Nothing Might Happen is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
A standalone story, it was first published in the December 1983 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. It was later collected in The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov.
Summary[]
Samuel Gelderman works as a secretary and business manager for his uncle, Ralph Gelderman, a successful and prolific writer of espionage novels. As Ralph's only close relative and sole heir, Sam is frustrated by his uncle's robust health and the long wait for his inheritance. He dreams of a convenient accident befalling Ralph but knows he could never commit murder himself, as he would be the obvious suspect.
Sam devises an indirect method. His duties include handling Ralph's fan mail, and he begins deliberately answering letters from paranoid individuals with curt, provocative responses, which his uncle signs without reading. Sam's intention is to incite one of these unstable individuals to violence against Ralph. He maintains this campaign for two years, carefully building a file of correspondence that would shift all blame to Ralph himself should anything happen, while also casually mentioning to friends his uncle's "cruel" responses to fans.
The plan culminates when Lawrence K. Leghorn, one of the most persistent paranoids, arrives at the apartment disguised as a delivery man. He confronts Sam, mistakenly believing him to be Ralph Gelderman due to a family resemblance and a confusing exchange with the doorman. Despite Sam's attempts to correct him, Leghorn does not believe the denial and shoots Sam, killing the wrong man.
Characters[]
- Samuel "Sam" Gelderman
- Ralph Gelderman
- Lawrence K. Leghorn
- Ralph's Accountant
- Sam's Friends
- The Doorman
Organizations[]
- Prime Publishers
See Also[]
List of short stories by Isaac Asimov
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