Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 8, 2026 Medium
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 8, 2026
Stuck on the Medium case, “The Fire Drill on the Fourth Floor”? Open one nudge at a time. Nothing below reveals a verdict unless you click a box marked spoiler.
Back to the case Rules refresher
About this case
At 2:15 a.m. a fire alarm emptied the fourth floor of the Grand Meridian, where an entire wedding party was asleep. There was no fire. When the guests came back up from the street in their dressing gowns, thirty-one room safes stood open and empty.
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.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Quinn the sommelier (A5) already proven. Their statement is enough on its own to prove one more suspect straight away — read it word by word, especially the counting words (exactly, neighbors, between).
The person to the left of Nico is a criminal.— Quinn, sommelier (A5)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Mila (A4) is a criminal, proven by Quinn’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 2, 3, 4 and 5, most of them in row 4. The statements doing the work are direction clues, shared-neighbor counts and paired verdicts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with direction clues, “above”, “below”, “left” and “right” cover the whole line in that direction, not just the next card.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Quinn’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Mila (A4) — a criminal.
Nudge 3 — after about 5 proven suspects
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns A and B. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, if–then clues and shared-neighbor counts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with neighbor counts, a corner has three neighbors, an edge five, the middle eight — compare the count with what is left.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Rufus’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Ivan (A3) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 10 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns C and D. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, role counts and paired verdicts. One step here needs 2 statements read together. Tip: with role counts, find every suspect with that role (the nameplate badge helps) and count the proven ones.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Joan’s and Tariq’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Cal (C1) — a criminal.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns C and D. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, shared-neighbor counts and “connected” clues. One step here needs 2 statements read together. Tip: with shared-neighbor counts, shared neighbors never include the two speakers themselves.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Cal’s and Otto’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Pia (D4) — innocent.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 2 statements at once. If you’re stuck in the middle of the case, this is probably it.
Spoiler: the statements for the hardest step
Read Joan’s and Tariq’s statements together. They settle Cal.
Clue types in this case
neighbor counts ×6, role counts ×1, shared-neighbor counts ×3, paired verdicts ×2, “connected” clues ×3, direction clues ×1 and if–then clues ×1.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
17 of the 20 suspects carry a clue. The rest only talk about themselves — you can hide those asides in Settings.
Where is the full solution?
The step-by-step walkthrough proves every verdict in order.