PHOTO PROMPT © Yvette Prior
Amarah tore her eyes away from David’s face. Focus! She shook fantasy images out of her head. Under the lamplight they studied the crime scene photo’s for the hundredth time.
“We’re missing something.” David pondered.
Reciprocation.
“The victim was alone. Husband’s alibi is watertight.”
“From all those tissues and drinks, it looks like she was upset.”
“We know they argued.”
“Yeah, still..” Amarah stared at the photo. Her intuition poked at something. She picked up the photo of the body. No lipstick. “There’s lipstick on some of those cigarette butts.”
“So?”
“Another woman was there that night. An unidentified woman.”
100 words
Wowee! I struggled with this week’s prompt. Wrote one story, deleted the whole thing. After repetitive attempts, this is the final piece. If it’s not up to scratch, I may have over-thought everything. What an awesome prompt, (courtesy of Yvette Prior) it really conjured up so many possibilities that it was difficult to settle on just one.
Written for Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Write a story in 100 words or less.
Fajr, Books & That First Cuppa 
Lovely, lipstick on the cigarette, a classic clue 😉
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A classic clue in a maybe less than classic case. 🙂
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I loved the decoding of the photograph
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Thank you, Neil.
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All it takes is one detail like that
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Yes, it opens a whole new lead.
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You did just fine. Good take on the photo prompt.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you, Susan. That was encouraging!
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Clever story. Great take on the prompt. Loved it !
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Glad you enjoyed it, thank you.
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Good use of clues.
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Thank you, Alice
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Or maybe he was a cross-dresser, and liked putting on lipstick when at home.
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Lol! That’s some imagination, Anurag 😀
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I didn’t think of that. And I think Amarah and David should consider that possibility! Thanks
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Intriguing. A great beginning to a crime story.
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It could be a start to longer length novel, couldn’t it? Thank you!
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Absolutely. 🙂
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Dear Fatima,
I like Anurag’s take on your story. Time to go to the DNA testing for the owner of the lipstick. It does look like a crime scene, doesn’t it? Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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After Anurag’s comment, I’m keen to see the lab results myself!
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The scene tells quite the story…
You did well, Fatima!
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Thank you Dale!
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Nice analysis. A different look at the plot of story.
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That was a sharp observation ..feels like there should be a sequeal to this one
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Amarah is good at what she does, provided she isn’t focusing in David all the time 😉 Thank you, Akshata.
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That was a clever interpretation, Fatima. Well done.
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Thank you, Varad. Wish I had Aunrag’s imaginative take first 😉
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A mystery indeed, who was the other woman – a jealous sister perhaps.
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Well there seems to be a few possibilities. I intended to imply a same-sex relationship between the deceased wife and the owner of the lipstick. But now a possibility with a cross-dresser is on the table…
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I very much like the way you give us a hint of Amarah’s feelings for David while telling a murder mystery. Good work!
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So glad you picked up on that, Penny! It is part of the unrequited love in this story. Thank you.
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Personally? I think you nailed it 🙂
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Awesome! Thank you 🙂
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Some times a prompt can challenge one, you rose to that challenge and beat it, with interesting.
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I’m so very glad you think so, Michael. Thank you!
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I love the lipstick clue and the hints about the relationship.
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Glad you picked up on the relationship hints. Thank you.
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A creative take on the prompt. Nicely done and left me wanting to know more! =)
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Thank you, Brenda. IT certainly seemed to have ignited a few possibilities with readers.
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Brilliant detail.
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Nice one
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