Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 16, 2026 Easy walkthrough
Oct 16, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Easy case “The Marrow That Came from Kent”, 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: Iris (A3) begins the case proven a criminal.
The person between me and Kofi is a criminal.— Iris, bandleader (A3)
Step 1: Jasper (B3, farmer) is a criminal. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Nico (B4, bandleader) is innocent. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person below me is innocent.— Jasper, farmer (B3)
Step 3: Pia (D4, poacher) is a criminal. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Pia and me is a criminal.— Nico, bandleader (B4)
Step 4: Bea (B1, steward) is a criminal. This follows from Pia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Bea and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Pia, poacher (D4)
Step 5: Celia (C1, mayor) is innocent. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Dexter is innocent.— Bea, steward (B1)
Step 6: Amir (A1, poacher) is innocent. This follows from Celia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal to my left.— Celia, mayor (C1)
Step 7: Otto (C4, farmer) is innocent. This follows from Amir’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Otto and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Amir, poacher (A1)
Step 8: Lionel (D3, mayor) is a criminal. This follows from Otto’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Lionel and me is innocent.— Otto, farmer (C4)
Step 9: Kofi (C3, steward) is innocent. This follows from Lionel’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal between me and Iris.— Lionel, mayor (D3)
Step 10: Dexter (D1, mayor) is innocent. This follows from Kofi’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Dexter and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Kofi, steward (C3)
Step 11: Hugo (D2, poacher) is innocent. This follows from Dexter’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one innocent below me.— Dexter, mayor (D1)
Step 12: Freya (B2, farmer) is a criminal. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Freya and me is a criminal.— Hugo, poacher (D2)
Step 13: Ezra (A2, bandleader) is innocent. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Freya, farmer (B2)
Step 14: Gemma (C2, steward) is innocent. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 15: Mila (A4, bandleader) is innocent. This follows from Ezra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal in my column.— Ezra, bandleader (A2)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir innocent | Bea criminal | Celia innocent | Dexter innocent |
| 2 | Ezra innocent | Freya criminal | Gemma innocent | Hugo innocent |
| 3 | Iris criminal | Jasper criminal | Kofi innocent | Lionel criminal |
| 4 | Mila innocent | Nico innocent | Otto innocent | Pia criminal |
What happened
The marrow belonged to a champion grower in Kent, who sold it for £800 and a promise never to ask why. Freya and Jasper, two farmers whose own marrows had shrivelled in the drought, collected it in a horsebox at four in the morning; Pia, the village's best-known poacher, knew every back lane without a camera. Bea, the show steward, slid it onto the Thornbury table during the brass band's first number, which Iris conducted at twice the usual volume. Lionel, the deputy mayor, presented the prize. The Kent grower's name was still written on the underside in felt-tip.