A notorious smuggler was caught crossing the border with a hollowed-out wooden cane. Customs inspector Nia X-rayed the cane, opened it, and found it completely empty. She let him pass. Ten minutes later, detective Jax arrested the smuggler for carrying stolen diamonds. How did Jax know they were inside the cane?
The cane floated when dropped in water.
Diamonds are extremely dense and heavy. A hollow wooden cane filled with air would float or be buoyant, whereas a solid cane or one packed with heavy diamonds would sink differently.
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.
More detective riddles
During a blackout, a jeweler was robbed in his ground-floor shop. The thief shattered the front display window from the outside. Vance arrived, turned on his flashlight, and immediately arrested the jeweler for insurance fraud. What gave the jeweler away?
The victim was found in a sealed fallout shelter with zero oxygen remaining. The only entrance was a heavy steel door locked from the inside. There were no tunnels or vents. How did the killer pull off the crime?
Detective Lane walked into the study where the safe was blown open. The victim sat at the desk with a pen in hand, having written a final note: 'My killer is my loyal nephew, who brought me my morning coffee in a red mug.' Lane immediately arrested the nephew, not for the note, but because of a glaring physical contradiction in the room. What was it?
The famous singer Maria was found dead in her dressing room before a big concert. The room was locked from the inside. On her vanity mirror, scrawled in lipstick, was the name 'MARK'. Detective Silva suspected Mark, but Mark produced a watertight alibi: he was on a live television broadcast three miles away when she died. Silva smiled and arrested Mark anyway. How did Mark commit the murder with an alibi?
A wealthy art collector was found poisoned in his gallery. On his desk was a notepad with four names written in sequence: Anna, Boris, Clara, and David. Each name had a specific painted canvas number next to it. The detective immediately knew the killer was the person whose canvas depicted a winter scene, but none of the paintings had titles. How did the detective identify the canvas?
An art collector reported a forged painting hanging in his gallery instead of the original masterwork. Three suspects had access: the curator, the cleaner, and the framer. The curator wore white cotton gloves. The cleaner wore rubber dish gloves. The framer wore leather work gloves. Which suspect left behind smudge marks of wet oil paint on the frame?