Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 1, 2026 Medium walkthrough
Oct 1, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Medium case “Eleven Minutes Under the Pyrenees”, 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: Idris (A3) begins the case proven innocent.
The person between me and Kofi is a criminal.— Idris, commercial traveller (A3)
Step 1: Jasper (B3, engineer) is a criminal. This follows from Idris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Freya (B2, engineer) is a criminal. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Ezra and I have exactly one criminal neighbor in common.— Jasper, engineer (B3)
Step 3: Gemma (C2, porter) is a criminal. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Hugo is a criminal.— Freya, engineer (B2)
Step 4: Bea (B1, porter) is a criminal. This follows from Gemma’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Amir and I have exactly two criminal neighbors in common.— Gemma, porter (C2)
Step 5: Nico (B4, musician) is innocent. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are exactly two criminals below me.— Bea, porter (B1)
Step 6: Raj (B5, professor) is innocent. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 7: Kofi (C3, porter) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Nico’s and Raj’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly two of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Nico, musician (B4)
Exactly four of my five neighbors are innocent.— Raj, professor (B5)
Step 8: Mila (A4, musician) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Nico’s and Kofi’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly one of Sadie and Quinn is innocent.— Kofi, porter (C3)
Step 9: Quinn (A5, professor) is a criminal. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Mila, musician (A4)
Step 10: Otto (C4, engineer) is innocent. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 11: Amir (A1, stowaway) is a criminal. This follows from Otto’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Amir and me is innocent.— Otto, engineer (C4)
Step 12: Ezra (A2, musician) is innocent. This follows from Amir’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Idris is innocent.— Amir, stowaway (A1)
Step 13: Sadie (C5, porter) is innocent. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 14: Pia (D4, stowaway) is innocent. This follows from Sadie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
None of my neighbors is a criminal.— Sadie, porter (C5)
Step 15: Lena (D3, professor) is innocent. This follows from Pia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Hugo is innocent.— Pia, stowaway (D4)
Step 16: Hugo (D2, stowaway) is innocent. This follows from Lena’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly four of my five neighbors are innocent.— Lena, professor (D3)
Step 17: Cal (C1, commercial traveller) is innocent. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Cal and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Hugo, stowaway (D2)
Step 18: Tariq (D5, commercial traveller) is innocent. This follows from Quinn’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Nobody to my right is a criminal.— Quinn, professor (A5)
Step 19: Dev (D1, commercial traveller) is a criminal. This follows from Ezra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of the four people in the corners are criminals.— Ezra, musician (A2)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir criminal | Bea criminal | Cal innocent | Dev criminal |
| 2 | Ezra innocent | Freya criminal | Gemma criminal | Hugo innocent |
| 3 | Idris innocent | Jasper criminal | Kofi innocent | Lena innocent |
| 4 | Mila innocent | Nico innocent | Otto innocent | Pia innocent |
| 5 | Quinn criminal | Raj innocent | Sadie innocent | Tariq innocent |
What happened
There was no signal fault. Quinn had slipped a laptop into the guard's van at Irun and told the line that the track ahead was occupied. Freya and Jasper kept the engine idling and the doors unlocked; Bea and Gemma walked the corridors with hot chocolate, keeping every curious passenger in their bunk. Dev's sample cases of 'ergonomic travel pillows' had false bottoms, and Amir — no ticket, no name on any list — simply walked out into the dark with them, to a car waiting at the French end of the tunnel.