"He Had Brains"

"Suspicion."
By Allan K. Echols (1896-1953; FictionMags HERE).

First appearance: Thrilling Mystery, Fall 1943.

Short short short story (3 pages).
Online at Archive.org (HERE).

     "BLUFF! That was the answer."

Sometimes the obvious solution is the best one . . .

Major characters:
~ Uncle Benny:

  ". . . sat at his watch repair desk until exactly nine o'clock before locking his 

store and going to his bachelor quarters at the rear of the narrow building."

~ Tony:
  "I'm your husband and I've been here all evening."
~ The uniformed cop:
  "Do you live here?"
~ Mary Webster:
  "Oh, I thought it was—"

Resources:

- Known primarily for his Western novels and short stories (the latter, intermingling 

with crime stories, running to two full pages in the FictionMags Index), Allan Krech 

Echols was born in Texas and buried in Oklahoma (HERE)

- Our first encounter with Echols was nearly five years ago when we featured "The 
Unseen Death" (HERE).
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