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The Noir Mystery MEGAPACK ™: 25 Modern and Classic Mysteries

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by Joseph J. Millard




  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  KIDNAPPED EVIDENCE, by Joseph J. Millard

  A RAT MUST CHEW, by Gary Lovisi

  A RIDE FOR MR. TWO-BY-FOUR, by Bruno Fischer

  BEDHEAD FRED’S, REDHEAD’S DEAD, by Jack Halliday

  GENERALISSIMO FLATFOOT, by Walt Sheldon

  DOOM BOOM, by Glenn Low

  DEAD WRONG, by Lucille Cali

  GRIM REAPER’S HANDICAP, by Fergus Truslow

  SUICIDE SOUVENIR, by Dennis Layton

  HAIR OF THE CAT, by Robert Turner

  HERO, by John L. French

  BLACKMAIL IN THE RED, by Chester Whitehorn

  MEET MY MUMMY, by Elroy Arno

  SATAN TURNS THE TIMETABLES, by David M. Norman

  I DIE DAILY, by H. Wolff Salz

  MAHATMA OF MAYHEM, by Robert Leslie Bellem

  ROOM 801, by Jack Halliday

  NO LIVING WITNESS, by Emile C. Tepperman

  TARAWA PAYOFF, by H. Wolff Salz

  WRONG NUMBER, by John L. Benton

  MYSTERY OF THE MEXICALI MURDERS, by J. Lane Linklater

  TIME TO KILL, by Leo Hoban

  RAINY TUESDAY, by Jack Halliday

  MURDER THROWS A RINGER, by Carl G. Hodges

  LOVE KILLS, by Gary Lovisi

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Noir Mystery MEGAPACK™ is copyright © 2015 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art © 2015 by Danomyte / Fotolia. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  “Kidnapped Evidence,” by Joseph J. Millard, was originally published in Thrilling Mystery, March 1942. Copyright © Popular Library, Inc. Copyright renewed 1969. (Renewal # R473352.) Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.

  “A Rat Must Chew,” by Gary Lovisi, originally appeared in Hardboiled #23. Copyright © 1997 by Gary Lovisi. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “A Ride for Mr. Two-By-Four,” by Bruno Fischer, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, Sept. 1943.

  “Bedhead Fred’s, Redhead’s Dead,” by Jack Halliday, is copyright © 2015 by Jack Halliday. It appears here for the first time.

  “Generalissimo Flatfoot,” by Walt Sheldon, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, Jan. 1943.

  “Doom Boom,” by Glenn Low, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, Nov. 1946.

  “Dead Wrong,” by Lucille Cali, was originally published in Hardboiled, January, 2009. Copyright © 2009 by Lucille Cali. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Grim Reaper’s Handicap,” by Fergus Truslow, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, April 1945.

  “Suicide Souvenir,” by Dennis Layton, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, Jan. 1943.

  “Hair of the Cat,” by Robert Turner, was originally published in Crack Detective, June 1947.

  “Hero,” by John L. French, was originally published in Hardboiled, January 2004. Copyright © 2004 by John L. French. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Blackmail in the Red,” by Chester Whitehorn, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, Feb. 1945.

  “Meet My Mummy,” by Elroy Arno, was originally published in Fantastic Adventures, May 1947.

  “Satan Turns the Timetables,” by David M. Norman, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, Sept. 1943.

  “I Die Daily,” by H. Wolff Salz, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, April 1945.

  “Mahatma of Mayhem,” by Robert Leslie Bellem, was originally published in Thrilling Detective Magazine, April 1948.

  “Room 801,” by Jack Halliday, is copyright © 2015 by Jack Halliday. It appears here for the first time.

  “No Living Witness,” by Emile C. Tepperman, was originally published in Secret Agent X, June 1934.

  “Tarawa Payoff,” by H. Wolff Salz, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, June 1945.

  “Wrong Number,” by John L. Benton, was originally published in Thrilling Detective, Feb. 1948.

  “Mystery of the Mexicali Murders,” by J. Lane Linklater, was originally published in 10-Story Detective, Jan. 1941.

  “Time to Kill,” by Leo Hoban, was originally published in Crack Detective, Jan. 1945.

  “Rainy Tuesday,” by Jack Halliday, is copyright © 2015 by Jack Halliday. It appears here for the first time.

  “Murder Throws a Ringer,” by Carl G. Hodges, was originally published in Thrilling Detective, Dec. 1947.

  “Love Kills,” by Gary Lovisi, was originally published in Suspense Magazine, Feb. 2011. Copyright © 2011 by Gary Lovisi. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  I’ve been a huge fan of noir and hardboiled mysteries since my first encounter with Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon at about age 11. Little did I know—growing up in the 1960s and 1970s—that the whole mystery tradition embodied by that film actually grew out of the pulp magazines of the 1930s and 1940s. Not only the stars of mystery, like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, but many other pulp writers contributed their own takes on the noir side of crime.

  I’m pleased to present this collection of 25 modern and classic noir and noir-inspired tales by writers I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

  Happy reading!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the MEGAPACK™ ebook series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at wildsidepress@yahoo.com or use the message boards above.

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  MYSTERY

  The Lady Sleuth MEGAPACK™

  The First Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Second Mystery MEGAPACK™

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p; The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The Bulldog Drummond MEGAPACK™*

  The Carolyn Wells Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Charlie Chan MEGAPACK™*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Detective MEGAPACK™

  The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Story MEGAPACK™

  The Father Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Girl Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Second Girl Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Mary Fortune Mystery & Suspense MEGAPACK™

  The First R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Jacques Futrelle MEGAPACK™

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Noir Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Penny Parker MEGAPACK™

  The Philo Vance MEGAPACK™*

  The Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Raffles MEGAPACK™

  The Red Finger Pulp Mystery MEGAPACK™, by Arthur Leo Zagat*

  The Sherlock Holmes MEGAPACK™

  The Victorian Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Victorian Rogues MEGAPACK™

  The Wilkie Collins MEGAPACK™

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure MEGAPACK™

  The Baseball MEGAPACK™

  The Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Second Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Third Cat Story MEGAPACK™

  The Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Second Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Dickens Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Classic American Short Stories MEGAPACK™, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor MEGAPACK™

  The Dog Story MEGAPACK™

  The Doll Story MEGAPACK™

  The Horse Story MEGAPACK™

  The Military MEGAPACK™

  The Pirate Story MEGAPACK™

  The Sea-Story MEGAPACK™

  The Thanksgiving MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The Walt Whitman MEGAPACK™

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION

  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey (vol. 1)

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  7. H.B. Fyfe

  8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)

  9. Dave Dryfoos

  10. Carl Jacobi

  11. F.L. Wallace

  12. David H. Keller, M.D.

  13. Lester del Rey (vol. 2)

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The First Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Third Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Fourth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Fifth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Sixth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Seventh Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Eighth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Ninth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™

  The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™

  The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™

  The First Theodore Cogswell MEGAPACK™

  The Ray Cummings MEGAPACK™

  The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK™

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  The Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Second Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™

  The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK™

  The Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Second Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Jack London Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Lost Worlds MEGAPACK™

  The Mad Scientist MEGAPACK™

  The Martian MEGAPACK™

  The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

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  The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™

  The Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Mack Reynolds MEGAPACK™

  The Milton A. Rothman Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Science-Fantasy MEGAPACK™

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  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Steampunk MEGAPACK™

  The Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Second Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  The Zanthodon MEGAPACK™, by Lin Carter

  HORROR

  The 2014 Halloween Horrors MEGAPACK™

  The Horror MEGAPACK™

  The Second Horror MEGAPACK™

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

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  The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

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  The Second Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

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  The Erckmann-Chatrian MEGAPACK™

  The Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Second Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Third Ghost Story MEGAPACK™

  The Haunts & Horrors MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  The M.R. James MEGAPACK™

  The Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Second Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Third Macabre MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Machen MEGAPACK™**

  The Mummy MEGAPACK™

  The Occult Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Uncanny Stories MEGAPACK™**

  The Vampire MEGAPACK™

  The Weird Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Werewolf MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  WESTERN

  The Andy Adams Western MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower MEGAPACK™

  The Max Brand MEGAPACK™

  The Buffalo Bill MEGAPACK™

  The Cowboy MEGAPACK™

  The Zane Grey MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Alden Seltzer MEGAPACK™

  The Western MEGAPACK™

  The Second Western MEGAPACK™

  The Third Western MEGAPACK™

  The Western Romance MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Bobbsey Twins MEGAPACK™

  The Boys’ Adventure MEGAPACK™

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout MEGAPACK™

  The Dare Boys MEGAPACK™

  The Doll Story MEGAPACK™

  The G.A. Henty MEGAPACK™

  The Girl Detectives MEGAPACK™

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Penny
Parker MEGAPACK™

  The Pinocchio MEGAPACK™

  The Rover Boys MEGAPACK™

  The Second Carolyn Wells MEGAPACK™

  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Swift MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  SINGLE-AUTHOR

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Henri Bergson MEGAPACK™

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  The Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower MEGAPACK™

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  The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™

  The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Second Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Wilkie Collins MEGAPACK™

  The Stephen Crane MEGAPACK™

  The Ray Cummings MEGAPACK™

  The Guy de Maupassant MEGAPACK™

  The Philip K. Dick MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Dickens Christmas MEGAPACK™

  The Frederick Douglass MEGAPACK™

  The Erckmann-Chatrian MEGAPACK™

  The F. Scott Fitzgerald MEGAPACK™

  The Mary Fortune Mystery & Suspense MEGAPACK™

  The First R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™

  The Second R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman MEGAPACK™*

  The Jacques Futrelle MEGAPACK™

  The Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Second Randall Garrett MEGAPACK™

  The Anna Katharine Green MEGAPACK™

  The Zane Grey MEGAPACK™

  The Edmond Hamilton MEGAPACK™

  The Dashiell Hammett MEGAPACK™

  The C.J. Henderson MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  The M.R. James MEGAPACK™

  The Selma Lagerlof MEGAPACK™

  The Harold Lamb MEGAPACK™

  The Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Second Murray Leinster MEGAPACK™***

  The Jonas Lie MEGAPACK™

 

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