Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 14, 2026 Hard
Oct 14, 2026 — Hard case
For six weeks, every customer who used the cash machine outside Bellwether's Fleet Street branch had their card copied. Nobody noticed a thing — partly because, for those same six weeks, the best busking duo in London was playing right beside it.
This Hard 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. 5 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. Every verdict you enter is checked against all the scenarios that still fit the statements on file, so a move only sticks when it is proven.
The opening statement
Arlo the courier starts the case already proven innocent:
Everyone above Leo is a criminal.— Arlo, courier (A1)
The lineup
Suspects stand in alphabetical order, left to right and top to bottom. Each belongs to one of Clues & Culprits’ twelve character classes — the badge on their nameplate. This case uses 6 of them, each cast as a role in the setting: couriers, cleaners, buskers, paramedics, locksmiths, baristas. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the couriers”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Arlo | courier | Courier |
| B1 | Bea | cleaner | Servant |
| C1 | Cora | busker | Artist |
| D1 | Dina | paramedic | Healer |
| A2 | Ezra | busker | Artist |
| B2 | Freya | locksmith | Laborer |
| C2 | Gus | barista | Cook |
| D2 | Hattie | paramedic | Healer |
| A3 | Iris | busker | Artist |
| B3 | Jasper | locksmith | Laborer |
| C3 | Kofi | cleaner | Servant |
| D3 | Leo | courier | Courier |
| A4 | Mabel | barista | Cook |
| B4 | Nico | busker | Artist |
| C4 | Otto | locksmith | Laborer |
| D4 | Petra | courier | Courier |
| A5 | Queenie | barista | Cook |
| B5 | Rufus | locksmith | Laborer |
| C5 | Sadie | cleaner | Servant |
| D5 | Tess | courier | Courier |
Stuck?
The in-game hint first points at the statement to re-read, then at the suspect you can prove, then shows the proof. For a gentler nudge, open the spoiler-free hints for Oct 14, 2026, or press Share to send a friend your exact board. New to the format? The deduction-puzzle guide covers the habits that unlock every step.
More cases
- Same day: Easy case · Medium case
- Previous Hard: Oct 13, 2026 — The Penalty in the Ninety-Third Minute
- Next Hard: Oct 15, 2026 — Change from the Big Top
- Clue types in this case: Above, below, left and right · Neighbor clues · Between clues · Same-verdict and exactly-one clues
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in banks · Meet the cast