A museum curator was found bound and gagged in his office. He claimed a masked intruder forced him at gunpoint to open the high-security vault. Detective Finch inspected the curator's tightly bound wrists, which were secured with heavy plastic zip-ties. Finch noticed the excess tail of the zip-tie pointed inward toward the palm rather than outward. Finch arrested the curator. Why?
Zip-ties tightened by someone else point outward; tying oneself usually leaves the tail pointing inward.
When an attacker restrains someone else, the excess strap of a zip-tie naturally points outward away from the body. When a person binds their own wrists in front of them or pulls them tight against their body, the awkward angle causes the tail to point inward toward the palms.
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: Hard. More like this: Detective riddles with answers or try Truth & Lie Island for a different kind of puzzle.
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