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A Prince of Abyssinia
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1962
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 03/1962. Printed in the collection . Mr. Calder prefers to live alone on the Kentish Downs with his beloved deerhound, Rasselas. His serenity is broken when an old enemy, Colonel Weinleben, shows up for revenge. Mr. Behrens must come to his friend's rescue.
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On Slay Down
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1962
First published in the UK magazine Argosy (04/1962) with the original title, then as The Future of the Service in 3 issues of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (US - Mar. 1963, UK - Jul. 1963 & AUS - Sep. 1963) and the anthology Spies And More Spies (1967). Also published in the anthology To Catch A Spy (1965) and the collection with original title. A conversation between Calder and Behrens regarding how the younger generation is so much weaker in both moral and mental attitudes. This in turn leads to their discussing the matter of a woman named Maria Lipper who was suspected of espionage against the UK resulting in her being investigated by the pair.
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The Cat Cracker
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1962
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 05/1962. Also published as The Catalytic Agent in 3 issues of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (US - May 1963, UK - Sep 1963 & AUS - Nov 1963). Printed in the collection . Behrens runs into a former student, Alan Tabor, from when Behrens taught Latin. They share a meal and discuss life in general and science in particular. Tabor is pondering leaving England, possibly working for the other side. Behrens is keen on convincing him to stay and, it turns out, has a sort of secret weapon.
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The Headmaster
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1962
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 06/1962. Also printed as Melodrama in Three Acts in 3 issues of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (US - Aug 1963, UK - Dec 1963, & AUS - Feb 1964), then in the magazine Ellery Queen's Anthology #19 (Mid-Year 1970). Plus printed with the known title in 2 editions of the anthology Alfred Hitchcock's Daring Detectives (Random House - 1969 & 1982). Printed in the collection . The disappearance of a barrister named John Craven is cause for alarm by his friends which include Mr. Calder and Calder's boss, Mr. Fortescue. Craven had been investigating a mysterious man known as the Headmaster and now that Craven has vanished, Calder and Craven's sister go looking. The Headmaster is not pleased.
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Trembling's Tours
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1962
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 07/1962. Also printed as Fear and Trembling's in 3 issues of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (US - Oct. 1963, UK - Feb. 1964 & AUS - Apr. 1964). Printed in the collection . Calder goes undercover at a travel agency to uncover an espionage operation involving sneaking classified documents out of the country using an illegal porn smuggling team. Things get even more dire when two different murders are committed.
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Prometheus Unbound
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1962
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 06/1962. Printed in the collection . Mr. Fortescue is concerned about one of his best operatives, Mr. Calder. So is Calder's best friend, Mr. Behrens. Calder, they feel, has been acting more and more erratically since he was put on Operation Prometheus, a mission to liberate Albania from communist forces.
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Cross-Over
novelette
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1963
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 10/1963. Printed in the collection . Calder and Behrens are tracking David Nichol using a VHF transmitting device but technology issues complicate things. Nichols is a double agent and the issues facing him doing his mission weigh heavily on his shoulders.
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The Spoilers
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1965
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 10/1965. Printed in the collection . The death of a Colonel Bax on the porch of his farmhouse was discovered by a farmer delivering milk and eggs. Bax had committed suicide by firearm. Calder and Behrens, neighbors of the man, pondered the matter but little more until they were instructed to investigate. They will learn of letters of blackmail being sent to various public figures like Bax.
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Heilige Nacht
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1966
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 01/1966. Printed in the collection . The defection by a clerk in Poland who is bringing with him a coding machine as well as classified documents, hits a major snag when the British operative handling his case is killed in a car accident. It will call to Calder and Behrens, already on site to investigate the death, are told to assist the clerk.
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The Road to Damascus
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1966
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 06/1966. Printed in the collection . What starts as a simple conversation between Calder and a neighbor about a strange tree stump in a small woods which turns out to be made of concrete morphs into an investigation along with Behrens into a hidden bunker, the skeleton of a murdered man, and the traitorous espionage work done by a Colonel Bessendine.
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"Upon the King..."
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1967
1st in a 3-part series called Agents in Action. Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 03/1967. Printed in the collection . A young boy named Nuri, heir to a foreign throne, is attending a British boarding school when he receives word of his father's death. Needing to return to his own country, he is aided by Mr. Behrens representing the Foreign Office. Fog delays their departure and that evening sees Nuri and Behrens visiting a popular nightclub. Unfortunately, a Mr. Absalom sees a use for Nuri and drugs him and kidnaps him.
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Double, Double
novelette
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1967
2nd in a 3-part series called Agents in Action. Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 04/1967. Printed in the collection . A ruler of a Middle East country is coming to London for talks. Two different anti-royalist factions, the Taqi and Colonni, are expected to do something, like assassination attempts. Calder goes undercover to scope out the plans but finds himself put under control via drugs.
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The Twilight of the Gods
novelette
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1967
3rd in a 3-part series called Agents in Action. Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 05/1967. Printed in the collection . This story takes place during WWII when Mr. Behrens goes undercover as a Balkan explosive fuse expert with a new technique promising greater accuracy. The plan is to assist some German Army officers with a plan to kill Hitler. Treachery will intervene.
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One-to-Ten
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1968
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 07/1968. Printed in the collection . Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens are assigned the task of investigating a serious secret leak from a top-secret research facility at Porton where work on nerve gases is being conducted. One scientist, Rivers, is the chief suspect and once they are convinced of his guilt, they handle things in their usual, permanent way but with flare.
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The Peaceful People
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1968
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 08/1968. Printed in the collection . This story deals with two interconnected events: a meeting of the "Peaceful People", a group advocating world peace, and a violent strike going on in the Midlands. Evidence comes that there the leader of the first group is funding those involved in the latter. Mr. Calder works closely with his boss, Mr. Fortescue on this assignment.
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Emergency Exit
short story aka Mr. Calder Acquires A Dog
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1968
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 09/1968. Printed in the collection . The new wife of a British Admiral is suspected by British Intelligence of being a communist agent. It will fall to Calder and Behrens to do closer examination and to rectify the situation, one way or another.
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Churchill's Men
teleplay
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1968
Teleplay of the BBC Radio episode, 12/1968.Printed in the collection . Both Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens are given the assignment of looking into how to keep a civil lawsuit resulting in the release of the names of a good number of British agents operating overseas.
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St. Ethelburga and the Angel of Death
teleplay
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1969
Teleplay of the BBC radio episode, 01/1969.Printed in the collection . Mr. Calder is undercover at a boarding school, playing the part of a teacher, while trying to determine if one of the other teachers is really Dr. Konrad Fleischmann, aka the Nazi Angel of Death who was the director of Hitler's extermination program. Meanwhile, Mr. Behrens is looking into Fleischmann's life before the War started.
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The African Tree Beavers
novella
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1971
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, likely taken from the BBC radio teleplay, 08/1971. Printed in the collection . Reverend Osbaldestone is a charismatic rector in the village of Hedgeborn. He is known in that region for his supposed miracles and his influence over animals. He has also led a raid on a nearby bacterial warfare facility to free experimented on animals. Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens must ascertain if he is being manipulated by a subversive group.
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The Lion and the Virgin
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1971
First published in the magazine of Argosy (UK -Dec. 1971) with original title, then as The Panic Button in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (US - Oct. 1962). Likely based on the BBC radio episode 1-13 that aired 2 years earlier. Also printed in the collection . The story deals with a British general named Garnet, someone that Mr. Calder has some contact with during the War. Garnet is a decorated leader who has of late become increasingly unstable. This becomes an acute issue as tensions with Red China grow severs and Garnet believes war not only inevitable but also desirable.
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The Decline and Fall of Mr. Behrens
short story
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1973
Published in the UK magazine Argosy, 01/1973. Printed in the collection . Mr. Behrens takes a temporary role of teacher at the University of Middlesex. He soon takes notice of three key students in his class, Alison, Patrick, and Ahmed, who are very unhappy with the college and its poor conditions. Behrens, aided by his colleague Mr. Calder, are there to keep an eye on Ahmed since that young man's father is important to the nation's oil concessions.
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Signal Tresham
short story aka A Sense of History
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1980
Published in the US magazine Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, likely taken from the BBC radio teleplay, 07/1980. Printed in the collection . A disagreement erupts between a large landowner and an MP over a proposed new road that the MP wants for his voting constituents and which the landowner views as invading his territory. Things get deadly for Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens as they are directed to investigate matters.
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The Mercenaries
novella aka The Violence Peddlers
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1981
Published in the US magazine Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, likely taken from the BBC radio teleplay, 02/1981. Printed in the collection . Mr. Calder's car breaks down and while he awaits repairs, he stops in at a local inn, The Pike and Eels. He overhears a dispute between a Major Porter, aided by his assistant, and a young man who worked at the Major's gambling club. As Calder works to diffuse the situation on one end, things heat up in another way, resulting in trained killers being imported into the country.
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The Killing of Michael Finnegan
novella aka Dangerous Game
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1981
Published in the US magazine Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, 08/1981. Printed in the collection . Michael Finnegan, a disabled ex-Marine, is murdered. He was secretly working with the Special Branch to infiltrate the IRA. Mr. Calder, who acted as Finnegan's handler, joined by Mr. Behrens, investigate.
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Early Warning
short story aka Dangerous Enemy
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1981
Published in the US magazine Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, 10/1981. Printed in the collection . Mr. Fortescue informs Mr. Behrens that a Professor Pitt-Hammersley has accused Sir Boris Wykes, the head of the Early Warning System, of being an East German spy named Stefan Sthugutt. It becomes the job of Calder and Behrens' to look at the evidence and see if it looks solid.
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The Last Reunion
novelette
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1981
Published in the US magazine Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, 12/1981. Printed in the collection . Both Mr. Calder and Mr. Behrens, having some time back retired from their regular jobs with British Intelligence, are considering even giving up their occasional contract work. So is their former boss, Mr. Fortescue, except he has one last job for the, retrieving Rudolf Sperrle's testament, specifically Hitler's final assignment to Sperrle, which includes historical documents and recordings hidden at a former British POW camp, Straffelager Seven.
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Anything for a Quiet Life
novella
Written by Michael Gilbert
Copyright: 1983
Published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, 09/1983. Jonas Pickett is a retired lawyer who has moved to the town of Shackleton to start a new, easier practice. His first new client is Dick Rowe who wants a will drawn but who is very secretive about his address and his past. Then Jonas is attacked, the draft stolen, and then two men kidnap him. After barely escaping, Jonas meets a man named Mr. Calder who learns that Rowe was an undercover operative and Jonas' attackers were trying to find Rowe.
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