Crime Suspenstories #4

In "Touch and Go!" from Crime Suspenstories #4 (1983), Acton’s meticulous attempt to erase every trace of his presence at Arthur Huxley’s home backfires in ways he never anticipated. As he obsessively removes evidence, the very act of erasing becomes his undoing—each step taken to cover his tracks leaves behind something far more damning.

In "One for the Money...", Jo finds herself adrift after a devastating betrayal, drawn back to the city where her past life began. When she reconnects with an elderly woman over lunch, a surprising offer to become her live-in companion sets her on a new, uncertain path—only to face the simmering resentment of the woman’s son, Eric, whose own history of heartbreak has shaped a dangerous need for control.

In "Fired!", Patricia, a lonely cattle ranch owner, finds unexpected company in Roy Willis, the ranch hand she promotes to foreman. When Roy grows restless and abandons her for a woman in town, Pat decides to make him remember her—permanently.

In "...Two for the Show!", a meticulously planned murder unravels when a sharp-eyed detective senses something off about Harry’s alibi. With the weight of a hidden corpse in a trunk and a desperate train ride to escape justice, Harry’s confidence shatters when a second, identical body is discovered—leaving him trapped in a nightmare he never saw coming.

When Harry pleads with his old friend and private investigator Gregg Saunders to find his missing wife Edith, the trail leads through a cryptic clue in a murder mystery novel titled *Fall Guy for Murder*. As Gregg digs deeper, the lines between fiction and danger blur—only to reveal that the real mystery might be closer than he thought.

In "Juice for the Record!" from Crime Suspenstories #4 (1983), old Pop Martin faces a desperate choice when his son Richie gets tangled in a dangerous underworld. After Richie is shot by a crook he allegedly double-crossed, Pop makes a chilling decision to record a confession that implicates himself in the killing—just to protect his son.

In "Frozen Assets!", Mort and Helen scheme to secure a fortune by faking the death of Helen’s husband, hiding him in a freezer to ensure the inheritance passes through. But their plan to stay hidden—and rich—quickly turns icy, as the cold storage becomes a trap of its own making.

In "From Here to Insanity," a killer hiding in plain sight takes refuge in an elderly woman’s apartment to evade capture, unaware that his new neighbor might be far more dangerous than he ever imagined. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this chilling seven-page tale turns the tables on a maniac with a twist that defies expectation.

In "The Killer," Jonathan, a man haunted by his father’s legacy, struggles with the weight of his secret profession as a hangman—something he’s kept from his wife, Elsie, even as their marriage unravels. When Elsie is arrested for killing a man she was involved with, Jonathan is forced to confront the truth: his role in her fate. The story unfolds with quiet dread, probing the cost of silence and the twisted bonds that tie a man to his past.

In "Wined-Up!", Charles, confined to a wheelchair after a devastating accident, is stunned to learn the truth: his wife Laura orchestrated the crash to end their marriage. As she prepares to push him into the lake, a deadly twist unfolds—Charles had secretly drugged her drink, and when she swims out, cramps seize her, leaving her helpless in the water. The story’s final revelation shatters everything, exposing that Charles was never paralyzed at all.

In "Murder May Boomerang," a father and son whose bond is as unshakable as their shared life in the woods are torn apart when a fugitive invades their cabin, stealing clothes and leaving the father near death. As the son races to find the man who wronged his father, a desperate search leads to a shocking moment of violence—only to reveal a terrible mistake that leaves him questioning everything he thought he knew.

In "About Phase," Wilbur’s chilling fascination with murder details from his newspaper column takes a dark turn when his wife’s sudden outburst forces him to confront the truth behind his own crimes. As he plans to frame a werewolf for his latest act, the cold logic of astronomy reveals a fatal flaw in his alibi—on the night of the murder, the moon was not full, but in eclipse.

In "Fire Trap!", a wealthy wife’s deadly scheme to eliminate her husband takes a twisted turn when her lover’s plan backfires. Georgia, married for money, conspires with her lover Bill to trap her husband Martin in a stable with a fierce new horse—only for Martin to outwit them both. As secrets buried in the estate come to light, the detectives uncover a body wrapped in a scarf, leading to a shocking arrest.

In "The Welchers," two desperate cousins plot to kill their wealthy uncle to settle a gangster’s debt, but their plan backfires when they botch the attempt by tampering with his insulin. Now trapped in cement shoes, they face a grim fate as the mobsters they double-crossed send them off the pier—no second chances, just the cold water below.

In "Double Jeopardy," a jealous Hollywood writer conspires with his sister Nan to expose her lover Eddie as a fraud—only to stumble upon a chilling truth when they catch him in the act of murdering a woman who was pretending to be Nan. The moment turns from a trap into a nightmare as the brother realizes the danger his sister is in, and the line between deception and deadly intent blurs.

In "Plane Murder," aerial daredevil Phil attempts one final stunt—parachuting from a plane while handcuffed—knowing Marty is dead and no longer a threat to his wife. But when Milly learns Phil sabotaged Marty’s plane, she takes matters into her own hands, setting a deadly trap by switching the key he’ll need to free himself.

In "Mother's Day," writer and artist unknown, the fragile bond between brothers Fred and Harold unravels under the weight of jealousy and betrayal. When Fred takes the fall for Harold’s crime, only to return home after his brother’s death to confront the truth, the family’s shattered past erupts in a moment of devastating silence.

In "In the Groove," a desperate radio announcer tries to orchestrate the perfect murder during a live broadcast, counting on a pre-recorded message to cover his tracks—until the record begins to play a melody that wasn’t supposed to be heard. Written by a master of noir tension and illustrated with sharp, shadow-drenched precision, this chilling six-page tale unfolds in the flickering glow of a radio station’s control booth, where every note carries a threat.

In "Understudies!", Gail and Jim—married to others but deeply in love—plot a chilling double murder, planning to dispose of their spouses in quicklime and cover their tracks with staged photos in disguise. But as their plan unfolds, each begins to fear the other is becoming eerily like the very people they’ve killed.

In "Blood Brothers," Alex shows up unannounced at his brother’s beach house, claiming to want to reconnect—but his real plan is to kill him, carefully setting up alibis to cover his tracks. When he finally does the deed, he flees to the ocean to wash the blood off, unaware that the water teems with sharks.

In *In Each and Every Package*, Norman and Sally’s plan to escape together to New York hinges on a chilling deception: Sally has transformed herself to look and sound exactly like Norman’s wife, Bertha. After the murder is committed and they flee, the couple enjoys a brief victory—winning money on a radio game show—only to be shaken by a terrifying realization: a film crew is returning to Ohio to dig up the treasure… right where Bertha was buried.

In "Monotony," a weary bank clerk named Mr. Gans finds himself unexpectedly entrusted with delivering cash to the reclusive, irritable Mrs. Courtright. As their odd routine unfolds, an unexpected bond forms—until Gans’s growing unease over his own secret thefts spirals into a desperate, irreversible act.

In "Cinder Block," Conrad and his lover Pat orchestrate a deadly plan to murder her wealthy husband by drugging him and setting his apartment ablaze, counting on his smoking habit to ignite the fire. After the deed is done, Conrad leaves, instructing Pat to wait for the fire department—sure that her staged rescue will seal their alibi. But when the emergency crews are delayed, Pat is trapped in the inferno, and her desperate leap to safety becomes a fatal fall that kills both her and Conrad.