A famous racehorse was stolen from its heavily guarded stable. The stable doors were locked from the inside with heavy iron bars, and the night watchman was found tied up in the corner. The watchman claimed masked men knocked him out and walked the massive horse right out the front door. The detective looked at the stable's standard doorway, which was six feet tall and four feet wide, and immediately arrested the watchman for lying. Why?
A horse cannot fit through that doorway easily, or wait—a full-grown horse is much larger than a standard 4x6 door? Actually, standard stable doors are large. Let's rethink: The stable doorway had a low clearance beam at four feet high, or the horse's hooves left no tracks outside.
Let's use a cleaner deduction: The stable doors were locked from the *inside* with heavy iron bars. If the doors were locked from the inside after the horse left, how did the thieves exit and re-lock the bars from the outside? They couldn't.
About this riddle
Detective riddles are tiny mysteries. Look for the detail in the story that does not fit; it is usually the clue that solves the case.
Difficulty: Easy. More like this: Detective riddles with answers or try Truth & Lie Island for a different kind of puzzle.
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