hooded lids. Juliana’s face is twisting… Her weight begins to shift…
“Also known as Deadly Nightshade…” I lick a fingertip, turning the page with a large deliberate movement… “Family name… Solanum… A family of plants including Belladonna and the other nightshades plus various plants of agricultural importance including… tomatoes, aubergines and… the potato.”
I snap the book closed, taking a step closer to the half-visible line. Then another.
“So… Solana…” I grin. “Here we are. All those years. All that pretence. All the covering up and pretending to be the exotic Belladonna. You touch people and they die. All those murders…
“And at the end of it all…” I put the sneer into my words… “… you’re still simply my little Potato Face.”
Juliana
