It snowed all night and stopped at 6 a.m. At 7, the Garcias found their new sled missing from the porch. The detective trudged past a row of snow-buried cars to the house next door, where Dan answered in his bathrobe, his black pickup gleaming in the driveway behind him. "Haven't stepped outside since yesterday afternoon," Dan yawned. "Slept like a rock." How did the detective know Dan was lying?
Hint: Compare Dan's driveway with the rest of the street.
AnswerHis truck had no snow on itEvery other car on the street was buried, but Dan's pickup was gleaming. A truck that sat there all night would be buried too, so Dan must have cleared it or driven it after the snow stopped.
During the second half of the championship game, someone took the team trophy from the locker room. The first half ended 0-0. After the final whistle, the coach calls Sam. 'I felt sick and went home at halftime,' Sam croaks. 'Phone off, slept all afternoon.' 'Well, we won 2-1,' says the coach. 'No way! Bet Maya was pumped her second goal held up.' How did the coach know Sam was lying?
Hint: When were all three goals scored?
AnswerHe knew Maya scored twice, and every goal came after halftimeThe first half was scoreless, so all three goals came after Sam says he left. The coach only gave the final score, yet Sam knew Maya scored the winning second goal.
On a freezing January morning, $50 vanished from the tip jar at a warm, steamy bakery. A few minutes later, Ned strolled up to the counter, pushed his crystal-clear glasses up his nose and rubbed his hands together. "Brr! I just walked over from the bus stop," he said. "What's fresh today?" How did the baker know Ned was lying?
Hint: Think about what happens to cold lenses in a warm, steamy room.
AnswerHis glasses would have fogged upGlasses that just came in from freezing air fog over the moment they meet a warm, steamy room. Ned's were perfectly clear, so he had been inside long enough for them to warm up.
At Lily's seventh birthday party, someone sneaked a bite out of the cake before it was served. Right in the middle of the bite mark, a thin ridge of frosting is still standing. The suspects: Ava, who won't stop talking about her new puppy; Jack, who came straight from soccer practice; and Leo, who keeps showing everyone the dollar the tooth fairy left him this morning. Who bit the cake?
Hint: What would leave a ridge standing in the middle of a bite?
AnswerLeoA ridge of frosting left in the middle of the bite means the biter has a gap in his front teeth. The tooth fairy visited Leo last night, so he just lost a tooth.
A rare book went missing from the Maple Street Library, and Mr. Hale insists he returned it. 'I dropped it at the front desk on Mother's Day afternoon, right before I took my mom to dinner,' he says. 'The librarian even thanked me.' The hours on the door read: Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sat 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. How did the librarian know he was fibbing?
Hint: What day of the week is Mother's Day?
AnswerThe library is closed on Sundays, and Mother's Day is always a SundayIn the US, Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May, and the posted hours show the library doesn't open on Sundays.
Someone hid a rubber chicken in the boss's desk drawer sometime in the last hour. Ken says he hasn't left his desk all hour because he's been typing up the sales report. To prove it, he flips open his laptop, holds the power button until it chimes and waits for it to load so he can show the manager his work. How did the manager know Ken was lying?
Hint: Watch what Ken has to do before he can show his work.
AnswerHis laptop was switched offKen had to power on his laptop and wait for it to start up, so it couldn't have been on the whole hour while he was supposedly typing.
Someone let the air out of the lifeguard's rescue raft at Daytona Beach, on Florida's Atlantic coast, right around sunset. Trent says, "It wasn't me. I was sitting on the sand the whole time, watching the sun sink into the ocean." How did the lifeguard know Trent was lying?
Hint: Which direction does the sun set?
AnswerThe sun doesn't set over the Atlantic in FloridaThe sun sets in the west, and the Atlantic is east of Daytona Beach, so the sun would go down behind the land, not into the ocean.
During a thunderstorm, the whole town lost power from 9 to 10 p.m. That morning, the museum director had grumbled that the repair shop wouldn't return the building's generator until Friday. When the lights came back on, the golden statue was gone. The guard shrugs. 'I watched it all on the security monitors,' he says. 'Skinny guy in a red cap, out the loading dock.' How did the detective know the guard was lying?
Hint: Where was the generator during the blackout?
AnswerThe cameras and monitors had no powerWith the town's power out and the generator still at the repair shop, the security monitors were dark, so the guard couldn't have watched anything.
While the campers at Pine Lake told stories around the fire, someone sneaked off and ate every hot dog in the cooler. In the mud next to the cooler are fresh prints with smooth, flat soles, no toes and a small round dimple near the front of each one. Mia wore flip-flops all evening, Ben was barefoot and Carlos wore his new hiking boots. Who raided the cooler?
Hint: What sits near the front of some shoes, between your toes?
AnswerMiaBare feet leave toe prints and hiking boots leave a chunky tread. A smooth sole with a round dimple near the front is a flip-flop, where the toe post plugs into the sole.
Mrs. Bell's garden gnome vanished on the night of April 30. Her nephew Kyle swears he couldn't have taken it. 'I drove up for my cousin's graduation on April 27 and stayed four nights,' he says. 'I didn't get home until the 31st.' How did Mrs. Bell know Kyle's story was made up?
Hint: Count the days in the month.
AnswerApril only has 30 daysKyle claims he got home on April 31, but April has only 30 days, so his alibi can't be true.
Late one night, someone took Grandpa's toolbox from the garage, where Rocket, the family beagle, sleeps. Rocket howls at the mail carrier every single day. The next morning, the neighbors say it was the quietest night they've had all month. The suspects are a delivery driver who'd never visited before, a brand-new neighbor and Grandpa's teenage grandson, who lives in the house. Who took the toolbox?
Hint: Sometimes the clue is what didn't happen.
AnswerThe grandsonA dog that howls at a daily visitor would have made noise at a stranger in the garage. The quiet night means Rocket knew the thief, so it was the grandson.
The park crew spent Tuesday morning giving every bench in Oak Park a coat of bright green, and they packed up at noon. Around 12:30, someone took a kid's scooter from the playground. Gary, in his favorite tan pants, tells the officer, 'I didn't see who did it. I was on the bench by the swings, reading the paper from 12:15 till 1.' How did the officer know Gary was lying?
Hint: What had just happened to every bench in the park?
AnswerHis pants would be covered in green paintThe benches were painted that morning and still wet at 12:15, so sitting on one for 45 minutes would have left green paint on his tan pants.
Detective riddles are mini mysteries. Something has gone missing or someone has told a fib, and one small detail in the story gives them away. Read like a detective: check times, places, weather and what each person could really have known.
Every mystery is family-friendly, with stolen pies, hidden trophies and suspicious alibis instead of anything scary. Want a bigger challenge? Try our Case Files, where you pick the culprit from three suspects.