Murder in the Mind

In “Murder in the Mind,” Gil Hollister and his calculating wife Vicki are desperate for Gil’s inheritance, blocked by the continued good health of his wealthy stepmother, Belle. After a string of “accidents” fails to kill her, Belle unexpectedly hires a chauffeur-bodyguard named Foster, whose presence threatens their plans but soon inspires a new one. When Belle later dies in a fall from a dilapidated bridge, Foster reveals he’s been watching them—and blackmails Gil with a letter Belle supposedly wrote detailing their earlier murder attempts. Week after week the payments drain their finances, until Gil and Vicki decide to poison Foster and retrieve the incriminating letter from his apartment. But just as Foster collapses, the police arrive to warn the Hollisters about him: the letter is a forgery, Foster is a wanted criminal, and Belle’s death was believed to be accidental. With Foster dead from the poison Gil administered, the blackmail flips on its head—leaving Gil exposed as a murderer and trapped by his own paranoia.