ANTHONY BOUCHER “The Numbers Man.” Short story. Reprinted in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. First published in Black Mask, July 1945 as “The Catalyst.”

   Both of two titles given this story are appropriate. Gregor Stolz is a catalyst, all right. The kind of guy who just happens to be around as a murder or strange death is about to happen, or even as a witness to the event itself. He is also a man fascinated by numbers, and it will do no harm if I were to tell you that the particular chapter in elementary mathematics is the one about the theory of the decimal system, or the use of using other bases other than ten to describe a number.

   The police detective who is invited to a dinner party knows Stolz well, or at least he knows the man’s reputation, and so when he learns that Stolz will be there, he knows exactly what is going to happen before the night is over. But can he prove anything ahead of time? No, not a thing.

   And sure enough another death happens. Is there enough evidence now? Can the killer be caught? Boucher was a clear, precise writer, one who always chose his words carefully, and all the way through the first half of the story, the story flows exceedingly well. It’s not until the solution itself that the tale gradually grinds to a definite stop. Lots of elementary math is involved, I can tell you that.

   What’s the big surprise is that the story first appeared in Black Mask magazine, the epitome of hardboiled fiction. This story is definitely not, even as a filler, as I am sure it was. It’s a minor tale, truth be told, but a much better fit for a story you could much more easily expect to be reading in EQMM, any month of the year.