Invisiclues Hints for "The Witness"

Hints for "The Witness", adapted (with permission) from Infocom's original Invisiclues hint books.

More Infocom Invisiclues Hints

"The Witness" on IFDB

Sample Question

Why did trusty Sgt. Duffy cross the road?

1. Try following him.
2. Where did he end up?
3. To get to the other side.

The Clues

What crime am I supposed to investigate?

1. It's not Mrs. Linder's suicide; that's already being handled by others.
2. In fact, you got the suicide note and newspaper from the ongoing file on her case.
3. You should knock on the front door or ring the doorbell before about 8:30.
4. If you don't do that, you won't witness a crime during the story.

What if I don't go in the house?

1. You could try waiting outside until 9:00 and then ringing the doorbell again and again.
2. You can also see someone arrive and go to the office door about 9:00.
3. Who is that person?
4. You could try talking to him, using various names.
5. You can even call him "visitor" or "stranger."
6. You'll discover that it's Stiles, but why is he here?
7. Try asking him about the phone call.

How do I enter the house?

1. All the doors leading into the house are locked when you arrive. You can enter through the front door by knocking or ringing the bell.
2. Once Linder is dead, you can unlock any door from the inside.
3. ...unless you tried to sneak in by shooting the lock.
4. Once Linder is dead, you can also get all the door keys from Phong.

Is there anything special about the windows?

1. Only one window is special.
2. It gets broken when the gun is shot.
3. Try examining it before and after the gunshot.
4. Besides the usual wiring, there is a piece of green wire.
5. Try asking other characters about the green wire.
6. Everyone in the household either evades the question or lies about it.
7. You can also analyze the chunk of putty after the gunshot.
8. This should tell you that the window was broken by a remote-controlled explosive.

What are the buttons used for?

1. Every room in the house has a button to summon the butler.
2. You can keep Phong busy all night by pushing these buttons.
3. Have you pushed a button and then hidden?
4. That will throw poor Phong into confusion!
5. But there's only one room with a good hiding place.
6. Try pushing the button in the office before the gunshot.
7. Linder won't let you, because it's important in his plan.
8. Try pushing it after Monica has been to the workshop.
9. At that time, it signals the butler to come, as usual.
10. Try pushing it after the gunshot but before Monica gets home from the movie.
11. You'll hear a click from the clock. (You have to do this to get the best ending.)

Should I investigate the can of worms?

1. It's in the kitchen.
2. Phong does something with it.
3. Have you tried to do anything with it?
4. How about trying to find it?
5. Or asking the program what it is?

What significance do the clocks have?

1. There is a clock in the kitchen and the office.
2. Isn't it strange that there are no alarm clocks in the bedrooms?
3. Maybe, but it's not important.
4. The only interesting clock is the grandfather clock in the office.
5. Try examining it before and after the gunshot.
6. Try figuring out what that dark powder is around the keyhole.
7. Try analyzing the powder.
8. It's gunpowder.
9. This should tell you that the fatal bullet actually comes from inside the clock, through the keyhole rather than through the window.
10. You have to prove this in order to get to the best ending. One way to prove it is to analyze the powder.

What use is the broom?

1. Can you use it to clean anything?
2. No, you can't.
3. Who else would you expect to use it?
4. Try asking Phong about it.
5. That's all there is to the broom.

What can I learn from the mystery book?

1. It's in the butler's room.
2. Have you read it? Was it interesting?
3. Have you shown it to Monica?
4. Have you shown it to Duffy?
5. What about the bookmark?
6. The bookmark is a receipt for two identical handguns, not one.
7. Try showing the receipt to Phong.
8. He'll tell you that the name on the receipt is false and that Monica bought the guns.
9. Monica and Linder want you to think that there's only one gun.

Are the handcuffs useful?

1. You can try to put them on other people.
2. You'd better have a good reason, though.
3. Even with a good reason, you may not succeed.
4. In fact, you can succeed only after midnight, when everyone's tired out.
5. And even then, only one person is tired enough to succumb.
6. That person is Monica.

Will the matchbook help me solve anything?

1. Have you tried to phone the Brass Lantern?
2. Did you look inside the matchbook?
3. Whose phone number is written on the inside?
4. Try calling that number.
5. If you've lost the matchbook, you can try to PHONE THE MATCHBOOK or LOOK UP THE MATCHBOOK.
6. Try showing it to various characters.
7. You can also try to analyze the handwriting.
8. But that won't work, because the lab needs another sample of a person's handwriting to get any result.

What should I do with the threatening note?

1. Try showing it to various characters.
2. You can also try to analyze the handwriting.
3. But that won't work, because the lab needs another sample of a person's handwriting to get any result.

Can the radio tell me anything?

1. It's in the living room.
2. Try turning it on.
3. You'll hear some real programs!
4. It's a fine radio. You could probably sit and listen to it all night.
5. But you wouldn't learn anything about the case.

Can I conclude anything from the records?

1. They're in Monica's room.
2. Try playing one.
3. You'll hear some authentic popular songs!
4. You could probably sit and listen to records for a long time.
5. But you wouldn't learn anything about the case.

What should I glean from the newspaper?

1. There's one in the police file on Mrs. Linder's death. (That's the one in your game package.) Only two stories relate to this case.
2. Both of them have "Linder" in the headline.
3. There's also another newspaper on Linder's desk.
4. Try reading it.
5. You'll read some real headlines!
6. But you won't learn anything about the case.

Is there anything useful in the workshop?

1. How could you use a hammer and saw?
2. Maybe you could open something that you can't find the key for.
3. Or you could use the rope to make a hangman's noose.
4. Then again, you might as well leave the tools alone.
5. But there is something useful in the workshop.

Is the car key a clue?

1. Can you tell which car is whose?
2. If you wait for Linder to use his car, maybe you can get a key from him.
3. But Linder doesn't use any car in this story.
4. But Monica does.
5. Is she trying to hide the car key from you?
6. No, she isn't.
7. You can't find any car key.
8. Remember the warning in the introduction: Do not use the presence or absence of a question on a certain topic as an indication of what is important, and don't assume that long answers are associated with important questions.

Does the cat have any significance?

1. Try asking Linder about it.
2. Try asking Monica about it.
3. Try petting it.
4. Try waking it.
5. Try kicking it.
6. Where does it go after the gunshot?
7. It disappears, like any sensible animal.

What can I learn from the footprints in the back yard?

1. If you analyze the footprints, you'll get a cast that you can compare with people's shoes.
2. Of course, if you haven't seen any footprints, you can't analyze them.
3. Try examining people's shoes.
4. Stiles's shoes are muddy.
5. His shoes match the footprints.
6. This shows that Stiles really is in the back yard at the time of the gunshot.

Can I determine anything from the footprints in the side yard?

1. If you analyze the footprints, you'll get a cast that you can compare with people's shoes.
2. Of course, if you haven't seen any footprints, you can't analyze them.
3. And you'll have to be careful not to make a mess in the muddy yard.
4. If you don't make a cast of the prints the first time you're there after the rain storm, you'll confuse them with your own footprints.
5. Try to find the muddy boots.
6. After the gunshot, they're on the shoe platform in the entry.
7. The muddy boots match the footprints.
8. Try asking Phong about the muddy boots.
9. He'll admit that he was in the side yard just before the gunshot, but he'll claim that he heard a noise.
10. Actually, he goes there to "plant" the muddy handgun and watch for Stiles to arrive.

Will the footprints in the front yard help me solve anything?

1. If you analyze the footprints, you'll get a cast that you can compare with people's shoes.
2. Of course, if you haven't seen any footprints, you can't analyze them.
3. Do you make them when you're stealing vegetables?
4. No, you don't.
5. Does Phong make them while putting worms in the garden?
6. No, he doesn't.
7. Does Duffy make them while investigating on his own?
8. No, he doesn't. He's much too careful for that.
9. There aren't any footprints in the front yard.
10. Remember the warning in the introduction: Do not use the presence or absence of a question on a certain topic as an indication of what is important, and don't assume that long answers are associated with important questions.

What if my cast doesn't match anybody's shoes?

1. Maybe someone went through the yard and then left the property.
2. Or maybe they just changed shoes.
3. Where could one change shoes without tracking mud through the house?
4. There's a platform for storing shoes in the front entry.
5. After a certain time, you can find some muddy boots there.
6. Try asking Phong about the muddy boots.

Who rings the doorbell?

1. After the gunshot, you can go to the front door and see for yourself.
2. You'll see that it's Duffy.
3. What about just before the gunshot?
4. You could ask Phong about it.
5. Actually, it's a signal.
6. Phong rings it to tell Linder that Stiles is coming.

Who calls on the phone?

1. It isn't the folks at the Brass Lantern, begging for a takeout order.
2. It isn't the coroner. He's much too busy, even for a Friday night.
3. It isn't the operator, asking whether you need the police.
4. It isn't Stiles. He's never home during the story.
5. In fact, you can try to call all of the above.
6. But no one calls during the story.
7. That happens in DEADLINE(tm).

Does Monica really go to the movie?

1. You can ask her about the movie.
2. She knows who the star was, at least.
3. You can poke around in the garage after she comes home.
4. The hood of her car feels warm, so she didn't just go around the block.
5. Also, she drops her ticket stub in the garage.
6. If you ANALYZE it, you can tell that she really goes.

Why would Monica want to go to the movie?

1. It isn't just a casual date.
2. Linder doesn't want her to go, but she goes anyway.
3. She goes even if you try to delay her with questions.
4. She wants to have an alibi for the time of the shooting.

What does Monica do in the workshop?

1. Generally speaking, she works there on her own projects.
2. Specifically, she goes in there when she gets home from the movie.
3. She does something with the wires in the junction box.
4. The junction box is where all the custom wiring in the house joins together.
5. She needs to dismantle the wires connecting the office button with the office window and grandfather clock.

Why does Monica go into the kitchen?

1. She doesn't cook. Phong does that.
2. She doesn't pour out a belt of whisky. That's in the living room.
3. She doesn't fix a late-night snack. Her stomach couldn't take it after the shooting.
4. She doesn't even fix breakfast before you have to leave.
5. She doesn't go to the kitchen at all.

What prompts Monica to enter the office?

1. She goes there before the movie to say good-bye to Linder.
2. She goes there after the movie to say hello to Linder.
3. When she sees his body, she seems to be overcome with disgust and grief.
4. She also goes there late at night.
5. She doesn't do anything if she sees you in the office.
6. If you hide in the office or outside on the porch, you can see what she does.
7. She needs to remove evidence from the clock.
8. Afterwards, you can handcuff her and search her to find the evidence.

On what occasions does Phong enter the kitchen?

1. At different times he goes in to do different things.
2. In his orderly way, he seems to begin a new activity on the hour.
3. Try going in the kitchen at different times.
4. Maybe he'll enjoy the company.
5. Or maybe not.

What does Phong do in his bedroom?

1. Sometimes he reads the mystery book.
2. Other times he just meditates on his future.
3. Isn't it strange how no one sleeps in this story?
4. ...except Linder, who sleeps the big sleep.
5. Maybe it isn't strange, considering the recent deaths.

Why does Phong go outside?

1. Sometimes he tends the garden in the front yard.
2. Sometimes he goes outside to check on strange noises.
3. Sometimes he goes outside because Linder orders him to go.
4. For instance, on this night he tramps through the muddy side yard. (See the question about footprints in the side yard.)

Where is the key?

1. One person has the keys for all the doors in the house.
2. That's Phong.
3. Only one person knows for sure where the clock key is.
4. That's Monica.
5. She has it all the time, but you can't discover that until after she uses it.
6. Try handcuffing and searching her after she uses it.
7. You have to prove where the fatal bullet actually comes from, in order to get the best ending. One way to prove it is to search Monica and then use the key.

What can I do with the cars?

1. You can't drive them.
2. You can't even get in them.
3. You can look at them, though.
4. You can even look inside them.
5. And you can feel that the MG is warm after Monica comes home.

How is "O.K." really spelled?

1. In The Big Sleep, published in 1939, Raymond Chandler always spelled it "okey."
2. So that's how it's spelled when characters in The WITNESS say it.
3. According to H. L. Mencken's The American Language, President Woodrow Wilson used "okeh" on documents.
4. So that's how it's spelled in the context of the story in The WITNESS.
5. Today's spelling appears in The WITNESS only in the context of using computers.

What is Linder's plan?

1. Once you enter the house, he won't let you out of his sight.
2. Once he takes you to his office, he won't let you leave.
3. He wants you in his office, sitting down, when Stiles arrives.
4. He phoned Stiles and persuaded him to come to the office at 9:00.
5. He wants you to witness the gunshot.
6. He wants you to arrest Stiles for attempted murder.
7. He doesn't intend to be killed.

What is Monica's plan?

1. She cooperates fully with Linder's plan (see above), except...
2. She wants to leave the house before Stiles arrives.
3. If you don't suspect Stiles, she may tell you about the medical report. (See the question on Linder's motive.)
4. She doesn't want you to witness the gunshot.
5. But she doesn't want Linder to know that.
6. (WARNING: Don't read further unless you think you know what it says!)
7. Linder expects the bullet to miss him. And she expects it to kill him.

What part does Phong play?

1. He cooperates fully with Linder's plan (see above).
2. That includes his duty in the side yard. (See the question about footprints in the side yard.)
3. (WARNING: Don't read further unless you think you know what it says!)
4. He's surprised when Linder is killed.
5. Then he has all night to meditate on his future.
6. That's all folks!

What is Stiles's plan?

1. It certainly seems obvious, doesn't it?
2. That's what Linder wants you to think.
3. Linder phoned him and persuaded him to come to the house at 9:00.
4. Part of the persuasion was an offer of money.
5. If you're still outside when Stiles arrives, Linder doesn't know you're there, so he gives Stiles some money and sends him away.
6. If you're inside when Stiles arrives, he fits right into Linder's plan.
7. Like a true grifter, Stiles has no real plan.

How does Terry fit into the scheme?

1. Try asking Monica.
2. No help at all, is it?
3. Have you seen Terry meditating in the rock garden?
4. No, that doesn't happen.
5. Who is that person that shows up just before dawn?
6. Nobody shows up just before dawn.
7. In fact, Terry never shows up at all.
8. By the way, what gender have you assumed for Terry?
9. Remember the warning in the introduction: Do not use the presence or absence of a question on a certain topic as an indication of what is important, and don't assume that long answers are associated with important questions.

Why does Duffy arrive at the house?

1. At the beginning of the story, you don't expect to need Duffy.
2. But he shows up anyway, about 9:00.
3. Available and helpful, as usual.
4. In fact, you can ask Duffy for hints, if you want.

What is Linder's motive?

1. Could his death be suicide?
2. Maybe he's stricken with grief over his wife's death.
3. Maybe he has a fatal disease.
4. Try to find a medical report.
5. It's in a messy place, where you have to search for it carefully.
6. It's in Monica's room, on her desk.
7. The medical report says that Linder will die soon and painfully.
8. Try analyzing the report or showing it to Duffy before he goes to the morgue. Or try to analyze the corpse for a tumor.
9. In either case, the coroner will report that the medical report is false.
10. Linder has no motive for suicide, only for framing Stiles.

What is Monica's motive?

1. She could blame Stiles for her mother's suicide.
2. Try asking her about him.
3. But you'd better do it either before she sees the corpse or after she admits her part in Linder's plan.
4. She doesn't really blame Stiles.
5. Try asking Phong about the suicide. Or try asking Monica about her mother or her father or the affair.
6. Any of these will establish Monica's motive.
7. Monica's motive is that she blames Linder for her mother's death.

Does Phong have a motive?

1. Try asking Phong about himself or Linder.
2. He will tell you something that establishes his motive.
3. Or try asking Monica about Linder's will after she sees the corpse.
4. She will tell you something that establishes Phong's motive.
5. Phong's motive is that he thinks Linder deceived him about his job and the money he would make.

What incentive does Stiles have to commit the murder?

1. It certainly seems obvious, doesn't it?
2. That's what Linder wants you to think.
3. But when Stiles answers any of your questions, he pleads innocence.
4. Try asking him about Mr. or Mrs. Linder.
5. (WARNING: Don't read further unless you think you know what it says!)
6. Actually, Stiles doesn't want to shoot anybody.

Can you establish a motive for Terry?

1. Terry really wanted to see this movie.
2. When Monica suggested going out, it was easy to choose this movie.
3. It's not clear whether or not Terry wants to be better friends with Monica. Would you?
4. Oops! Were you assuming that Terry has a motive for a crime?
5. If so, you're wrong.
6. By the way, what gender have you assumed for Terry?

How does this story end?

1. If you don't arrest someone before 8:00 a.m., Police Chief Klutz arrives to take you away, but not for a well-deserved rest.
2. If you try to attack, kill, or shoot another character, you have a 50-50 chance of succeeding and getting taken away.
3. If you're not sitting down when the gunshot goes off, you have a 50-50 chance of dying from it.
4. If you're poking around in the wrong place when the gunshot goes off, you die from it.
5. If you don't enter the house soon enough for Linder's plan, he doesn't get shot, and the story ends with a postscript about Stiles getting shot a few days later.
6. Otherwise, the story ends when you arrest one or more people.
7. And, if you try to arrest more than two people, you can't.
8. Further, if you try to arrest two people, and they're not Monica and Phong, you can't.

How do I prove my case to the satisfaction of a jury?

1. You need to establish "method, motive, and opportunity": That means you need either physical evidence or reliable testimony that proves how the crime was committed, why the suspect did it, and when the suspect had the opportunity to do it.
2. (WARNING: The following hints tell what the method was and how to prove it.)
3. You can prove the actual murder method either by proving that a gun was in the clock and was set off by the butler's button, or by getting Monica or Phong to spill the beans.
4. You can prove that a gun was in the clock either by analyzing the gunpowder on the keyhole or by finding the gun itself in Monica's possession.
5. You can prove that the button set off the gun by pushing it between the time Linder is shot and the time Monica gets home.
6. Monica will spill the beans if you accuse her after seeing her remove the gun from the clock, or if you ask her about the gunpowder, or the grandfather clock, or the butler's button, after you have proven the button connection.
7. Phong will spill the beans if you accuse him after finding the gun receipt and matching his boots to the footprints in the side yard, or if you ask him about the gunpowder or the grandfather clock or the butler's button after you have proven the button connection.

What are the possibilities when I make the arrest?

1. If you haven't proved the actual murder method, the D.A. refuses to indict, claiming the evidence is too flimsy. (But your boss gives you a suggestion that should help you next time you play.
2. Exception: You can arrest the corpse and get a silly ending.
3. Another exception: You can arrest Stiles and get him convicted, but a postscript tells you that he is later released when some unspecified new evidence is found.
4. If you have proved the murder method, the ending depends on whom you arrest.
5. If you arrest Stiles, he is acquitted because of his lack of access to the Linder house.
6. If you arrest the corpse, the coroner makes an unsatisfying ruling. If you haven't seen the medical report, the coroner reaches no conclusion; otherwise, the coroner rules suicide, but your boss doesn't believe it.
7. If you arrest both Monica and Phong, and have seen the gun receipt, and have established Monica's motive and opportunity (the latter either by seeing her remove the gun or by opening the clock yourself with the key), then you have a pretty good case against them. However, Phong confesses only to conspiring in Linder's plan and gets a suspended sentence; then Monica manages to get the same deal. Your boss is not satisfied with this result.
8. If you arrest Phong with or without Monica, but you _haven't_ met all these conditions, Phong is acquitted because he lacks the mechanical skills necessary to construct the hidden gun mechanism. If you also arrest Monica, she too is acquitted: either for lack of motive or opportunity, or, if you haven't seen the gun receipt, because Phong was.
9. If you arrest Monica alone, and you have established motive but not opportunity, she is acquitted for circumstantial evidence. If you have established her opportunity, you win!

For Your Amusement