Jinxed
(Excerpt)

Lucinda crushed the boiled wisteria seeds into Aimee's bowl of pinto beans. The back of her spoon clinked against the porcelain while she mashed the seed innards, blending their toxins into the mixture. She snickered to herself as she scraped the sides, mindful of the blush pink azalea blooms gracing the bowl's rim. A perfect picture formed of her daughter-in-law doubling over in pain, spending the rest of the weekend in the downstairs bathroom.

Another pod of seeds remained on the cutting board. Better to stick to one pod. Aimee was a skinny-minnie, and Lucinda wanted to avoid arousing suspicion. Just enough to ruin any chance of relations that weekend. And then she could take Jared out to lunch, just the two of them.

The breeze stirred the sheer curtains around her kitchen window, a respite from the sultry humidity. Evening blanketed her carefully tended garden. In the far corner by the fence, her belladonna berries darkened, and in a few weeks, their poison would be at its highest. Mustn't leave a trace. Her trusty spell book outlined the exact amounts. Time for the test run tonight.