In small towns, a new widow is supposed to look and behave appropriately. When she behaves instead as if newly released into a life of fresh hope and joy, and no one has yet found out how the late husband met his violent end, then tongues will wag. In Mamsies case, the wagging made such a clamor that all her old boyfriends gathered to defend her which only made the wagging worse. It seemed about time that the law looked into the Black Widow and the death of the unlamented husband. And the more they looked, the worse it looked for Mamsie.