Friday, June 12, 2020

"Sometimes There Is a Deadly Sincerity in Jest"

HERE WE HAVE a couple of seemingly unrelated short short short stories, one from an American forties pulp and another from a pulpier British pulp from the fifties; what they have in common isn't their pulpiness so much, however, but that venerable crime fiction trope, the perfect murder:

"Two-in-One Murder."
By Edward J. Donovan (?-?).
First appearance: Detective Tales, January 1941.
Short short short story (2 pages).
Was online at Archive.org but withdrawn.
     "He himself was thinking how easy it would be to put cyanide in one of the capsules."

A bitter pill, indeed . . .

Character list:
~ Frank Luster:
  ". . . managed to conceal his feelings better than his cousin . . ."
~ Harry Smokely:
  ". . . alone would know how the murder had been accomplished."
~ Mike Ahearn:
  ". . . grimaced in disgust as he picked up the phone."

Resource:
- Information about Edward J. Donovan is practically nonexistent; what we do know can be found at FictionMags (HERE).
~ ~ ~
"The Mystery of the Tuesday Man."
Author unknown.
First appearance: Radio Fun, October 19, 1957.
Short short short story (2 pages).
Online at Comic Book Plus (HERE; select page 15 from the dropdown menu).
     ". . . they saw they had a murder case on their hands . . ."

While it involves chocolate cakes and scones, there's nothing sweet about this crime . . .

Characters:
~ Arthur Harold Starcroft:
  ". . . seems to have been a neat and methodical man."
~ Mrs. Starcroft:
  "It must have been robbery. No one would have killed Arthur for anything else, because everyone liked him."
~ Inspector Stanley:
  "There's one very significant thing. That Lancaster Avenue—it's very badly lit."
~ Detective-sergeant Horace Bloom:
  "Do you think that change in time had anything to do with the murder, sir?"
~ Superintendent Elton:
  ". . . it is true that his wrist-watch, which was badly damaged, with the glass broken, 
had stopped at ten minutes to nine."
~ Mrs. Browning:
  "I saw his van next door yesterday evening."
~ Mr. Browning:
  ". . . wait a minute, though. He didn't call on Monday."
~ Mr. Walshe:
  ". . . that big bank payroll robbery last week was at Linchborough, and that's only six 
miles from here."

Resources:
- Inspector Stanley was a sort of Sexton Blake knockoff who enjoyed a long career in the British Radio Fun weekly comic, which ran from October 15, 1938 to February 18, 1961. 
Here are the Inspector Stanley adventures that we can find on Comic Book Plus:
  (1) December 7, 1941 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (2) September 24, 1949 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (3) October 29, 1949 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (4) June 12, 1950 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (5) December 2, 1950 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (6) December 9, 1950 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (7) December 16, 1950 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (8) December 30, 1950 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (9) January 13, 1951 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (10) January 13, 1951 (second copy of number 9)
  (11) January 20, 1951 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (12) October 13, 1951 (HERE; pages 14-15)
  (13) February 2, 1952 (HERE; pages 14-15; text faded)
  (14) August 9, 1952 (HERE; pages 14-15; text faded)
  (15) February 5, 1955 (HERE; pages 12-13)
  (16) June 8, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (17) July 6, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (18) July 13, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (19) July 20, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (20) July 27, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (21) August 3, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (22) August 10, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (23) August 17, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (24) August 24, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (25) August 31, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (26) September 7, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (27) September 14, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (28) September 21, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (29) September 28, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (30) October 5, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (31) October 12, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16; text smudged on 16)
  (32) October 19, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16) (see above)
  (33) October 26, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (34) November 30, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16)
  (35) December 28, 1957 (HERE; pages 15-16).
The Inspector also appeared in some of the Radio Fun annuals:
  (36) 1948 Annual (HERE; pages 35-40, 118-122, and 154)
  (37) 1951 Annual (HERE; pages 41-45).
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