Aug 17 2009
The Unreliable Witness
Most writers are familiar with the concept of an unreliable narrator, a character who for whatever reason isn’t telling it like it is. But for mystery writers, the unreliable narrator is even more useful. Take him, mix him with your standard witness, and you get an unreliable witness, a way to get across information without having to give the entire game away.
Some unreliable witnesses aren’t aware they’re unreliable. They just don’t get the information the way it comes. Maybe their senses fail them without them realizing it, or they misinterpret things they’ve seen. Or they prioritize different kinds of information than the people questioning them do—they’re the kind of people who can tell you every stitch of clothing the person they saw last night was wearing but not what color the hair was. In some cases, they’ve been fed information by someone who wanted to push them the wrong way—unreliable because they don’t know their sources are unreliable, in sum. It’s hard to catch these people the first time, but once they’ve dropped a few contradictions or you’ve spotted a few omissions, you start figuring out what patterns to look for or questions to ask to minimize their impact on your information.
Others know they’re unreliable, but still don’t do it on purpose. People like this tend to have dubious memories, definite trouble with their senses, or a clear lack of skill or understanding in the appropriate field. On the plus side, they’re the likeliest to admit that their accounts may not be completely accurate, so an investigator can know to take the story with a pinch of salt.
The rest of the unreliable witnesses are deliberate about their unreliability, but for different reasons. Most obvious is the kind that has something to hide. Perhaps the witness is the culprit, or something about the investigation might trip over something they’re trying to keep secret for unrelated reasons. Either way, they’re going to try to lead the investigators away from it by any means necessary.
Some unreliable witnesses are unreliable so people will pay attention to them. Maybe they don’t actually know anything but want to be involved in the investigation or seen as providing vital information. Or they did see something, but it wasn’t as in-depth or as cool as they want it to be. Either way, they’re leading the investigation astray for the sake of their fifteen minutes of fame. Fortunately, they’re also semi-likely to give themselves away by sounding too excited about being involved with the investigation.
And then there are the ones that are unreliable for their own agendas. They know what happened, or they think they do, but that doesn’t matter to them near as much as making the facts convenient. Usually, they’re trying to lie as little as possible—just enough to steer people to the conclusions they want, whether it’s that an old enemy of theirs was behind the crime or that the investigation going in a certain direction (that just happens to coincide with their interests) would be preferable for all concerned.
Unreliable witnesses are good for sewing red herrings, complicating investigations, and putting a little realism into a case. Don’t be afraid to use them, but make sure it’s possible to tell that they’re unreliable… eventually.
