by Peter Enfantino
Vol. 3/#2 August 1960
A Grave Matter! by Frank Kane *1/2 (8200 wds)
Ace PI (and chauvinist pig) Johnny Liddell investigates the murder of a beautiful young client ("A loosely-tied dressing gown gave ample evidence that the magnificence of her facade had needed no artificial assist") . What he turns up leads him to a ring of arsonists. Overlong (21 pages actually feels more like 2100) relic of the early 1960s, a time when the paperbacks teemed with well-hung PIs like Mike Shayne and Shell Scott. Liddell appeared in over two dozen novels and several short stories in magazines such as Manhunt and Pursuit. Many of the stories were collected in the paperbacks Johnny Liddell's Morgue and Frank Kane's Stacked Deck (the latter reprinted "A Grave Matter").
And Sin No More! by Jack Kavanaugh **1/2 (2300 wds)
Frankie falls for a hooker and murders her pimp so he can have her for his own.
Blood Bargain! by Pete McCann **1/2 (4400 wds)
When a young lawyer is blackmailed by his sexy mistress, he turns to the only man who can help him: an aging hit man. The real identity of the hit man is a nice touch, albeit one that should be guessed at fairly quickly.
Murder is Eternal! by Edward D. Hoch *** (5475 wds)
Our unnamed narrator accepts the job of assassinating "The Eternal Brother," a cult leader who's amassed a fortune for himself from a legion of gullible believers. The job goes awry and the gunman finds himself on the run. Frustrating or fascinating. Either adjective applies to "Murder is Eternal!" Frustrating in that Hoch leaves us high and dry on a few details (why is the Brother assassinated in the first place? Why is the Brother armed when he's gunned down?). Fascinating for just that reason. So many of these stories spend their last eight to ten paragraphs in boring expository that it almost becomes a given that Hoch will finish with: "You see, Bobby, the Eternal Brother was murdered because he had an affair with my Aunt Gertie and..." Thankfully, that never comes. Instead you get a fairly suspenseful narrative and neat prose such as: "Oh God, we live so many days, so many terrifying days, and then without warning, we always die." or "The bullets took him in the chest and face and he just stopped living all at once." Hoch is well-known for his such mystery series characters as Simon Ark, a supernatural sleuth; Ben Snow, a nineteenth-century gunman who wanders into impossible situations; super thief Nick Velvet; and Dr. Sam Hawthorne, a country doctor who solves miracle problems. Hoch also has the distinction of appearing in every issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine since 1973.
The Loving Corpse! by Leslie G. Sabo ** (2775 wds)
Larry Kendall, who's often fantasized about killing his shrewish wife, comes home to find someone's granted his wish. Unfortunately for Larry, the killer has left evidence pointing to Kendall as the murderer. Nice double twist ending elevates mediocre story.
Burn in Hell, Darling! by Bill Ryder * (5100 wds)
Completely predictable tale of a mobster's scorned moll, who's ready to testify against her ex, but the mobster's got other ideas. The police put her under protection. Do I have to tell you about the big twist at the end?
Punks Don't Kill! by Cliff Garner *1/2 (4500 wds)
Murdering punk Jackie lies dying in a gutter with a cop standing over him. The one thing Jackie's always longed to do is murder a cop. A 12-page story built around a delivery that could have been wrapped up on the second page.
Death Wears Black Lace! by Art Crockett ** (4450 wds)
Larry Striker makes off with $50,000 in mob money. Everyone knows that you can't get away with that kind of behavior, but Larry gives it the old college try. He holes up at an old girlfriend's place, only to be betrayed by the woman.
Hot Rod Honey! by Frank Hueppner ** (5050 wds)
(note: contents page lists this story as "Hot Red Honey!")
War vet Joe Wood sets out to revenge an old girlfriend's son, who's been savagely beaten by a gang of thugs. Joe Wood's an interesting character trapped in a humdrum story. Hot Rod Honey feels like a piece in a bigger story but, as far as I can tell, it's the only story to feature Wood.
The Triple Cross by Richard Deming ***1/2 (5700 wds)
PI Manville Moon is hired by wealthy socialite Henry Sheffield, who's convinced he's being stalked by mobster Eddie Dallas. A solid PI mystery with a compelling character in Manville Moon, who's a card-carrying member of the so-called "Defective Detectives," sleuths who suffer from some form of handicap but who still save the day. Moon maintains a sense of humor despite the absence of a right leg--at one point in the story, his client "checks his credentials" while gazing at Moon's artificial leg. Manville Moon was also the star of three novels by Deming: The Gallows in My Garden (1953), Tweak the Devil's Nose (1953), and Whistle Past the Graveyard (1954). Deming is perhaps best known by crime fans and pb collectors as the author of several Dragnet and The Mod Squad TV tie-ins.
Model of Murder by Christopher Mace * (4000 wds)
George Carlton, a frustrated artist, decides once and for all that he must kill his grossly overweight wife Bernice. It's not just that she's obese, but also because she's loaded and George's girlfriend is getting a bit impatient waiting for Bernice to have that hoped-for heart attack. A dopey story with the most outlandish wife-killing scheme ever devised in the history of mankind: to evoke the heart attack, George sculpts a severed arm, dips it in chocolate (to simulate blood--remember this is the black and white era) and hangs it in his wife's closet. Not the most reasonable method, but, hey, it works.
Daughter of Darkness by O. W. Reynolds ** (2400 wds)
Sick of being a kid stuck in a one horse town, working at a drive-in with old pervs grabbing at her tooties nightly, seventeen year-old Margaret hooks up with the stranger in town, who loves young lasses almost as much as he loves holding up filling stations. Margaret quickly shows the hood how much she hates men.
Comfort Her Corpse by Jim Barnett * (4000 wds)
Cain and Abel - WEB style. Author Barnett can't even keep the two brothers' names straight. Hands down the most ludicrous expository dialogue in, maybe, the whole issue.
Dumb Bull by Flip Lyons *1/2 (3200 wds)
Rosie Hauer, hooker, is with Jose Marchione, mobster, when Teddy Landon (our titular hero) breaks in to haul the crook away. In all the confusion, Teddy forgets to bring in Rosie (which is why he's a dumb bull) and she becomes a target of the rest of the Marchione brothers, who fear she'll rat them out to the cops.
You Can't Cheat Death by Earle Smith * (6000 wds)
George Smathers is blackmailed after he commits a hit and run.
The Smell of Fear by Buck Grimes ** (4100 wds)
No, not a Naked Gun story. Frank Cooney, prison guard, is taken hostage by Cass Rawn, bad dude, and a handful of other inmates. If the cons don't get their every wish they'll start plugging Frank and the other guards held. When Frank is given a message to deliver personally to the warden outside the prison, he must fight his urge to run to safety rather than save the other guards, even if one of those guards is his son.
Lust Isn't Funny by Fletcher Flora *** (2500 wds)
Mrs. Baldwin lives a life of hell with her philandering husband, a successful comedian who loves to booze and womanize. The pressure gets to be too much and the woman cracks under the strain. A nicely written just desserts story by the author of such well-respected crime novels as The Hot Shot (1956), The Brass Bed (1956), and Wake Up With a Stranger (1959), as well as over a hundred short stories published in the crime digests.
Mistress of Evil by Bill Ryder * (3800 wds)
Margery Coleman has a big time hang-up: she can't do the nasty with her husband unless he promises to beat and degrade her. Something's wrong with her husband's brain because instead of doing the sensible thing (beating and degrading her), he goes the sensitive '90s husband route and sends her to a psychiatrist. Once she gets there though, Margery seduces her shrink. Unfortunately (or fortunately, for Margery) her doctor turns out to be none other than Gustave Himmelman, aka Gerheardt Heinrich, medical officer of Dachau (still holding a torch for Adolf after all these years). Margery's offer of naked, blistered, whipped, and sweaty flesh triggers some long dormant desires in Little Hitler's brain and he shows her how to really have a good time. From beginning to end, "Mistress of Evil" is one long laugh-fest, enjoyable for its' soft corn and sado-masochist debauchery. When Himmelman asks Margery what makes her believe that she is a wanton hussy given to forbidden fruit, Margery whips a riding crop from her purse and dangles the weapon of love before the headshrinker:
Margery Coleman's shoulders heaved with the force of her sobbing. Her breasts rose and fell swiftly under the tight confines of her silk dress. Himmelman thought how like a sinner she looked on the final Judgement Day.
"Why can't I be normal like other women? Why must I have such horrible desires?" she wailed.
Back in the early '60s, publishers with names like Nightstand, Greenleaf, and Bee-Line served up tons of novel-length trash along the lines of "Mistress," usually introduced by some phony sex therapist attesting to the importance of the story to follow. Bill Ryder sold 26 stories to the Holyoke group, including 10 that were published in WEB.
As Hot as Ginger by Art Crockett ** (5200 wds)
Petey and his buddy Big Sal Cherry burglarize the apartment of Ginger Lansing, unaware that she is a policewoman. After she gets the upper hand on the two, Ginger ventilates Cherry and turns her attention to Petey. The thug manages to escape but becomes the subject of a massive manhunt. The real challenge for Petey then is to get the hell out of Dodge, which he attempts by changing his physical appearance. Routine crimer is highlighted by the humorous passages of Petey's transformation.
Hang by the Neck! by Stephen Marlowe ** (5725 wds)
PI Chester Drum is hired by Senator Hartsell to protect his son Blair from a hit man. If I didn't know otherwise, I'd swear that "Hang by the Neck!" was written by Michael Avallone. The dialog is peppered with such Avos as "I rolled over on my Labonza for him. Afterward Tony did some more bullskating." There's also a fairly risqué (for the day) exchange between Drum and a hooker:
"How do you like it?" she asked.
"With your mouth open," I said.
Her eyes got hard. "Now listen, mister," she said. "Maybe Rose should have told you I don't do anything like that." The hard look faded. "Unless," she said, rubbing her thumb on her extended fingers, "you can tempt me."
"I meant with your mouth open so you can talk."
Stephen Marlowe's Chester Drum was the star of 19 novels , with titles like
Danger is My Line,
Death is My Comrade, and
Double in Trouble (the latter written with Richard Prather). The novels, as opposed to "Hang by the Neck," have more of an espionage slant to them.
Marlowe was actually a pseudonym for Milton Lesser, who wrote tons of science fiction for the sf digests in the 1950s.
Evil is a Redhead! by Hal Ellson * 1/2 (3875 wds)
A beautiful redhead is running a unique scam: she works her way from boat to boat, first bedding then robbing each ship captain. Told with all the excitement of a police report.
Love Her to Death! by Gil Grayson ** (4300 wds)
Wally and Maria murder a Vegas high roller and make off with his loot. When Wally decides that he'd rather not halve the 200 big ones, Maria takes maters in her own hands.
Ghost Beat! by Ed Lacy *** (1600 wds)
Harry's a retired cop who's having a hard time just hanging around the house. Good little character study with no WEB violence whatsoever. Respected writer Ed Lacy wrote over 100 short stories for the crime digests and such well-respected novels as Sin in Their Blood (1952), Be Careful How You Live (1959), and Room to Swing (1957). Marcia Muller wrote of Room to Swing's PI Toussaint Moore: "he is the first convincing black detective in crime fiction."
Portrait in Passion! by Grover Brinkman ** (3900 wds)
Up in hillbilly country, cheesecake photographer Mort Murray stumbles onto one of the most beautiful chunks of flesh he's ever laid hands on. Faster than you can say "Ellie May Clampett," Mort's got the girl consenting to nudes and on the way to hot porno action. Then her brother comes home. A fairly amusing finale, but with one or two too many twists.
As Silent as Doom! by Arnold English **1/2 (3675 wds)
Manson is an inmate of a maximum security prison. The facility's warden allows no speaking, so most of the communication comes through sign language. When Manson secretly circulates a petition to the warden to abolish the silence rule, he's sold out by a fellow prisoner. Unique tale ends with a big "OUCH!!"
Lust Claims a Bride! by Bill Ryder * (3950 wds)
Due to some major mental scars, Babs doesn't want to make love to her husband. He's getting fed up and takes to stepping out. Enter the crazed sex maniac who has been roaming the neighborhood raping and beating beautiful women. Babs is next on his list. I won't be ruining anything for you by giving away the nasty twist at the climax: Hubby comes home to find Babs twirling from the ceiling, getting flogged by the maniac. Being a karate expert, he kills the rapist, but then is taken aback by how lovely his wife looks spinning like meat on a hook:
"I'm going to be a caveman. I'm going to beat the hell out of you. Then I'm going to take you. I've decided that's a better treatment for a frigid bitch like you than all the crap (Bab's psychiatrist) Palmer can conjure up to waste money"
More incredible than hubby's transformation from pent-up but understanding mate to masochistic animal is Babs' resignation to her fate:
"It might work," she told herself. "It's worth a try."
The Soft Arms of Murder! by Al James * (3200 wds)
Celeste tires of her millionaire husband and cooks up a scheme to off him, but in the usual dumb WEB broad style, she screws up big time.
Harness Bull! by Don Unatin ***1/2 (5925 wds)
Officer John Stewart reflects on his life as an honest cop and how that honesty has kept him at odds with the other cops in his precinct, all graft-takers. "Harness Bull" is almost like two short stories: one, the main plot, deals with Stewart's endeavors to put away a mob boss who has gotten away with murder. The more interesting piece of the story though is its question of whether Stewart should have gone along with his fellow bulls in their crimes (and live the good life overflowing with money, women, and friends) or stay the straight course and keep a clean soul (and suffer the scorn of colleagues, wife, and worse, his own self doubts). In the end, Stewart contemplates just that after he stumbles across a dead man with a load of cash. The author wisely ends his narrative right there before filling in the blanks and, instead, puts the question to the reader - "what would you do?"
Deadly Error by Frank Kane ** (6600 wds)
Johnny Liddell and his Girl Friday Muggsy Kiedel (Frank Kane's version of Lois Lane) run into the usual trouble when Liddell investigates the suspicious fires that have claimed five expensive homes covered in articles written by ace reporter Kiedel. A couple of antiques thieves are making off with priceless paintings and furniture and selling them for the big payday.
Death Watch by J. Simmons Scheb **1/2 (2100 wds)
Ever since his mother left him when he was four and screwed up his life completely, Frankie's wanted to kill a tall blonde. So when the opportunity presents itself, he springs into action.
So Young to Die by Ed Lacy *** (3900 wds)
15 year-old Joe Lancaster is duped into the boxing arena by a shyster fight manager, only to find that he has a natural punch, one that can level anyone it's aimed at. But with more punches, Joe becomes more punchy until he's pert near brain dead. The "boxer who's supposed to throw the fight but doesn't" storyline has been done to death in the movies, but Lacy manages to throw a sly twist into this one.
Requiem for a Heel by Jim Arthur *** (2800 wds)
Phil and Helen Mandler have been waiting ages for Uncle Jerry to croak and leave them his pot of gold. The couple has slaved years for the old man and they're owed that much. But the old goat is cantankerous and finally Phil loses patience and buts a bullet between Uncle Jerry's peepers. The only problem is that the sheriff doesn't believe Phil's "hunting accident" line and demands to be cut in on the booty. Then there's the funeral parlor director who's suspicious, and the mortician... Funny story would have made a great episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
The Night People by Edward D. Hoch **** (2900 wds)
A reporter is given an assignment: find a story, any big story to fill a front page. He sets out to find sensation and finds a prostitute resigned to life in the street. What the hell is this wonderful character study doing in the pages of WEB? This is the type of story you would have found in Collier's or Saturday Evening Post.
Murder's No Bargain by James Holding **** (4200 wds)
Assassin Manuel Andradas, aka The Photographer, is hired by the Italian mafia to take out Giovanni Corelli, a well-known and wealthy building contractor who has been using faulty materials for his structures. Believing he has been underpaid for his services, The Photographer approaches Corelli with a deal: Corelli pays the hitman and he'll smuggle him out of the country. When the contractor ponies up, the assassin kills him anyway (in a particularly nasty way too). James Holding wrote hundreds of short stories for the crime digests, including several more adventures of The Photographer for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. A humorous aspect of the stories is that the hitman always haggles over the price his bosses are willing to pay him, feeling he's always worth more.
Woe is For Wednesday by Hal Ellson ***1/2 (3800 wds)
Wild and wacky tale of an inmate named Flint, who begins his tour of his new home (an asylum) and meets all kinds of goofy occupants. "Woe is For Wednesday" almost defies description with its many twists and turns, some relevant, some not.
Dumb Rookie by Art Crockett **1/2 (2400 wds)
Johnny Grogan, rookie cop, falls into the clutches of Tom and Sandra, who need Johnny's uniform to pull off their warehouse heist. Peppered with very funny passages:
"The crazy gal stood on a ledge ten stories up and Joe had been assigned to get out on the ledge and drag her in. But she'd grabbed Joe's tie and told him that if he touched her she'd jump and take him with her. So he opened his pocketknife inside his pocket and then told her that her slip was showing. The crazy dame looked and Joe cut the tie."
Track of Fear by H. A. DeRosso *** (3900 wds)
Johnny returns from a day of hunting to find his dad murdered. The man responsible is looking for the jewelry he and Johnny's dad had stolen many years ago. But Johnny's a smart kid and soon he's got the killer in a trap. H. A. DeRosso wrote several dozen crime stories for such respected digests as Manhunt, Hunted, Pursuit, and Mike Shayne, but is best remembered for his gritty western novels, including End of the Gun and .44 (Bill Pronzini called the latter "a stark and suspenseful portrait of a professional gunfighter"). My first encounter with DeRosso was the story "Vigilante," which first appeared in the old pulp magazine, New Western, back in 1948, and was reprinted by Ed Gorman in his anthology of westerns by crime writers, The Fatal Frontier. DeRosso had a gift for showing the dark side of his characters, even those identifiable as "heroes".
Talk Me to Death by Seymour Shubin ** (1700 wds)
Mrs. Brown is an inconsiderate clod on the party line and Mr. Hammond, after exhausting his patience, decides it's time to clean her clock.
No Passion to Kill by C. B. Gilford **1/2 (5200 wds)
Clare Kusick has fallen in love with her supervisor, James Dysart. Problem is, Dysart doesn't love her, so Clare threatens to tell a tall tale of sexual harassment on the work room floor. No other avenue is available so Dysart kills her and mutilates the body to make it appear as if a maniac has struck. Fairly interesting story serves up something of a taboo at its conclusion (a taboo, at least, for its time): that the reason Dysart murders Clare is not because of a fear of losing his job, but because he's a latent homosexual and therefore hates all women. When the truth becomes clear to him, he commits suicide. Probably wouldn't appear in any of today's mystery magazines.
Blood Bargain by Henry Slesar ** (5200 wds)
Hitman William Derry is hired by mob kingpin Rupert Harney to kill embezzler Eddie Breech. Derry shows up for the kill but then discovers he has a heart when it turns out that Breech's wife is in a wheelchair. He concocts an elaborate plan to enable Breech and his wife to escape. Derry soon learns that being a nice guy ain't all it's cracked up to be. Not one of Slesar's best.
Angel of Evil by Robert Rossner **** (6600 wds)
Sandy, Mitch, David, and Kevin are staunch members of the He-Man-Women-Haters Club, living together, partying together, vacationing together, until Mitch falls for the lovely Leora. At first the other three men find her charming, but eventually the false charm erodes away and what stands before them is the angel of emasculation. The three men decide the best thing to do for Mitch is kill Leora. So they do. Rossner does a good job of showing both dark and bright sides to each character. These three men only want what's best for their fallen comrade and that justifies any actions they may take. The matter-of-fact conversation wherein the trio plans Loera's death evokes memories of the famous (and very similar) scene in Paddy Chayefsky's Network. The narrative also conjures up a well-told EC comic story (right down to the Shock SuspenStories ending) with the cherry on top being an art job by Jack Kamen. A highpoint in WEB history.
Requiem for a Junkie by James Stevens ***1/2 (4200 wds)
Max is a recovered junkie, only wanting to put his woes behind him when part of his past, in the form of his old junkie pal Herb, comes knocking at his door. Herb begs Max to put him up and help him kick his morphine addiction. Now married and a father, Max sees Herb as a mission, hoping to save the poor guy and save himself at the same time.
The lost ones. They call for the God they've never known. There are no atheists in foxholes. Outside the world the day they're born, frightened, they sell out for a ride to cloudland. Their God is a thirty five pound monkey perched lovingly between the shoulder blades. Heaven is a dirty room and a vein charged full of hope.
Unfortunately, Herb doesn't take well to rehab and grabs Max's daughter by the throat, threatening death if he goes without a fix. Max must think quickly. The final paragraphs are a little too much Happy Hollow, but the message of the story, though told a thousand times before, is told starkly, pulling no punches.
(Max) shed his tears for the weed-heads and the short-time-one dollar fix who would soon be taking the C train or the H train or the M express for the trip to oblivion. For the bug house, the big house, the death house.
And the tears won't help.
The Dumb Die Hard by Henry H. Guild * (4200 wds)
Danny Bolton was once bug man of The Ramblers gang until Bill Harper muscled his way in. Danny's got a plan to wrest away control and it involves the delicious (but brain-dead) Connie Rondel. A shortened title of "Dumb" might have been more appropriate.
To Serve the Dead by Edward D. Hoch ** (5600 wds)
Ben Ferrel goes to Puerto Rico with Senator Eaton as companion/bodyguard. When the Senator is brutally gunned down, it's up to Ben to find the killer. Though it's written well, "To Serve" just doesn't have much excitement. It's a short story that seems mighty long.
A Corpse Can Hate by Harlan Ellison *** (4800 wds)
Piddy Sandoz is only doing a Good Sam for a blind guy at a Salvation Army food kitchen when he recognizes the old man as the once-great prize fighter Kid Walders, now reduced to living on the street. Walders promises to pay Piddy the princely sum of five dollars if he'll help him find his old manager, Primo, who pushed the Kid into the ring one too many times, thereby rendering him damaged goods. A very funny road trip, so unlike the usual WEB fare, "Corpse" is a breath of fresh air amidst the misogyny, sado-masochism, two-timing dames, and sadistic wardens (not to mention the horrors that were to beheld starting with the next issue). Once the Kid finds Primo, a fight breaks out and the manager is forced to kill the man who was once his property. This means nothing to Piddy, who just wants his five bucks. Amazingly, Primo is outraged at the sight of the man rummaging through the dead fighter's pockets:
"Why you lousy little grave-robber, get your effing hands off that guy, you ain't fit to wear his dirty underwear, that was Kid Walders and he could of been a contender..."
But my favorite line comes from Piddy in a moment of fright and self-doubt:
I was frankly dropping my load.
Trail of Doom by Bill Engeler ** (2100 wds)
Carl Steadman is obsessed with the West but his money-loving wife sure isn't. When they visit an old ghost town, Carl Finally hears one too many shriek-fest from his lovely wife and exacts some good old-fashioned Western justice on her.
You Don't Have to Kill by Grover Brinkman ** (2600 wds)
Silas Greentree has big bucks stashed on his ranch and three conmen are up to killing him and taking possession of the loot. Brinkman's best writing attribute was his way with a title. He wrote dozens of stories for Offbeat, Pursuit, Two-Fisted, and Hunted with such wonderful titles as: "Smooth Siren of Death", "Soft Arms-Bloody Hands", "Her Corpse Needs Loving", "Death's Errand Boy", and my favorite of Brinkman's: "Hell's Lovely Gravedigger."
Fear Stacks the Deck by William H. Duhart ***1/2 (5600 wds)
Good cardtable yarn about two pre-teens who take on an old card shark and teach him some of his own tricks. No violence, two thrusting breasts, lots of early 60s vulgar lingo. Should have been included in a one-shot called Web Gambling Stories.
References
Clute, John and Peter Nicholls. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
St. Martin's, 1993.
Cook, Michael L. Monthly Murders. Greenwood, 1982.
Cook, Michael L. Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Magazines. Greenwood, 1983.
Hubin, Allen J. The Bibliography of Crime Fiction 1749-1975. Publisher's Inc.,1979.
Pronzini, Bill and Marcia Muller. 1001 Midnights. Arbor House, 1986.
Tymn, Marshall and Mike Ashley. Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines. Greenwood, 1985.
Some delectable quotes from the 14 issues of Web Detective Stories:
"Sorry," I said. "I'm not your type."
"I'm everybody's type." She answered, moving closer through the mist.
"Know any place where I can get a little action?"
"My apartment."
"Different kind. Cards, dice, that action."
"You a queer?" she asked, watching me more closely.
"I hope not."
-from "The Night People"
He hit the girl so hard in the gut the sound was enough to make you sick. Squishy, like when you squeeze a sponge. I thought she'd upchuck everything she'd ate for a week.
-from "As Hot as Ginger"
"But Captain, how long does a gink stay with a hustler? Marchione could've pulled out at any minute."
-from "Comfort Her Corpse"
He walked off down the street, jamming the stockings into his pocket as he went. In his pocket, his fingers released the stockings and fastened on something else-something as hard and male as the stockings had been female.
- from "Short Cut to Hell"
The man at the door was expressionless. The gun in his hand belched six times. Ben's body twisted grotesquely and fell to the floor.
The phone still clung to his hand.
But it was dead.
And so was Ben...
-from "Gang Girl's Revenge"
Here was a girl who knew what her sisters had forgotten!
- from "Life is Worth Dying"
Afterwards, back in her own apartment, she put his eyes in the box with the others.
- from "Look Death in the Eye"
I told her who I was and what I wanted. I also gave her a smile, half power. What I could see above the typewriter looked usable. It couldn't be all hers. But, what the hell, I've got padded shoulders in my jacket, so we're even.
- from "Just Kill Him, Darling"
From a distance he heard a woman laughing wildly, then a second explosion and the world fell on his head.
-from "Hell's Deadly Lover"
What happened next to Marc is something that has defied understanding ever since man left the caves.
-from "Don't Run From Evil"
Her eyes took in my clothes, looking for a bulge.
-from "The Devil is a Darling"
"Oh Arnie," she murmured as she wriggled out of her panties.
-from "Penny Costs Plenty"
One of my favorite adaptations of a Fredric Brown short story is "The Dangerous People," which was broadcast as the last episode of season two of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on June 23, 1957.
