The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl” is a short story by Ray Bradbury. It was first published in Detective Book Magazine in November 1948 (cover date: Winter) as “Touch and Go”. The story was re-titled and published as “The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl” in EQMM in January 1953.

Plot summary

Mr. Acton begins the story standing over the body of Mr. Huxley, whom he has just killed. While attempting to cover up his tracks, he has flashbacks of his encounters with Mr. Huxley, with whom he is having an altercation over a woman.

These flashbacks reveal to the murderer that there are more and more of his fingerprints all over the man’s house, because he thought that he had touched so many different objects. His frenzy to remove all of the evidence distracts him from his actual objective, to get away with the crime.

He is eventually caught, after polishing the entire house, while polishing and re-polishing the glass fruit at the bottom of a bowl. He is discovered by the police while dusting the attic. He leaves the room polishing the door handle and slamming it in victory.