Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 3, 2026 Medium walkthrough
Oct 3, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Medium case “The Last Bottles of 1947”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Medium case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 17 of them carry a clue; the other 3 only have something to say about themselves. 4 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. The order below is one valid route; any order where each verdict is proven when you enter it reaches the same answer.
Spoiler: show the full walkthrough
Start: Petra (D4) begins the case proven innocent.
Gus and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Petra, delivery driver (D4)
Step 1: Kira (C3, label painter) is innocent. This follows from Petra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Leo (D3, delivery driver) is innocent. This follows from Petra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 3: Gus (C2, estate chef) is innocent. This follows from Leo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Gus and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Leo, delivery driver (D3)
Step 4: Queenie (A5, estate chef) is a criminal. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm innocent, then Queenie is a criminal.— Kira, label painter (C3)
Step 5: Cora (C1, label painter) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Gus’s and Queenie’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
I have more innocent neighbors than anyone else.— Gus, estate chef (C2)
All the criminals in Column C are connected.— Queenie, estate chef (A5)
Step 6: Emil (A2, notary) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Gus’s and Cora’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Row 2 has more criminals than Row 3.— Cora, label painter (C1)
Step 7: Tess (D5, delivery driver) is innocent. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Tess and me is innocent.— Emil, notary (A2)
Step 8: Suki (C5, notary) is a criminal. This follows from Tess’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Rufus is a criminal.— Tess, delivery driver (D5)
Step 9: Dina (D1, village doctor) is innocent. This follows from Suki’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Dina and me is innocent.— Suki, notary (C5)
Step 10: Basil (B1, notary) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Gus’s and Dina’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
All the criminals in Column B are connected.— Dina, village doctor (D1)
Step 11: Freya (B2, grape picker) is innocent. This follows from Basil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Jasper and I have exactly one criminal neighbor in common.— Basil, notary (B1)
Step 12: Iris (A3, label painter) is innocent. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Iris and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Freya, grape picker (B2)
Step 13: Arlo (A1, delivery driver) is a criminal. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Everyone above me is a criminal.— Iris, label painter (A3)
Step 14: Nico (B4, label painter) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Dina’s and Arlo’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly five of Omar's eight neighbors are innocent.— Arlo, delivery driver (A1)
Step 15: Omar (C4, notary) is a criminal. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Omar and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Nico, label painter (B4)
Step 16: Rufus (B5, grape picker) is innocent. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Rufus and me is a criminal.— Omar, notary (C4)
Step 17: Jasper (B3, grape picker) is a criminal. This follows from Arlo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 18: Hattie (D2, village doctor) is a criminal. This follows from Cora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 19: Mabel (A4, estate chef) is innocent. This follows from Rufus’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of my five neighbors is innocent.— Rufus, grape picker (B5)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlo criminal | Basil innocent | Cora innocent | Dina innocent |
| 2 | Emil criminal | Freya innocent | Gus innocent | Hattie criminal |
| 3 | Iris innocent | Jasper criminal | Kira innocent | Leo innocent |
| 4 | Mabel innocent | Nico criminal | Omar criminal | Petra innocent |
| 5 | Queenie criminal | Rufus innocent | Suki criminal | Tess innocent |
What happened
The wall was bricked up in April, not in 1947. Jasper picked the young grapes; Queenie, who had cooked for the estate for forty years and knew how the old wines tasted, blended them with port and cold tea until the critics wept. Nico painted the labels by hand and aged them over a kettle. Emil, Omar and Suki, the estate's notaries, sealed a 'discovery deed' and an inventory; Hattie signed a certificate saying the dying cellarmaster had remembered it all. Arlo drove the bottles to auction in a hearse, for dignity.