IF you've read much detective fiction then you probably know how Ellery Queen (the writer) sometimes confronted Ellery Queen (the detective) with "dying clues." Today's author takes the dying clue to another level with . . .
"The Murder Brand."
By Howard Nile (?-?).
First appearance: Secret Agent X, August 1936.
Short short short story (4 pages).
Online at The Pulpgen Archive (HERE).
(Parental caution: Graphic violence and language.)
"Suddenly a chill froze him. A shriek struggled to leave his throat, threatened to rip out his lungs. He shook his head as his captors shook him."
AN old English proverb tells us that "When thieves fall out, true men come to their good." It's certainly something devoutly to be wished for . . .
Main characters:
~ Simon Saunders, "Ace" Darby, Lawton, and Bill Roper.
References:
- "double-cross" (Phrase Finder HERE).
Resources:
- We can find practically nothing about our author, Howard Nile. Here are his FictionMags data (ss = short story):
"Lost Face," (ss) Ten Detective Aces, April 1935
"Framed to Hang" [Hank Landis], (ss) Secret Agent X, November 1935
"The Sinister Score," (ss) Ten Detective Aces, March 1936
"The Murder Brand," (ss) Secret Agent X, August 1936 (above).
- Duplicity also shapes the plot in Rhett Rutledge's "Operation Double-Cross" (HERE; story 3).
- A few of the other dying clue stories that we've encountered:
~ "The Grand Old Lady" (TV episode HERE)
~ Sir Gilbert Campbell's "The Mystery of Essex Stairs" (HERE)
~ Thomas W. Duncan's "The Fellow Who Killed Felix" (HERE)
~ John F. Byrne's "The Mystery of the Third Mustache" (HERE)
~ Robert Arthur's "Time Will Tell" (HERE)
~ Davisson Lough's "A Slay for Santa Claus" (HERE)
~ and Isaac Asimov's "The Key" (HERE).
The bottom line:
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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