Saint James Infirmary 278: Road Rage.

[Daphne]

Friday, March 14th!

[mns_95125]

If this is not about the fallout from Cherry's little slip of the tongue then Daphne is deliberately screwing with our heads.

[Daphne]

Would I do that? (blink, blink)

[Haight]

Intense.

[Werdna]

Go Caitlyn!

At this point, I am wondering if Cherry isn't using some kind of mind control device on those present.  It has gone beyond a stilted politeness into downright weirdness.  So, roughly in order:  Cherry encounters Erin on the street, induces guilt; later, Erin goes to take a bath just at the right time for others to let Cherry in and give her time to wheedle her way into a bunch of serious discussions, destabilizing Danielle and Marliese, and almost getting her hands on the shell before Erin intervenes.  Then she gets back to work on Erin, driving her literally out of the room with her guilt trip - this selfsame Erin whose toughness is legendary.  Then she accidentally lets it slip that, oh yes, she knew about the murder attempt on Dani.  Now Laura, when she should be delaying to protect her friends, basically ups and leaves, just as Cherry is saying that, no no, it wasn't Dani "he" was trying to murder, it was your lover/landlord/librarian/housemate, so no problem!  And Marliese - Marliese! - is holding Caitlyn back because why?

There are two possible explanations: one is that Adrian's mind control has them all awfully calm in stressful situations; the more likely is that they are somehow being subdued from reacting normally, and whenever someone breaks through to express that anger, any kind of suspicion seems to melt away (or be deflected) awfully quickly.  Non-controlled people who quite recently were arming themselves because bad shit like someone trying to kidnap Caitlyn and run over her and Dani (in Dani's case, that would be the second time) would render Cherry unconscious, tie her up, and start talking about what to do about this poisonous influence among them.

Cherry, I think, is the perfect liar, inasmuch as everything she is saying is the truth.  All the best liars only ever say true things.

My prediction for issue 279 (or 280, if 279 goes back to Adrian or follows Laura out the door):  cue Mallory, finally, after her supernatural tryst with Baron Samedi has identified Cherry as her enemy.  Mallory will bring the badass librarian act down with a mighty vengeance.  (Rule #8 of Werdna's guide to life:  never, ever piss off a librarian.)



Have I mentioned recently how awesome this comic is, from pillar to post?  I look forward to the next episode as soon as I've finished a new one.

[GodWilling]

You're wrong, Caitlyn: I do like you when you're angry.

And Marliese - Marliese! - is holding Caitlyn back because why?

Marliese already called for the cavalry in 272. She either knows what's going on or she knows that Cherry is dangerous - or at least that the situation is dangerous.

All the best liars only ever say true things.

Provocative. And yet undeniably true.

Have I mentioned recently how awesome this comic is, from pillar to post?  I look forward to the next episode as soon as I've finished a new one.

Similarly true.

I think maybe the next episode should be called: "I don't want to leave you, Dani, but I'm going to anyway."

If the driver thought it was Mallory, what did he revisit the scene of the crime for?

Cherry has just told the gang that she knows the person who tried to kill their friend and that - impulsively or not - he did it deliberately. Even thinking on her feet she didn't have to reveal that. She appears to be about to try to justify his actions to them. Whether it's true or not, what she's about to say will have to be pretty persuasive.