"We Got an Open an' Shut Case Against Him"

"The Monkey Wrench Murder."

By Richard Howells Watkins (1895-1980; FictionMags, 2 pages HERE).

First appearance: Esquire, August 1944.

Short short short story (5 pages).

Online at Archive.org starting (HERE; text pages 28-29) and finishing (HERE; text pages 134-136).

   "The wrench had Chris's name burned on the handle."

For a chubby guy, our prime suspect in the murder of a sightseeing boat owner can be 

very slippery indeed. An ill-advised phone call, though, could signal the end of his few 

brief moments of freedom—and his life . . .

Main characters:

~ Fred Pieta:

  "Paul Novack's body had been found by Fred Pieta, Cuban deck hand and helmsman for Novack."

~ Matt Bond:

  ". . . the boatyard owner, had helped Sheriff Ben Dunn in dragging around the Seminole for clues."

~ Deputy Sam Robbins:

  "I was hoping Ben Dunn might take me on again."

~ Mary Tucker:

  "'There's been a murder.' Her words poured out. 'How can they think Chris killed a man, Sam?'"

~ Sheriff Ben Dunn:

  "Don't start that on me. Let the judge worry. You go get him. No funny business."

~ Deputy Tom Chester:

  ". . . frowned. 'I'd take escaping right unkindly,' he warned and touched his .38."

~ Chris Aeland:

  ". . . didn't look poured into his pants and shirt; he looked as if his clothes had been shrunk onto him by some new process."

Resources:

- FictionMags's thumbnail about Richard Howells Watkins: "Journalist, originally from New York; also wrote mystery novels. Lived in Riverside, Connecticut." Howells's short story writing career started in a 1919 issue of Detective Story Magazine and ran all the way to 1959. In addition to Sam Robbins and the sheriff's department of Colusa County, his other series characters were Outrageous O'Smith (Argosy, 1933-34), Silver Skull (DFW, 1933-34), and Patrolman Pete Slocum (DFW, 1934).

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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