So I was at Costco, buying a couple of bottles of wine (great prices there, by the way), and went through the check-out line. I have long hair, so my face was shielded while I rifled through my massive pocketbook (see previous post) for my debit card. The guy doing checkout said, “$45.67. And…I’m gonna have to see some ID.” Well, my head just bobbed right up in surprise. And then he said, when he saw my face–I will never forget this–: “Oh. Never mind.”
Let’s couple this episode with another one. This time I’m in the grocery store and I had just popped in for a couple of forgotten ingredients for what would pass for supper that night. I had some sour cream, some breadcrumbs, and maybe a container of chicken. So the bag boy bags them up prettily and says, “Do you need help to the car with that?”
Oh dear God, I thought. I look old and feeble! So I scampered to the department store and shopped in the Junior’s section for an inappropriate dress that will embarrass my children if I wear it out.
I will probably return this dress in a couple of days, because I no longer feel old. I realize that I was jumping to conclusions…at least with the bag boy. He probably had to ask everyone if they needed help. Maybe.
Mystery writers rely on their readers to jump to conclusions, too. One of Agatha Christie’s favorite tricks was “the unreliable witness.” She would introduce a character, usually a garrulous one, who would rattle off all kinds of nonsense. Then she would have them slip in some information that was a genuine clue. But because the reader has come to expect little of this character in terms of believability, the clue would frequently go unnoticed. A clue in plain sight.
I think other fiction writers could use the jumping-to-conclusions-ploy, too. Maybe you could have a character that the reader finds completely trustworthy because of some good behavior at the beginning of the book…but then they can become turncoats and start behaving badly. To Kill a Mockingbird had Boo Radley, who seemed like a terrifying person to the children in the book, but who ends up saving Scout from an attacker.
I love adding the element of surprise to a novel, and I think leading the reader astray by having them make assumptions is a great way to achieve surprise.
I used to work in a grocery store. And sometimes I’d offer to help women to the car with their groceries if they were old and feeble looking. And sometimes I would do it because they were attractive. So there you go.
I tried very hard to put in a scene like this in my novel…hopefully it worked out!
And can I just tell you that I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the cover of your book!!!
Great Post!
Thanks Chris–so maybe he didn’t think I was a granny? But…I was definitely old enough to be his mama.
And thanks so much, Marybeth! I really appreciate it.
Elizabeth
At least you can fit into a junior-size dress! I haven’t managed that in about 20 years. To think I used to be a size 7 – as my daughter is now. She’s chagrined to realize she may eventually end up like me – a size 14 on a good day.
I also hate it when people ask if I need help carrying something to the car. Yesterday I went to a church plant sale, bought a lightweight flat’s worth of perennials, and an elderly woman asked if I needed help. Me, who does 9,000 lbs. on my weight machine circuit at the Y!
I like the “unreliable witness” point, too – it’s something I haven’t used that much in my own mysteries, but I’ll have to keep it in mind.
Julie Lomoe
Julie Lomoe’s Musings Mysterioso
Wait until someone asks you if you’re entitled to the senior discount, or worse yet, just assumes you are. Although, I must say, I sure like saving a buck here and there.
Patricia
Excellent idea to have more unreliable witnesses in a mystery. Learned a new thing today. Very handy for the Regency mystery I want to write one day.
In Quest of Theta Magic