Brain Teasers
Twilight Zone Robbery
Brothers Jim and Mike Marshall owned and operated a jewelry exchange aptly named J&M Precious Jewel Exchange which had been left to them in their Father's Will. Although their large inventory consisted of various precious stones from all over the world, diamonds were the mainstay and specialty of the business. Due to the high values placed on their inventory, certain security precautions had been implemented by one of the leading security companies to prevent thefts.
The security system was very high tech and designed to thwart any robbery attempts. It had been specially designed for the Exchange and the habits of the two brothers. Jim had always been very bad at misplacing his keys and Mike was extremely forgetful when it came to remembering security codes. Therefore, the security company had installed a system that was activated when either Jim or Mike placed their right hand on the entry pad thus eliminating the need for keys or security codes. All was well until..............
One morning Jim arrived at work and discovered that they had been robbed sometime in the night. The alarm had not been disarmed and had not gone off. There were no visible signs of forced entry. Everything was as he had left it the night before when he set the alarm and left - except that the inventory had been almost completely wiped out. He immediately called the authorities and then called his brother, who was out of the country on a short vacation for the last week.
Detective Jones received a call to respond to a robbery at the Exchange and arrived a short time later. Detective Jones routinely put on a pair of standard issue police latex gloves and, upon entering the building, proceeded to examine the doors and other possible points of entry. He found there to be no signs of forced entry. Although, upon a close inspection of the security pad, he found that the tip of his gloved finger seemed to stick to the outer edge of the security entry pad. Once inside, he found no indication that the premises had been searched in any way, as a normal robbery would leave the premises in a state of disarray. Therefore, Detective Jones requested Jim call and assemble all of the current employees of the Exchange. At the current time, there were only three employees. Robyn Moore, a young and attractive woman, who was the receptionist/secretary and had been with the Exchange for over five years. Jim stated that she was very trustworthy and loyal. John Banks, who validated the authenticity and quality of the various gems and diamonds, and had been with the Exchange for over twenty years and had become a part of the family as he had also worked for Jim and Mike's father. He had heavily invested in the Exchange when the two brothers took control and was somewhat of a "silent partner" which was unknown to the other two employees. The third employee, Bill Copeland, had recently been hired to assist John in the validation of the quality of the various gems and diamonds.
Once all of the employees were present, Detective Jones interviewed each one as to their whereabouts on the previous night. Robyn stated that she had joined her parents for dinner and, due the late hour, had stayed the night with them. John indicated that he and his wife had gone to dinner with 2 other couples and then they had all gotten together for a night of bridge. Bill replied that he had an early dinner, and retired early as he had been feeling a bit under the weather. He further stated that he had watched a Twilight Zone marathon on television until he fell asleep.
Detective Jones asked them to please be patient as he needed to have another look around the premises. First he thoroughly inspected the desk and surrounding area where Robyn spent her day. Nothing was amiss. He then proceeded to inspect the office and work bench where John worked with the various stones and diamonds. He noted a box of thin latex gloves which were used when inspecting the stones and diamonds. Again, he found nothing amiss. Lastly, he inspected the office and work area occupied by Bill and noted a box of latex gloves and a box of self adhering 8" by 10" transparent sheets, which are normally used to protect important documents. The box had been partially used and there were several discarded sheets in the waste basket. Upon completing his inspection, he advised Robyn and John that they were free to leave and thanked them for their time. He then proceeded to arrest Bill as the thief.
How did Detective Jones decide that Bill was the guilty party and what evidence led him to that conclusion?
The security system was very high tech and designed to thwart any robbery attempts. It had been specially designed for the Exchange and the habits of the two brothers. Jim had always been very bad at misplacing his keys and Mike was extremely forgetful when it came to remembering security codes. Therefore, the security company had installed a system that was activated when either Jim or Mike placed their right hand on the entry pad thus eliminating the need for keys or security codes. All was well until..............
One morning Jim arrived at work and discovered that they had been robbed sometime in the night. The alarm had not been disarmed and had not gone off. There were no visible signs of forced entry. Everything was as he had left it the night before when he set the alarm and left - except that the inventory had been almost completely wiped out. He immediately called the authorities and then called his brother, who was out of the country on a short vacation for the last week.
Detective Jones received a call to respond to a robbery at the Exchange and arrived a short time later. Detective Jones routinely put on a pair of standard issue police latex gloves and, upon entering the building, proceeded to examine the doors and other possible points of entry. He found there to be no signs of forced entry. Although, upon a close inspection of the security pad, he found that the tip of his gloved finger seemed to stick to the outer edge of the security entry pad. Once inside, he found no indication that the premises had been searched in any way, as a normal robbery would leave the premises in a state of disarray. Therefore, Detective Jones requested Jim call and assemble all of the current employees of the Exchange. At the current time, there were only three employees. Robyn Moore, a young and attractive woman, who was the receptionist/secretary and had been with the Exchange for over five years. Jim stated that she was very trustworthy and loyal. John Banks, who validated the authenticity and quality of the various gems and diamonds, and had been with the Exchange for over twenty years and had become a part of the family as he had also worked for Jim and Mike's father. He had heavily invested in the Exchange when the two brothers took control and was somewhat of a "silent partner" which was unknown to the other two employees. The third employee, Bill Copeland, had recently been hired to assist John in the validation of the quality of the various gems and diamonds.
Once all of the employees were present, Detective Jones interviewed each one as to their whereabouts on the previous night. Robyn stated that she had joined her parents for dinner and, due the late hour, had stayed the night with them. John indicated that he and his wife had gone to dinner with 2 other couples and then they had all gotten together for a night of bridge. Bill replied that he had an early dinner, and retired early as he had been feeling a bit under the weather. He further stated that he had watched a Twilight Zone marathon on television until he fell asleep.
Detective Jones asked them to please be patient as he needed to have another look around the premises. First he thoroughly inspected the desk and surrounding area where Robyn spent her day. Nothing was amiss. He then proceeded to inspect the office and work bench where John worked with the various stones and diamonds. He noted a box of thin latex gloves which were used when inspecting the stones and diamonds. Again, he found nothing amiss. Lastly, he inspected the office and work area occupied by Bill and noted a box of latex gloves and a box of self adhering 8" by 10" transparent sheets, which are normally used to protect important documents. The box had been partially used and there were several discarded sheets in the waste basket. Upon completing his inspection, he advised Robyn and John that they were free to leave and thanked them for their time. He then proceeded to arrest Bill as the thief.
How did Detective Jones decide that Bill was the guilty party and what evidence led him to that conclusion?
Hint
The Exchange had a policy that, when inspecting the precious stones and diamonds, the individual wear thin latex gloves to prevent leaving prints and oil on the stones and diamonds.Answer
Since there were no signs of forced entry and nothing amiss in the exchange except for the missing inventory, Detective Jones knew it had to be an inside job. Robyn had an alibi as did John who had nothing to gain by robbing the exchange as he was a silent partner. Both alibis were easily verified. This left the newest employee, Bill Copeland.When Detective Jones inspected the workspace of Bill Copeland, he not only found a large supply of the required latex gloves, but also a package of self adhering 8" x 10" transparent sheets used to protect important documents. He also noted that several had been used and then tossed into the waste basket next to the desk. Upon inspecting the discarded sheets, he noticed they had been used and contained only the imprint of a hand - palm and all five fingers appearing intact. He remembered how the tip of his gloved finger had stuck to the security pad indicating the presence of a sticky residue. From that, he knew what had taken place and how it had been done.
Bill had arrived after Jim had disarmed the security system and had quickly placed one of the transparent sticky sheets on the security pad pressing it gently and peeled it back off. In doing this, he obtained Jim's complete hand imprint. Since the pad was cleaned each night by the janitor, he knew he would get a clear print. He then put on a latex glove and transferred the print to his glove enclosed hand. But, in using this method, which worked somewhat like a mirror, he would end up with a left hand print to use on the pad which was programed to read only the right hand. Knowing this, Bill then repeated the process only this time using his gloved left hand which contained the print. The final result was a right hand glove containing the print. He then waited until late in the evening and returned using the right hand glove containing the lifted print thus enabling him to use the glove to "impersonate" Jim's hand and basically "fool" the security system. After gaining entry and robbing the exchange, he reset the alarm in the same manner so it would appear that no one had gained entrance.
Detective Jones also knew that the Twilight Zone marathon had been cancelled as he had planned on watching it and was disappointed that it had been cancelled. Thus catching Bill in a lie.
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Comments
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY FROGGER
Thanks buddy SWAFF! I'm glad my first mystery made it on. Thanks for your opinion during the trial run! Next, is secret teaser #2!
Oh, by the way, your little PM this a.m. was really good....you got me on that one! And, you were the first to make a comment here!
Oh, by the way, your little PM this a.m. was really good....you got me on that one! And, you were the first to make a comment here!
TOOOOOOOOO LLLLOOOONNNGGGG but not too bad
It was long, yes but froggy's famous for it
Good teaser though worth reading till the end!
Good teaser though worth reading till the end!
sniper I know that it was long, but I couldn't find a way to shorten it and still have it make sense.
Dutchy.....are you trying to tell me something...that maybe I like to talk a lot?! YOU'RE RIGHT!
Dutchy.....are you trying to tell me something...that maybe I like to talk a lot?! YOU'RE RIGHT!
FROGGY I NOTICED THAT U ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST TEASERS! OR RIDDLES/WHATEVER. BUT I WAS WONDERING-HOW WOULD WE HAVE KNOWN THAT THE TWILIGHT ZONE MARATHON WAS CANCELED? I ONLY FOUND OUT WHEN I READ THE ANSWER. BUT OVERALL UR TEASERS ROCK!
Thanks MTK. I just threw that in as another way the Detective knew that he was lying. It wasn't really a big part of the teaser. I also used it for the title.
Got it right. That was good, but the transparent stickysheets definitely gave it away.That took some thought on your part though. Good job, bravo.
tjsmom thank you for the great comment. I'm glad you liked it. It's my first mystery so I was a bit skeptical as to the response it would receive. So far, it has been great. Thanks again!
good teaser, although the clues were giveaways. 2 things: 1st, If people had longer attension spans & didn't mind reading longer you would be allowed some red herrings, shame really; and 2nd, I forgot what I was gonna say ...
oh froggy ur so fine ur so fine u blew my mind yay froggy yay froggy!!!! (it was a bit long but i knew that all ur teasers r good so i read it anyway) veryy goody froggyy. doy uy needy somey coffeey nowy!!!! y y y
I knew it because I watch CSI-- every episode baby
Froggy-- I loved your "novel" LOL
But really, I think its great-- can't wait to read another!
But really, I think its great-- can't wait to read another!
musa: Thanks - and I know what you mean about the "red herrings" but I was afraid it was already almost too long!
zig: Thanks...I'm really glad that you liked it and my others.
Iy amy drinkingy somey righty nowy! y
trickster: I also watch the original CSI and love that show! I don't care much for the spin-offs though as they lack the bond between characters that the original CSI captures.
buttons: I am very glad that you liked it and I hope I can come up with a few more mysteries, too! Talk to you later.......
Thanks to everyone for your support and great comments on my first mystery!
zig: Thanks...I'm really glad that you liked it and my others.
Iy amy drinkingy somey righty nowy! y
trickster: I also watch the original CSI and love that show! I don't care much for the spin-offs though as they lack the bond between characters that the original CSI captures.
buttons: I am very glad that you liked it and I hope I can come up with a few more mysteries, too! Talk to you later.......
Thanks to everyone for your support and great comments on my first mystery!
WAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOO LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGG
nice one frog, u should keep making mysteries
sorry i didnt comment any sooner, i feel like a bad br.. i mean friend
see i cought myself that time
sorry i didnt comment any sooner, i feel like a bad br.. i mean friend
see i cought myself that time
Love your teaser. But I guess this was a give-away But this brings back the FUN in mysteries
way to long but a good one. it was worth reading.
Thanks everyone. Sorry if it was a bit long, but there is no other was to stage a proper mystery. Glad you enjoyed it.
cd: Yes, I see that you almost gave it away! But, that's okay!
cd: Yes, I see that you almost gave it away! But, that's okay!
Awesome mystery, I loved it!! I got the concept of the answer, but not really all the exact details. It was really good, and I hope you make some more excellant mysteries!
Awesome mystery!!!! you and Irish have the best mysteries....enough detail to make it really interesting
Thank you dolphin and mxclint. I'm really glad you enjoyed my first mystery and I appreciate the nice comments.
Good One, Frogg.
I got it from the moment of the sticky finding, so the sticky paper and the alibies where too easy to figure out.
An advise: I always try to misdirect the guilt to one of the innocent suspects, or to simulate an accident, to make it a little fun.
Keep on going!
I got it from the moment of the sticky finding, so the sticky paper and the alibies where too easy to figure out.
An advise: I always try to misdirect the guilt to one of the innocent suspects, or to simulate an accident, to make it a little fun.
Keep on going!
Thanks willymapo. This was my first mystery teaser and I know I made it pretty easy and a bit obvious but, I really wanted my first mystery to get approved. Thanks for your input!
Good job froggy !
It was easy and long, but i found it very enjoyble to read !
Many more to come i suppose, we are waiting !
It was easy and long, but i found it very enjoyble to read !
Many more to come i suppose, we are waiting !
Thank you smarty! I'm really glad you enjoyed my first mystery. I hope I can do another one soon, also. Maybe, the next one will be more difficult and shorter!
Long or Short it doesn't matter because this was a Super Great Teaser!When I saw the title it cought my eye because I watch the Twilight Zone.Good One froggygg!
Thank you Saturn! I'm really glad that you liked it!
great one it was long but worth it
Thank you hello! I'm glad you liked my first mystery!
Jul 29, 2005
great teaser! i'm a newbie here and this one was the 1st one i read. i figured it out b/c of the sticky sheets and gloves. loved, loved reading it!
Thank you enigma! I'm glad you liked my teaser and welcome to the site!
hey froggy loved that teser and all ur other work keep em comin that is one of my favs.
Thank You thecowancannons! I'm really glad that you liked it!
your welcome!
These comments are all full of Happy Smilies.That's Neat!
Thank you Saturn. I am thrilled with how my first mystery has been accepted and enjoyed!
Hey Froggy and Trickster...I love CSI: my fave show...CSI:New York is pretty good, but I don't watch Miami... I agree the original does show a special bond among the character...And of course, you can't beat Grissam...He's the best one on the show! But I watches New York last night and this dude got killed by a flying " crap sickle"... (there was a leak in the airplane, and at that altitude "it" freezes...it didn't have time to unfreeze on its way down, it hit the poor guy in the head, and killed him...So what do they put on the death certificate? Anyway..keep the teasers comin...but just a little shorter! Rock on!
Thanks hit the sand! CSI is one of my favorite shows. I know this teaser was long, but I couldn't shorten it and still get everything in it that I needed to make it a mystery and one that could be solved easily. Glad you liked it.
HI!! I haven't been on braingle for very long but so far you have had the best teasers. I didn't even mind that it was long because I really like to read. So keep up the good work!!!
it WAS very long, but it was good. OMG, my eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen, reading the problem.
Thanks rmd and sudo! I am really glad you both liked it - even though it is long!
great one
Thank you Yellow! I'm glad that you liked my rather long mystery!
wow that was great for your first mystery, can't wait to read your next teaser!
chickybaby3 Thank you for the really nice comment and I am glad you liked my mystery!
Good job, Froggy. I actually got it! This was your first mystery? Well thought out and very entertaining. Keep em comin!
Thanks for the great compliment, AZTTT!
Nov 01, 2005
Not very difficult.
Nov 01, 2005
Good though.
So long.... Great mysterty!
How long did it take to type?
Nice one! Very narrative and kind of spun a web around the whole plot! Had fun!
Spcburke - Thanks for the comment! I know it was really long and pretty easy, but it was my first mystery - and only one so far!
Hamburger - Thanks for the great comment! Yes, I know this is really long, but the typing didn't take me long at all as I already had it in a word document and just copied it. (and, I can type pretty fast - last cert was 104 and 1 error - but that was several years ago, so I have no clue now. )
brainster - Thanks for the great comment! I was hoping to accomplish that!
Hamburger - Thanks for the great comment! Yes, I know this is really long, but the typing didn't take me long at all as I already had it in a word document and just copied it. (and, I can type pretty fast - last cert was 104 and 1 error - but that was several years ago, so I have no clue now. )
brainster - Thanks for the great comment! I was hoping to accomplish that!
LOVED IT FROGGYGG!!!
I do agree that a few red herrings would have improved the story.... But, personally, I don't think you should worry about the comments about its length. It's what one should expect in the mystery category. A mystery is a MINI-STORY!! There's no way you could incorporate all the necessary elements to make it good, if it were just a couple of paragraphs. Those who have such short attention spans should stick to TV!! I don't mean to sound harsh, but I felt compelled to comment after noticing similar complaints about other mystery teasers.
So I say, YOU GO GIRL!! Well-written and fun, even if it was fairly easy!! I look forward to reading your next one!!!
ps... re: my TV comment.... don't get me wrong.... I LOVE CSI!!!
I do agree that a few red herrings would have improved the story.... But, personally, I don't think you should worry about the comments about its length. It's what one should expect in the mystery category. A mystery is a MINI-STORY!! There's no way you could incorporate all the necessary elements to make it good, if it were just a couple of paragraphs. Those who have such short attention spans should stick to TV!! I don't mean to sound harsh, but I felt compelled to comment after noticing similar complaints about other mystery teasers.
So I say, YOU GO GIRL!! Well-written and fun, even if it was fairly easy!! I look forward to reading your next one!!!
ps... re: my TV comment.... don't get me wrong.... I LOVE CSI!!!
choptlivva thank you for the wonderful comment! Maybe one of these days I will get time to do another mystery.
I look forward to it!!!
A great one froggy.I liked it very much.I also guessed it was Bill when i read that he had joined the firm recently .
chopt - I hope to make another mystery one of these days!
Chidam - I'm really glad you liked my very long mystery!
Chidam - I'm really glad you liked my very long mystery!
Oh come on!!! How was I supposed to get the Twilight Zone cancellation bit?!
Pretty good, all around, though.
Pretty good, all around, though.
Oh yeah! Got it! Good 1 Froggy!
Thanks guys!
Good one!
I'll take long over stupid any day of the week.
I'll take long over stupid any day of the week.
Great teaser! Ingenious solution! Really fun!
Good one, I didn't mind the length,(I agree with Scallio on that one). The title was a bit of a giveaway, at least for me. Again, good one, especially for your first mystery!!!
cases like this kind of sound like episodes from 'detective conan' fun!
It was a LITTLE bit too long, but I enjoyed it a lot. But I also thought that it was a little obvious. good teaser though.........
Good one froggy! I am looking for your others now!
Thanks everyone for the great comments on my first mystery teaser. Tonja, I think it will be a while before I can come up with another teaser of any kind!
how i was supposed to know the last answer about the twilight zone, i'm not sure...
I guessed Bill 'cause of the title.
So long. So long So long. So-...zzzzz...
awesome teaser! i kind of got it right. my explanation was along the lines. i got the idea from National Treasure, when Nicholas Cage gets the girls fingerprints off a glass, and transfers them to a latex glove. cool teaser, well written, too.
Wouldn't a normal business also install cameras? They can afford all these high tech securities but can't buy cameras? lol
This teaser is really awesome! it's officially one of my favorites.
You had a very good teaser that was well worded and had a lot of details.
I thought John was the liar. Bridge can only be played by 4 people (or 8 with two tables). 6 doesn't work.
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