The Singing Bell - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

Master criminal Louis Peyton spends each August totally isolated on his Colorado ranch behind a powerful force-field. One August, Albert Cornwall takes him to the Moon to retrieve a cache of extremely valuable singing bells (lunar rocks which, when struck by the correct stroker, make an incredibly beautiful sound) which Cornwall had obtained by killing their discoverer. Louis Peyton kills Cornwall and hides the bells.

The police contact Wendell Urth to help them prove that Peyton had been on the Moon, so they can psycho-probe him to get sufficient evidence for a conviction. However, since a person can only be psycho-probed once in a lifetime, the police want to be certain that Peyton is guilty.

Urth gives Peyton his own flawed, yet still valuable singing bell to examine. He then has Peyton throw it back to him. The toss falls short and the bell is destroyed when it crashes to the floor. Urth has demonstrated that Peyton had been off-planet very recently, despite his claim to the contrary, and had not yet readjusted to Earth's gravity. The killer is taken away to be psycho-probed. Urth requests a perfect bell as his fee.

Asimov's Mysteries by Isaac Asimov
  • "The Singing Bell"
  • "The Talking Stone"
  • "What's in a Name?"
  • "The Dying Night"
  • "Pâté de Foie Gras"
  • "The Dust of Death"
  • "A Loint of Paw"
  • "I'm in Marsport Without Hilda"
  • "Marooned Off Vesta"
  • "Anniversary"
  • "Obituary"
  • "Star Light"
  • "The Key"
  • "The Billiard Ball"

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