# Trying to find author and title of a short story **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714 "2014-07-22T02:56:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@Jimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimpy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/1 "2014-07-22T02:56:28Z")
A couple of decades ago I read a short story where the main, only, character committed a murder, I believe, and was wiping up the fingerprints. Then he started wiping places he though maybe he might have touched. Then places he was almost positive he didn’t, but he saw the whorls of fingerprints there. He eventually wiped the entire place clean and just finished up when the police arrived. If anyone knows the story I would be grateful. If it helps I thought it was by Karl Edward Wagner, but my faith in that is now greatly shaken. I know I have the story in one of my books, I have hundreds of anthologies and collections and I am about 66% sure it’s in one of my signed! slip cased books. That “limits” it to about eighty or so books. Any help you can give would be, helpful. And thanks in advance ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/2 "2014-07-22T02:59:23Z")
The Fruit At The Bottom Of The Bowl, by Ray Bradbury. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/3 "2014-07-22T03:06:05Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > The Fruit At The Bottom Of The Bowl, by Ray Bradbury. Right, one of my favorites, since I can totally relate to the poor guy. And a great ending. ---
**Author:** ![Jimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@Jimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimpy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/4 "2014-07-22T03:17:31Z")
Thanks, but this whole episode brings up an interesting thought, I wonder how many times people have confused Karl Edward Wagner and Ray Bradbury. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/5 "2014-07-22T11:20:03Z")
Never in person, I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/6 "2014-07-23T20:19:39Z")
> [@Jimpy](#): > > Thanks, but this whole episode brings up an interesting thought, I wonder how many times people have confused Karl Edward Wagner and Ray Bradbury. I don’t confuse anyone with Ray Bradbury. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/7 "2014-07-23T22:08:09Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I don’t confuse anyone with Ray Bradbury. You are familiar with his work. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/8 "2014-07-23T22:57:23Z")
This story was also adapted by EC comics. I can’t remember if it was in Tales From The Crypt, or Vault Of Horror. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/9 "2014-07-23T23:02:55Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > This story was also adapted by EC comics. I can’t remember if it was in Tales From The Crypt, or Vault Of Horror. Wikipedia says it was neither, but instead _[Crime SuspenStories](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fruit_at_the_Bottom_of_the_Bowl#Publication_history)_. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/10 "2014-07-23T23:06:15Z")
Damn you, Wikipedia! ---
**Author:** ![Jimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@Jimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimpy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-author-and-title-of-a-short-story/693714/11 "2014-07-29T06:26:15Z")
Once I found out who wrote it I quickly found out, using Wikipedia, that I had the story in at least 3 books, possibly more since it’s widely anthologized and I’m pretty sure I first read it in an anthology