The Pointing Finger is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Black Widowers series, it was first published in the July 1973 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. It was later collected in Tales of the Black Widowers.
Summary[]
At a Black Widowers banquet, the mood is initially subdued because member Mario Gonzalo has recently gone to the police regarding his sister's murder, a case he had previously discussed with the club. The host, Geoffrey Avalon, introduces his guest, Simon Levy, a science writer.
The dinner begins with a heated argument between members Emmanuel Rubin and Thomas Trumbull over the date of the Act of Union between England and Scotland, which is settled by the club's reference library, overseen by the waiter, Henry.
The conversation turns to the guest, Simon Levy, who reveals he is seeking a legacy of three thousand dollars in bonds from his wife's grandfather, who had lived with them. The grandfather had hidden the bonds as a reward for their care. After a severe stroke left him paralyzed and unable to speak, the grandfather, on his deathbed, made a final effort to communicate. He directed Levy and his wife to move his couch across the room toward a bookcase. There, his trembling finger pointed directly at a specific volume: The Complete Works of Shakespeare. He then died, appearing satisfied that he had conveyed the necessary information.
However, after the funeral, Levy and his wife found nothing inside the Shakespeare book—no note, no marked passage. For two months, Levy meticulously read all of Shakespeare's works searching for a clue, while his wife searched their house, both without success.
The Black Widowers members attempt to solve the puzzle. They suggest the grandfather must have intended a reference to a famous, obvious passage from his favorite plays, Hamlet or Othello. They propose lines about death, "the play's the thing," or "who steals my purse steals trash," but Levy confirms these lead nowhere. Another member suggests a connection to The Merchant of Venice, which involves a bond of three thousand ducats, but Levy dismisses this, noting his grandfather, who was Jewish, would have been offended by the character of Shylock. The club members grow frustrated, theorizing about "in-jokes" or Yiddish expressions the grandfather used, but this also proves fruitless.
Finally, Henry intervenes. He logically dismantles the assumption that the grandfather created a complex literary clue. He argues that a dying man, impaired by a stroke, would be incapable of such a feat. He demonstrates that pointing, without verbal context, indicates only a direction, not a specific object. He points out that while Levy saw his grandfather pointing at the book, he was in fact pointing through it. Henry deduces that the bonds must be located in the direction the finger was pointing, which was behind the bookcase. Levy immediately calls his wife and instructs her to look behind the bookcase. She finds the three thousand dollars in bonds taped to its back, resolving the mystery completely. Henry's solution is based not on obscure knowledge, but on rejecting an overcomplicated assumption and applying simple, logical reasoning to the obvious factor of what pointing actually means.
Characters[]
Black Widowers[]
- Geoffrey Avalon
- Thomas Trumbull
- Emmanuel Rubin
- Mario Gonzalo
- James Drake
- Henry (the waiter)
- Roger Halsted (mentioned absent)
Others[]
- Simon Levy (The guest)
- Caroline (Simon Levy's wife)
- Julia (Simon Levy's younger daughter)
- Grandpa (Levy's wife's grandfather, deceased)
Mentioned[]
- Isaac Asimov
- William Shakespeare