The Suspect, also known as The Taunter, is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Union Club series, it was first published in the October 1985 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.
Summary[]
In the Union Club library, a conversation about the effectiveness of disguises prompts Griswold to recount an espionage case. The Department was trying to identify an enemy agent, an East German who could pass as American and who was a known "taunter," periodically sending arrogant messages to the authorities. On this occasion, a drifter delivered one such message, but he acted unusually, handling the envelope carefully by its edges to avoid fingerprints and voluntarily providing a stolen letter from the jacket pocket of the man who had hired him.
The letter was addressed to a Reuben Dorsey. The Department launched a full investigation into Dorsey, becoming convinced he was the enemy agent who had assumed a real American's identity. However, they could find no flaw in his cover or documentation. A Department agent brought the case to Griswold, hoping he could find a hole in their investigation. Without reviewing the files, Griswold immediately identified the flaw: the drifter himself.
Griswold pointed out that the drifter's behavior was highly suspect, no real drifter would be so concerned with fingerprints or so helpfully provide a decoy letter. He deduced the drifter was the enemy agent in a simple but effective disguise. While the Department was distracted investigating Dorsey, the "drifter" had been left unsupervised in their office, during which time he managed to steal a sensitive document. The agent escaped, and the Department never captured him.
Characters[]
- Griswold
- Club Member (the narrator)
- Baranov
- Jennings
- The Department Agent
- The Enemy Agent (The Taunter)
- Reuben Dorsey
- Frank Lavelle (mentioned)
See Also[]
List of short stories by Isaac Asimov