"Stalled Part Way Through a Murder Plan Which Was Too Complex to Begin With"

"Dry Run."
By Larry Niven (born 1938).
First appearance: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1968.

Reprints page (HERE).

Short short story (8 pages).
Online at Archive.org (HERE).

     ". . . how, now, could he keep Harvey's death a secret? . . ."

It's true, Harvey is dead, but he wasn't the intended victim. "The worst possible time to die is when you're involved in murder"—good advice, but it comes much too late . . .

Resource:
- A red tide plays an important role in the murder plot; see Wikipedia (HERE and HERE) for more.
- You can find our featured posting of Larry Niven's "How the Heroes Die" (HERE).

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