An old watchmaker was murdered in his workshop. On his workbench, he had arranged four clocks to read different times: Clock 1 read 3:15, Clock 2 read 6:30, Clock 3 read 9:45, and Clock 4 read 12:00. The victim's clumsy son claimed he walked in at noon and found his father dead. Detective Gray arrested the son for perjury. Why?
The clocks were arranged in 2 hour and 45 minute increments, spelling out a message or proving the son's arrival time conflicted with the crime.
Let's refine: If the son claimed he arrived at noon, but Clock 4 read 12:00, why is that a lie? Because the father had been dead for hours and couldn't have set the clocks, or the son mentioned the time before seeing the clocks. Let's make it tighter: The clocks were all stopped, and the son stated he wound them up at noon, but the victim was killed at 3:15.
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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