The Sign, also known as The Telltale Sign, is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Union Club series, it was first published in the April 1982 issue of Gallery magazine. It was later collected in The Union Club Mysteries and The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov.
Summary[]
At the Union Club, Griswold recounts a story from the McCarthy era involving a government statistician named Davis. Davis, who had an obsessive scientific interest in astrology, reported to his superior, Lindstrom, that he was being recruited as a spy but refused to name the recruiter until he was certain of the man's disloyalty. Davis later arranged to meet Lindstrom at midnight with the full details but was murdered before he could do so.
Lindstrom found Davis dying in his apartment. Davis's last words, referencing his astrological obsession, were: "Should have known misfit only sign doesn't fit the name." Nearby were four bloodstained file cards, each bearing the name of an officer in their department and their astrological sign.
Lindstrom summoned Griswold for help. Griswold deduced the traitor's identity after noticing that one of the four officers, Lieutenant Tom Smith, had just had a birthday. Knowing the date was early October, Griswold identified Smith's sign as Libra. He then realized that Davis's clue referred not to a person's name, but to the name "zodiac," which means "circle of animals." Among the twelve signs, Libra (the Scales) is the only one that is not an animal or a living being—it is the "misfit" that "doesn't fit the name." Confronted, Lieutenant Smith confessed, proving Griswold's deduction correct.
Characters[]
- Griswold
- Club Member (the narrator)
- Baranov
- Jennings
- Davis
- Lindstrom
- Lieutenant Tom Smith
- The Recruiter
- Joseph Brown
- John Jones
- William Clark
Historical Figures Mentioned[]
- Senator McCarthy