Crime Suspenstories #5

Victor Gattling walks into the precinct with the corpse of his best friend and insists he’s the one who’s been murdered—by the very man he’s just delivered. The twist isn’t in the body, but in who’s really telling the truth.

In "Standing Room Only," sibling rivalry turns deadly when Carl, haunted by a past of shared secrets and cross-dressing pranks, murders his sister Cynthia and her wealthy husband, then assumes her identity to claim her inheritance. As he tries to maintain the deception, his flimsy charade begins to unravel—especially when he's forced to flirt with Peter's lawyer, a move that could expose him at any moment.

In "Return Blow," Alma and Luke scheme to secure a $250,000 inheritance by ingratiating themselves with Alma’s formidable boss lady at the lavish Sanford Manion, but Luke’s impatience leads him to take drastic measures—meant to speed things along—that backfire in a way he never saw coming. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, the story unfolds with tense, sharp-edged suspense, where ambition and greed collide in a single, explosive moment.

In "Last Resort," Jerry’s resentment toward the wealthy Mona drives him to seek escape in Jane, a young waitress who offers him a fleeting distraction. When he kills Mona and dumps her body in the crystal-clear waters of Silver Springs, the act of hiding her becomes a trap of its own—because even the clearest water can’t conceal the truth.

In "Double-Crossed," a traveling salesman named David Volney finds himself caught in a terrifying twist of fate when the entire town mistakes him for the wealthy Edwin Jordon—right down to the last detail. As David grapples with the eerie coincidence, he’s drawn into a web of deception when Jordon’s estranged wife begins to fall for him, fueling a dangerous plan to eliminate the real man and take his life. But as the truth begins to unravel, David’s scheme collides with a secret Jordon kept—and the consequences are far more deadly than he ever imagined.

In the icy grip of Quebec, Bart and Lita’s secret affair spirals into murder when they kill Lita’s wealthy husband, Lloyd, burying his body beneath frozen ice with the hope the spring thaw will carry him away. Now married to the widow Rita, Bart is tormented by visions of Lloyd’s decaying face trapped in ice, driving him to the edge. When Lita takes him on an ocean cruise to ease his mind, their ship is suddenly crushed by a massive iceberg—revealing the very face he’s been haunted by, staring back from within the frozen depths.

In "Food for Thought," a desperate miner, desperate to escape suspicion after murdering the paymaster and stealing thousands, fakes a gas leak to drive his coworkers away. Trapped underground when the mine collapses, he’s left to survive on nothing but the cash he hid in his lunchbox—forcing him to confront the grim reality of his choices in the suffocating dark.

In "More Blessed to Give...", a decades-long marriage reaches its breaking point when a husband and wife, weary of each other, each plot to end the relationship in a final, fatal gesture. One plants a bomb in their anniversary cake, the other poisons a bottle of wine—only to discover the other’s trap just in time, too late to stop the deadly consequences.

In "Three for the Money," two men, each consumed by desire for the same woman, take desperate, parallel steps to eliminate her wealthy husband—only to find themselves arrested for murder, unaware that the wife had already done the deed. The story unfolds with sharp tension and a twist of fate, as ambition, love, and violence collide in a single, fateful moment.

In "Key Chain," John Miller schemes to steal from the wealthy Mrs. Hodges, setting his sights on her prized diamond collection. To gain access, he steals into a locksmith shop to forge a master key, but a single misstep—knocking over the shop’s entire key rack—traps him inside. For hours, he frantically tries every key, driven to the edge of madness by the endless, futile effort. When found the next morning, he’s rattled and wild, unaware that the door he was trying to open had been inoperable for years.

In "The Squealer," corrupt detectives Ed and Bert run a brutal extortion scheme, forcing framed suspects to commit crimes for them while taking the lion’s share of the take—seven such patsies have already fallen in line. But when their eighth victim refuses to cooperate, the violence escalates beyond control, leading to a shocking and irreversible consequence that forces Ed to confront the true cost of his partnership with Bert.

In "The Fixer," a struggling family tries to start anew in a hostile neighborhood, only to find themselves caught in a spiral of fear and violence as neighbors begin to die under mysterious circumstances. As suspicion falls on the father, a chilling truth emerges when the young son’s quiet actions are finally uncovered—revealing a desperate, heartbreaking attempt to protect his parents in ways no child should have to.

In "Dead Center," a man's growing paranoia over his wife's weekly trips to wrestling matches spirals into obsession when he buys front-row seats for her and her friend—only to watch the event on TV and see the seats empty. As suspicion turns to certainty, his jealousy drives him to a violent act, but the truth he later uncovers shatters everything he thought he knew.

In "The Firebug," an arson investigator and a fire chief team up to stop a string of mysterious fires plaguing the city—only to find the real danger might be closer than they thought. With tension rising and clues pointing in unexpected directions, the line between hunter and prey begins to blur.

In "Comeback," a man haunted by his past returns to America after years in exile, only to learn the devastating truth: the woman he loved, Joyce, was executed for a murder he committed—using the very letter opener she had given him as a gift. Now, with the weight of his guilt and the echoes of a life built on lies, he must confront the consequences of a love that turned deadly.

In "Maniac at Large," a new librarian lives in constant dread of a serial killer who’s claimed seven lives, convinced she’s next—until the truth reveals a chilling twist about her own identity. The story unfolds with quiet dread, building tension around a woman haunted by her own shadow.

In "Just Her Speed," Ed corners Marty in his diner, gun drawn, ready to settle a score—only to find himself outmaneuvered. Marty, calm and confident, plays for time, counting on a routine late-night visit from a cop. When the officer arrives, Ed’s plan unravels as the cop is pulled away by a sudden, high-speed chase—leaving Marty momentarily safe, but far from out of danger.

In "Where There's Smoke...", Ed's crumbling marriage to Mae hits a breaking point as he grows drawn to the young Alma—only to be shaken by the sight of her fiancé, a man who makes Ed reconsider everything. Back home, he's ready to accept his fate with Mae, unaware she's been plotting her own escape. The tension crackles in every frame as secrets simmer beneath the surface.

In "Good Boy," Jim Ward struggles to hold his family together as his son Paul drifts into a life of crime, pushing the father to desperate measures just to keep him close. Written by a mysterious hand and illustrated with stark, evocative art, the story lingers in the quiet tension between love and control, where the line between protection and possession begins to blur.