Strange Suspense Stories #20

Magda Tonescu boards the Trans-Europe Express with a vial of deadly plague germs meant for a mysterious buyer, but her only contact—the man who was supposed to identify him—dies before revealing Mr. X's identity. Now hunted by enemy agents aboard the speeding train, she must find her mysterious protector and complete the exchange for two million dollars before a scarred assassin closes in. Trust becomes a deadly gamble when multiple forces converge in the darkness of the compartments, each willing to kill for the vial's terrifying power.

In "Food For Thought," a desperate killer named Gus takes refuge with his sister, only to turn the isolated house into a grim game of survival. As he eliminates everyone inside to prolong his access to dwindling supplies, a single poisoned mushroom becomes his undoing.

As the steamship Dolphin approaches a tropic island port, the ruthless Calvin Brock spots his quarry: Spencer Vaughn, who's carrying a fortune in stolen diamonds fresh from Amsterdam. Brock forces a confrontation in Vaughn's stateroom, determined to claim the gems for himself—but when things turn violent, he finds himself in deeper trouble than he bargained for. Now holding the diamonds and desperate to slip past customs, Brock makes a daring escape into the tropical waters, only to discover that the ocean itself has other plans.

Gangster Spike Trent visits fortune teller Madame Tania for a seance, where she predicts his doom at the hands of a blind shooter—a prophecy he dismisses as nonsense. But when a freak accident blinds Trent in her parlor, the prediction comes grimly true in "Deadly Seance!," a sharp crime tale with a twist of fate by Anthony Tallarico.

In "Von Mohl Vs The Ants!", Hugo von Mohl finds his African plantation under siege by a relentless swarm of killer ants. Armed with dynamite, guns, and fire, he wages a desperate war against the relentless insects—only to discover a hidden weakness he never saw coming.

In "Moment of Decision!" from Strange Suspense Stories #20 (1954), fugitive Tim Fenwick flees with two heavy bags of stolen cash, diving into a river to escape the law—only to be pulled under by the current in a desperate, life-or-death struggle.