COPYRIGHT INFO
The Second Mystery Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC. All rights reserved.
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“Funny Stuff,” by Ron Goulart, originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November 1996. Copyright © 1996 by Ron Goulart. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Pit on the Road to Hell, by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, July/August 2006.
“What Is Courage?” by Mack Reynolds originally appeared in Esquire, December 1946. Copyright © 1946 by Esquire, copyright renewed 1974. This version of the story has been edited for republication by John Betancourt. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.
“Just the Facts” is original to this collection. Copyright © 2014 by Meg Opperman. Published by permission of the author.
“Ten Grains of Sand,” by Christopher B. Booth, originally appeared in Detective Story Magazine.
“More Allisons Than I Know What To Do With,” by Michael Hemmingson, originally appeared in The Chronotope and Other Speculative Fictions, by Michael Hemmingson. Copyright © 2013 by Michael Hemmingson. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Grim Reaper’s Handicap,” by Fergus Truslow, originally appeared in 10-Story Detective, April 1945. No record of copyright renewal.
“Cash,” by Arlette Lees, originally appeared in Hardboiled #35, Spring 2006. Copyright © 2006 by Arlette Lees. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Seas of Misunderstanding,” by Ray Cummings, originally appeared in
“Hocus Pocus Homicide,” by Gene D. Robinson, originally appeared in 10-Story Detective, April 1945.
“The Right Betrayal,” by John L. French, was originally published as “Turquoise” (Double Danger Tales 25, February 1999) and “Turquoise Betrayal” (Double Danger Tales 27, April 1999, Fading Shadows Publications). Copyright © 1999 by John L. French. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Sending of Dana Da,” by Rudyard Kipling, is taken from The Lock and Key Library: Classic Mystery And Detective Stories, Modern English.
“Phantom Getaway,” by Leon Mearson, originally appeared in Secret Agent X, March 1939.
“The Murder of Silas Cord,” by Harold F. Sorensen, originally appeared in 10-Story Detective, January 1942.
“The Dead Woman,” by Dr. David H. Keller, originally appeared in Fantasy Magazine, April 1934.
“Hook, Line, and Sucker!” by Robert Turner, originally appeared in Famous Detective, November 1952.
“The Judgment of the Gods” first appeared as “The Judgement of the Gods,” in The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits, Third New Collection, edited by Mike Ashley (London: Robinson, 2005), and simultaneously as “The Judgment of the Gods” in The Mammoth Book of New Historical Whodunits, edited by Mike Ashley (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005); and was reprinted, with minor changes, in The Judgment of the Gods and Other Verdicts of History, by Robert Reginald (Borgo Press, 2010). Copyright © 2005, 2010, 2013 by Robert Reginald. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Will for a Kill,” by Emil Petaja, originally appeared in 10 Story Detective, November 1946.
“Bodyguard,” by James C. Glass, originally appeared in A Matter of Crime. Copyright © 1988 by James C. Glass. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Masked Alibi,” by John Gregory, originally appeared in 10 Story Detective, January 1931. No record of copyright renewal.
“Dr. Watson’s Wedding Present,” by J. Alston Cooper, originally appeared in The Bookman, February 1903.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
I became a mystery writer almost by accident—I was attending a writer’s conference (as a speaker, talking about Wildside Press and careers in writing). Although I had published some 40 books and more than 100 short stories, all but one of them had been in the science fiction/fantasy/horror genre.
That’s when I met her…Linda Landrigan, the editor of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (also attending as a speaker). We ended up at the same banquet table, where, of course, every mystery writer and would-be mystery writer at the conference also sat.
For after-dinner entertainment, the conference staged a Murder Mystery Theatre.
Guess what? I was the only one at our table who solved it correctly.
Then, at the end of the conference, the conference raffled off a selection of gift baskets. Every speaker received a complementary ticket. And I won one of the baskets. The Mystery Writer’s Basket, to be precise, complete with a half-dozen how-to-write-mysteries books, a pair of handcuffs, a vial labelled “poison” (I haven’t dared open it!), and similar murderous items.
I figured the Fates were trying to tell me something. So I went home, wrote 3 mysteries in the space of 3 weeks, and mailed them all off to my Linda Landrigan.
It took a year, but she bought all three stories…and so my career as an occasional mystery writer was launched. I’m including one of those original 3 stories, “Pit on the Road to Hell,” in this volume. (I’m particularly proud of it.) Peter “Pit-Bull” Geller—Pit to his friends—has gone on to star in 6 stories, one of which won the Black Orchid Novella Award. (Five of them are collected in Pit and the Pendulum. The sixth is forthcoming in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine as I write this.)
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I have very eclectic tastes. I like pulp fiction, but I also like contemporary work. One of the great things I’ve found about mysteries is that they really don’t age; stories written in the 1920s become period pieces (unlike, say, science fiction from the 1920s…or 1930s…or 1940s which…to put it kindly!…often creaks with age.)
In selecting the stories for this volume, I looked primarily for the sort of tales I enjoy reading. I tried to find less familiar stories, or stories that have never been reprinted before.
I turned up a brief Sherlockian tale from 1903 (“Dr. Watson’s Wedding Present,” by J. Alston Cooper) which is fun if you’re a big Holmes fan. And I’m delighted to showcase a few newer writers, like noir writer Arlette Lees and newcomer Meg Opperman. In fact,
Meg’s “Just the Facts” is original to this collection—her third sale (the other sales being to Weird Tales and a regional anthology). I think you’ll be hearing a lot from her in years ahead. We don’t normally run original stories in the Megapacks, but this one is a worthy exception.
And, of course, there are fun stories by great writers like Ron Goulart, Mack Reynolds (his first published story—before he became famous as a science fiction author), Michael Hemmingson, Ray Cummings, and many more.
Enjoy!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press
ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (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 Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, 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!)
A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS
The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science f
iction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack 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 SERIES
MYSTERY
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Charlie Chan Megapack*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack
The Detective Megapack
The Father Brown Megapack
The Girl Detective Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack
The First Mystery Megapack
The Second Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles Megapack
The Sherlock Holmes Megapack
The Victorian Mystery 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 Third Cat Story Megapack
The Christmas Megapack
The Second 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 Sea-Story Megapack
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Frances Hodgson Burnett Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Dragon Megapack
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 Martian Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Science-Fantasy Megapack
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 Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
HORROR
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The Ghost Story Megapack
The Second Ghost Story Megapack
The Third Ghost Story Megapack
The Haunts & Horrors Megapack
The Horror Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Macabre Megapack
The Second Macabre Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Mummy Megapack
The Occult Detective Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Vampire Megapack
The Weird Fiction Megapack
The Werewolf Megapack
WESTERNS
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The Buffalo Bill Megapack
The Cowboy Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
YOUNG ADULT
The Boys’ Adventure Megapack
The Frances Hodgson Burnett 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 Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
The Frances Hodgson Burnett Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack
The Second 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 M.R. James Megapack
The Selma Lagerlof Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Jonas Lie Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack
The Talbot Mundy Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Rafael Sabatini Megapack
The Saki Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Bram Stoker Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
* Not available in the United States
** Not available in the European Union
***Out of print.
OTHER CO
LLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY
The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)
The Wildside Book of Fantasy
The Wildside Book of Science Fiction
Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries
FUNNY STUFF, by Ron Goulart
Somebody else had died.
Seemed like lately we were discussing the obituary of one of our colleagues or contemporaries at just about every one of our weekly lunches. On this particular autumn afternoon, Zarley was the first one to bring up the death of Ben Segal.
“I absolutely loved Lucky Duck,” he added, bouncing enthusiastically in his chair. “I don’t mean the animated cartoons, which were okay, but the funny books. Segal wrote and drew most of those, and he was a blooming genius, just like Walt Kelly and Carl Barks.”
“The Times obit,” said Heinz, “said that Segal died a multi-millionaire. It was good to see that Lon Destry Productions didn’t screw him out of every penny.”
“He was a partner in Destry, wasn’t he?” I said.
“Segal owned forty percent of the whole damn studio,” said Mert Younger. He’s semi-retired and is usually the oldest member at our Monday gathering of cartoonists at the Inkwell restaurant in Westport.
Today, though, he’d brought a friend of his. Fellow of seventy or so named Mac Myers. Myers was lean and sunburned and had the sort of bright blue eyes Sinatra is supposed to.
“Fifty percent,” Myers corrected.
“Mac used to work at Destry,” explained Mert.
“Doing what?” Zarley wanted to know.
“After Ben Segal became a vice president,” answered Myers, “I took over the comic book and comic strip department.”
“Then you must’ve had a hand in Maxie Mouse Comics and Veronica Vulture and Bix Bunnyrabbit and all.”
“I did,” admitted Myers with a quiet smile.
Zarley said, “What I’d like to—”
“What I’d like to know,” cut in Heinz, “is how Segal, who started as a bullpen cartoonist, ended up owning half the Destry empire.”
Ty Banner hadn’t said anything for a while. He’d been watching the Saugatuck River out the window and poking at the olive in his second martini. “I could tell you about that,” he said to us, glancing over at Myers. “Destry’s been dead for years, and now that Segal’s gone, too, I guess there’s no reason why not.”