Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 5, 2026 Easy walkthrough
Oct 5, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Easy case “The Nocturne in the Palm Court”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Easy case seats 16 suspects on a 4×4 grid. 14 of them carry a clue; the other 2 only have something to say about themselves. Every step can be proven from a single clue plus what you already know. 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: Basil (B1) begins the case proven innocent.
The person between me and Juno is innocent.— Basil, hotel manager (B1)
Step 1: Felix (B2, bartender) is innocent. This follows from Basil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Celia (C1, tycoon) is a criminal. This follows from Felix’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Celia and me is a criminal.— Felix, bartender (B2)
Step 3: Amir (A1, bartender) is innocent. This follows from Celia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are no criminals to my left.— Celia, tycoon (C1)
Step 4: Mila (A4, pianist) is innocent. This follows from Amir’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Mila and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Amir, bartender (A1)
Step 5: Emil (A2, hotel manager) is a criminal. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Emil and me is a criminal.— Mila, pianist (A4)
Step 6: Iris (A3, pianist) is a criminal. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Emil, hotel manager (A2)
Step 7: Juno (B3, valet) is a criminal. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 8: Greta (C2, hotel manager) is innocent. This follows from Juno’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Only one of the two hotel managers in Row 2 is a criminal.— Juno, valet (B3)
Step 9: Hugo (D2, bartender) is innocent. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
None of the bartenders is a criminal.— Greta, hotel manager (C2)
Step 10: Lionel (D3, tycoon) is innocent. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Petra is innocent.— Hugo, bartender (D2)
Step 11: Kira (C3, pianist) is a criminal. This follows from Lionel’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Kira and me is innocent.— Lionel, tycoon (D3)
Step 12: Nico (B4, pianist) is innocent. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Iris, pianist (A3)
Step 13: Omar (C4, hotel manager) is innocent. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
My column has exactly two criminals.— Kira, pianist (C3)
Step 14: Dexter (D1, tycoon) is a criminal. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal above Petra.— Omar, hotel manager (C4)
Step 15: Petra (D4, valet) is a criminal. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one innocent to my right.— Nico, pianist (B4)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir innocent | Basil innocent | Celia criminal | Dexter criminal |
| 2 | Emil criminal | Felix innocent | Greta innocent | Hugo innocent |
| 3 | Iris criminal | Juno criminal | Kira criminal | Lionel innocent |
| 4 | Mila innocent | Nico innocent | Omar innocent | Petra criminal |
What happened
The nocturne was a code. Emil, the night manager, hid a baby monitor in the boardroom's flower arrangement and read the figures down to Iris and Kira at the piano, who played them back as wrong notes only a trained ear would catch. Celia and Dexter, rival tycoons who had pretended for years to loathe each other, were sharing one bid all along. Juno and Petra, on valet duty, recorded the music from cars parked under the Palm Court windows. Petra had borrowed the trick from a spy novel — and, unluckily for them all, the novel's ending too.