"Astronomical figures in terms of prison began looming large in his mind’s eye."
(1) "The State vs. Wm. Shakespeare."
First appearance: Ten Detective Aces, December 1943.
Short short story (5 pages).
Online at Archive.org (HERE).
"In former days I was much as you were, a petty small-time crook contented with a small-time take. Now, a sadder but a wiser man, I
hook in bigger hauls."
A HUNDRED GRAND: Very tempting. But is it tempting enough to commit murder? For some people the answer, sad to say, is yes . . .
Principal characters:
~ Gregory Wolsey ("this unsigned copy of the Shakespeare sonnets which I am replacing with the signed one we appropriated last night, and which I will dispose of to Garson, the art dealer, for the goodly sum of $100,000"), Stover ("Did you say $100,000, sir?"), and Henry Garson ("The market price for a signed volume of Shakespeare’s sonnets in this condition is somewhere in the neighborhood of ninety or one hundred thousand dollars").
References:
- "the deadly billy connected":
"A baton (also truncheon, nightstick, billy club, billystick, cosh, lathi, or simply stick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards and military personnel. The name baton comes from the French bâton (stick), derived from Old French Baston, from Latin bastum." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "Hate to thank the dashed war for the shortage of men":
This is 1943 and the draft is in full effect.
- "You can’t imagine the delight I take in disputing the true identity of Shakespeare with connoisseurs of Shakespeareiana":
"The Shakespeare authorship question is the argument that someone other than William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works attributed to him. Anti-Stratfordians—a collective term for adherents of the various alternative-authorship theories—believe that Shakespeare of Stratford was a front to shield the identity of the real author or authors, who for some reason—usually social rank, state security, or gender—did not want or could not accept public credit. Although the idea has attracted much public interest, all but a few Shakespeare scholars and literary historians consider it a fringe theory, and for the most part acknowledge it only to rebut or disparage the claims." (Wikipedia HERE.)
- "occasional small jobs of artistic forging":
"Literary forgery (also known as literary mystification, literary fraud or literary hoax) is writing, such as a manuscript or a literary work, which is either deliberately misattributed to a historical or invented author or is a purported memoir or other presumably nonfictional writing deceptively presented as true when, in fact, it presents untrue or imaginary information or content. These deceptive practices have a long history and have occurred across various literary traditions, often with significant cultural or financial impacts.
"Literary forgeries can take many forms, including works that are falsely claimed to be ancient texts by known authors, fabricated memoirs, or fictional accounts presented as historical records. The reasons for creating literary forgeries can vary, including the pursuit of financial gain, the desire for literary recognition, or the promotion of specific ideological views." (Wikipedia HERE.)
"had given the forged signature only a perfunctory glance":
"Several different methods can be used to forge signatures. One method is the 'freehand method,' whereby the forger, after careful practice, replicates the signature by freehand. Although a difficult method to perfect, this often produces the most convincing results." (Wikipedia HERE. Also see HERE.)
Skip a few more pages and we have—you guessed it—yet another "perfect crime":
"That was part of his careful plan—his perfect blueprinted murderous idea that had practically been drawn to scale."
(2) "Boomerang Justice."
By Dorothy Dunn (1913-78; ISFDb HERE).
First appearance: Ten Detective Aces, December 1943.
Short short short story (2 pages).
Online at Archive.org (HERE).
(Note: Text very faded.)
"This is our last breakfast together."
SOMETIMES things don't go according to plan, but that doesn't necessarily mean the plan won't work . . .
Principal characters:
~ Fred Thomas ("wanted Frieda’s murder to look like suicide"), Frieda Thomas ("Your bank sent him to jail, Fred, and his grudge is against you. I don’t think he’ll harm me, but I’m glad you brought up the subject"), and Jim ("Prison does strange things to a man, especially a weak character like Jim").
About our author:
- The FictionMags thumbnail: "Born in Portland, Maine; teacher in St. Louis; very prolific pulp writer."
Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.
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