Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 18, 2026 Medium walkthrough
Oct 18, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Medium case “The Woman with the Wristwatch”, 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. 16 of them carry a clue; the other 4 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: Quinn (A5) begins the case proven a criminal.
Nobody to the right of Joan is a criminal.— Quinn, chemist (A5)
Step 1: Kurt (C3, critic) is innocent. This follows from Quinn’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Lena (D3, chemist) is innocent. This follows from Quinn’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 3: Greta (C2, curator) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kurt’s and Lena’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Only one of my eight neighbors is a criminal.— Kurt, critic (C3)
All the innocents in Row 2 are connected.— Lena, chemist (D3)
Step 4: Otto (C4, art handler) is innocent. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Nobody between me and Suki is a criminal.— Greta, curator (C2)
Step 5: Suki (C5, curator) is innocent. This follows from Otto’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person below me is innocent.— Otto, art handler (C4)
Step 6: Hattie (D2, first-aider) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kurt’s and Suki’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly one of Pia and Felix is a criminal.— Suki, curator (C5)
Step 7: Emil (A2, curator) is a criminal. This follows from Hattie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Emil and me is a criminal.— Hattie, first-aider (D2)
Step 8: Mila (A4, restorer) is a criminal. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm a criminal, then so is Mila.— Emil, curator (A2)
Step 9: Ivan (A3, art handler) is innocent. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Emil is innocent.— Mila, restorer (A4)
Step 10: Joan (B3, chemist) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kurt’s and Suki’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 11: Rufus (B5, art handler) is a criminal. This follows from Ivan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of Nico's eight neighbors are criminals.— Ivan, art handler (A3)
Step 12: Amir (A1, critic) is a criminal. This follows from Rufus’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Amir and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Rufus, art handler (B5)
Step 13: Cora (C1, restorer) is a criminal. This follows from Amir’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal in Column C.— Amir, critic (A1)
Step 14: Dina (D1, first-aider) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Joan’s and Cora’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There is an odd number of criminals above me.— Joan, chemist (B3)
Exactly four of my five neighbors are innocent.— Cora, restorer (C1)
Step 15: Theo (D5, chemist) is a criminal. This follows from Dina’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
An even number of the chemists are criminals.— Dina, first-aider (D1)
Step 16: Pia (D4, critic) is innocent. This follows from Theo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Pia and me is innocent.— Theo, chemist (D5)
Step 17: Felix (B2, critic) is a criminal. This follows from Suki’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 18: Basil (B1, curator) is innocent. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 19: Nico (B4, restorer) is innocent. This follows from Kurt’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir criminal | Basil innocent | Cora criminal | Dina innocent |
| 2 | Emil criminal | Felix criminal | Greta innocent | Hattie innocent |
| 3 | Ivan innocent | Joan innocent | Kurt innocent | Lena innocent |
| 4 | Mila criminal | Nico innocent | Otto innocent | Pia innocent |
| 5 | Quinn criminal | Rufus criminal | Suki innocent | Theo criminal |
What happened
Every lost masterpiece had been found in a studio in Margate. Cora and Mila, the museum's restorers, painted them over two winters; Quinn and Theo, the chemists, wrote laboratory reports dating every canvas to the 1600s; and Emil, the curator, built the exhibition around them so their 'rediscovery' would make his name. Amir and Felix, critics with columns in two national papers, wrote reviews so rapturous that nobody dared to disagree. Rufus hung every picture himself and chose the darkest corner for the one with the wristwatch. Mila had painted it in as a private joke she never expected anyone to see.