This, That, and the Other

Charlotte’s long blonde hair falling over her shoulders formed a stark contrast with the dark blouse she was wearing when she was brought in for questioning after her husband, Gregory, was found dead of an apparent suicide.

Detectives Jim Morrisey and Ron Hayden were assigned to look into the case when Gregory’s children from a prior marriage refused to believe that their father would have taken his own life.

The detectives’ investigation had uncovered that Gregory Dalton was not the first of Charlotte’s husbands who had died mysteriously. In fact, he was the third in a string of older men who had met untimely ends.

Was it coincidence, bad luck, or was there something so much more sinister involved? Morrisey suspected the latter, but Hayden was having a hard time imagining that such a young and attractive woman, barely more than a child, could have been behind the deaths.

In each of the two previous situations, Charlotte was the recipient of substantial inheritances after the deaths of her wealthy husbands. And she could have been the beneficiary of a small fortune from Gregory’s estate as well.

But Morrisey felt it in his bones, despite his partner’s misgivings, that Charlotte’s wholesome, innocent look belied what lies beneath — a beautiful black widow.

Written for today’s Fandango’s One-Word Challenge, “stark.”