Você está se referindo a " Marionettes, Inc " de Ray Bradbury. Foi originalmente publicado na revista "Startling Stories", mas é muito mais provável que você o tenha visto em seu " The Illustrated Man e outros histórias "antologia. Você pode ler a versão completa on-line aqui .
“I’ve had him for a month. I keep him in the cellar in a toolbox. My wife never goes downstairs, and I have the only lock and key to that box. Tonight I said I wished to take a walk to buy a cigar. I went down cellar and took Braling Two out of his box and sent him back up to sit with my wife while I came on out to see you, Smith.”
no final;
Braling Two said, “I’m going to put you in the box, lock it, and lose the key. Then I’ll buy another Rio ticket for your wife.”
“Now, now, wait a minute. Hold on. Don’t be rash. Let’s talk this over!”
“Good-by, Braling.”
Braling stiffened. “What do you mean, ‘good-by’?”
Ten minutes later Mrs. Braling awoke. She put her hand to her cheek. Someone had just kissed it. She shivered and looked up. “Why—you haven’t done that in years,” she murmured.
“We’ll see what we can do about that,” someone said.
A história também foi convertida em um pequeno segmento de TV no Teatro Ray Bradbury ;
Parte I
Parte II
Parte III