Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 14, 2026 Medium walkthrough
Oct 14, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Medium case “Ninety Seconds Behind the Curtain”, 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. 2 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: Iris (A3) begins the case proven a criminal.
The only photographer in Column B is a criminal.— Iris, designer (A3)
Step 1: Felix (B2, photographer) is a criminal. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Joan (B3, fashion critic) is a criminal. This follows from Felix’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Ned is a criminal.— Felix, photographer (B2)
Step 3: Ned (B4, runner) is innocent. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Raj is innocent.— Joan, fashion critic (B3)
Step 4: Olive (C4, celebrity guest) is a criminal. This follows from Ned’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Everyone to my right is a criminal.— Ned, runner (B4)
Step 5: Pia (D4, photographer) is a criminal. This follows from Ned’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 6: Silas (C5, runner) is innocent. This follows from Pia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Silas and me is a criminal.— Pia, photographer (D4)
Step 7: Lena (D3, fashion critic) is innocent. This follows from Silas’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The only fashion critic in Column D is innocent.— Silas, runner (C5)
Step 8: Esme (A2, fashion critic) is innocent. This follows from Lena’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Esme and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Lena, fashion critic (D3)
Step 9: Kira (C3, designer) is a criminal. This follows from Olive’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Pia and I have exactly two criminal neighbors in common.— Olive, celebrity guest (C4)
Step 10: Tess (D5, runner) is a criminal. This follows from Olive’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 11: Quentin (A5, dresser) is innocent. This follows from Tess’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Quentin and me is innocent.— Tess, runner (D5)
Step 12: Marco (A4, celebrity guest) is innocent. This follows from Quentin’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal between me and Arlo.— Quentin, dresser (A5)
Step 13: Dexter (D1, celebrity guest) is innocent. This follows from Marco’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Dexter and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Marco, celebrity guest (A4)
Step 14: Raj (B5, fashion critic) is innocent. This follows from Esme’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Olive and Silas have exactly two criminal neighbors in common.— Esme, fashion critic (A2)
Step 15: Cora (C1, designer) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kira’s and Dexter’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly five of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Kira, designer (C3)
Exactly one of my three neighbors is a criminal.— Dexter, celebrity guest (D1)
Step 16: Bea (B1, dresser) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kira’s and Cora’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Cora, designer (C1)
Step 17: Gemma (C2, dresser) is a criminal. This follows from Raj’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of the three dressers is a criminal.— Raj, fashion critic (B5)
Step 18: Arlo (A1, runner) is innocent. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Felix and I have exactly three innocent neighbors in common.— Bea, dresser (B1)
Step 19: Hugo (D2, photographer) is innocent. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlo innocent | Bea innocent | Cora innocent | Dexter innocent |
| 2 | Esme innocent | Felix criminal | Gemma criminal | Hugo innocent |
| 3 | Iris criminal | Joan criminal | Kira criminal | Lena innocent |
| 4 | Marco innocent | Ned innocent | Olive criminal | Pia criminal |
| 5 | Quentin innocent | Raj innocent | Silas innocent | Tess criminal |
What happened
The Snow Queen was switched in the ninety seconds the finale model spent behind the curtain. Iris and Kira, the designers, had built the gown with a hidden pocket at the collarbone; Gemma, the dresser, made the swap while Tess, a runner, blocked the doorway with a rail of coats. Felix and Pia fired every camera flash at once as the model stepped back out, so nobody saw the stones clearly. Joan, the critic, praised the necklace's 'astonishing sparkle' in print, and Olive wore the real Snow Queen to an after-party that very night. Four hundred photographs later, every caption called it costume jewellery.