Short Stories...

Lucky number 7

Lauren stood in the mirror primping herself for her new husband. She was dressed in a white teddy and wore her curly blonde hair up into a soft messy ponytail. Her husband waited anxiously in the bedroom of their honeymoon suite.
"Hey sweetheart what's taking so long?!" He demanded to know.
"I'll be right out babe!"
She had said this line so many times before. To six other husbands. Six deceased husbands to be exact. Soon to be lucky number 7. She thought her last husband would be the last. He was twice her age and had one estranged son who she was sure she could convince him to write out of the will. She had successfully done so before they were married and then he died of "cardiac arrest" on their honeymoon night from their love making. She was informed at the reading of the will that he had only left her 200K while his millions vanished into thin air. The old man wasn't as trusting as she'd hoped and then she was back at square one.

It was just her luck she was vacationing in the Hamptons and had met the young and handsome Martin Vanderveer. He had come into a large inheritance from his mother's passing about four and a half years ago. He was swimming in dough and luckily for Lauren he was an easy enough target. She was just a few years older than he was and followed her around like a lovesick puppy for the whole week. They began dating and 6 months later they were married.
And now here she was getting ready to inherit his millions upon his death. She had the liquified wolfsbane ready to administer to his champagne while he wasnt looking.

She opened the bathroom door and posed in the doorway. He let out a whistle and patted the space next to him in the bed. She giggled and strutted in his direction.

She straddled him and begin to kiss him while he grabbed two handfuls of her ass.
"Wait. Wait. Wait" she said pulling away from him." Mustn't for get the champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. This is a celebration is it not?"

He laid back on the bed and let out a deep sigh. "Fine then" he said.
She took advantage of this moment while he wasn't paying attention and slipped the wolfsbane into his champagne. She shoved a strawberry in her mouth and turned around with the two glasses in her hand. "I hate that you're allergic to strawberries sweetheart because these are delicious. She reached for another after handing him his glass. "But at least you can drink"
They clinked glasses.
She smiled and took a sip.....

The next morning the hotel guest could see and ambulance being loaded with a body on a stretcher and a cop car driving off.

Detectives Baker and Harris were the officers assigned to the case.

"I can't believe it." Detective Harris tugged on his thick beard "This woman is wanted for the murder of at least 6 men"
"Wait, is this THE black widow that the feds have been looking for for like years?!" Asked detective Baker raising her eyebrows.
"Yep. Lauren Fisher aka Genny Parker aka Liza Kramer and the list goes on. Your typical money hungry young gal going after rich older guys, killing them on their honeymoon night and disappearing into thin air after the will is read."
Detective Baker shook her head "looks like 7 was NOT her lucky number"

They walked into the interrogation room.
"Man are you lucky Mr. Vanderveer! You could have possibly met your maker last night if your wife wasn't so sloppy"
"What do you mean?" Martin looked confused.
It looks as though your wife meant to poison you by spiking your champagne last night and accidentally ingested it herself"
As the detectives told him how she was wanted for 6 other murders of previous husbands and how he was almost number 7 he was shaking uncontrollably. He was one of the luckiest man in the world right now.

3 months later Martin stood looked out of the window of his Manhattan Penthouse apartment, sipping a glass of champagne and playing that night over in his mind again.
He Smiled........

After they clinked their champagne glasses, Lauren smiled while she sipped hers.

Martin gazed at her while he held his glass.

"You know, I never thought I would find you"
He said while stroking the side of her face.
"I've waited 4 years for this moment."

She looked confused. "What do you mean 4 years?"

"Do you even know how I came into my millions?"

"Of course babe your inheritance from your mother" she responded.

"But do you know where she got it? From my father. Does the name Carlton Cornell ring a bell?"

Her eyes grew as wide as lemons. He was husband number 4. She thought he left all he had to her.

"Maybe you didn't know about my mother, not very many did. She was his mistress for more than 30 years. I may have been illegitimate but he treated me with love just the same."

Lauren grew terrified because she couldn't move.

"When he was killed on his wedding night by some money hungry skank, my mother inherited millions from him in secret. It didn't matter to her though. She was so heartbroken that she killed herself, leaving me with the inheritance. I vowed to find the bitch responsible for ruining my family and it took me 4 fucking years, but here we are."

Lauren began to sweat and cough grasping at her chest.

" I knew your game, I made plenty of friends in the FBI field and we managed to track you down at husband number 5. Once he bit it I knew for sure, we had the right one. After poor shmuck number 6, I followed you all the way to the Hamptons, where I "bumped into you" he let out a laugh. "And you know the rest from there right baby?"

Lauren couldn't understand what was happening. Why was Martin standing and breathing while she was the one grabbing her throat and struggling for air. Did she drink from the wrong glass? No she couldn't have. She KNEW which one the poison was in.

Martin grinned and turned his gaze just beyond her, she followed his gaze and before she took her last dying breath it hit her ...........

The Strawberries..........🍓🍓🍓