I forgot to add - a short scale fretless is a little less common of a beast.
You may have to buy a short scale bass you like and have a luthier properly defret it for you.
Yes I searched for a short scale fretless and came up with little, actually nothing.
But I dropped in on my local music store on the way home which has a selection of guitars and a few basses.
The two basses they had were Fender Vintage and Jazz 4 string models.
I found this out:
on the Vintage I had a hard time reaching the top string. The neck was deeper and slightly wider. The lower and more straight it was the harder or I was unable to reach it. As I tilted the neck down you can see my finger withdraw totally from the top string.
With the Jazz I had a much easier time reaching the top string and I could reach it at a variety of angles. A much thinner and less width neck. The salesperson was knowledgeable about this design too, so that was helpful.
Of course both of these were normal scale - length.
The fretless actually has celluloid lines instead of frets. I think I'll try the Guitar center this weekend for more of a comparison.