Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 5, 2026 Medium walkthrough
Oct 5, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Medium case “Seven Across, Exam Season”, 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. 1 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: Nico (B4) begins the case proven innocent.
Exactly one of Ada and me is innocent.— Nico, photographer (B4)
Step 1: Ada (A1, columnist) is a criminal. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Basil (B1, lawyer) is innocent. This follows from Ada’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Cora is innocent.— Ada, columnist (A1)
Step 3: Cora (C1, photographer) is innocent. This follows from Basil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Dina is innocent.— Basil, lawyer (B1)
Step 4: Greta (C2, lawyer) is innocent. This follows from Cora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Kira is innocent.— Cora, photographer (C1)
Step 5: Freya (B2, printer) is a criminal. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Ada and I have exactly one criminal neighbor in common.— Greta, lawyer (C2)
Step 6: Joan (B3, columnist) is a criminal. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm a criminal, then so is Joan.— Freya, printer (B2)
Step 7: Hattie (D2, company nurse) is innocent. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Hattie and me is a criminal.— Joan, columnist (B3)
Step 8: Petra (D4, reporter) is innocent. This follows from Hattie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Petra and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Hattie, company nurse (D2)
Step 9: Kira (C3, photographer) is innocent. This follows from Petra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Leo and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Petra, reporter (D4)
Step 10: Ivan (A3, printer) is innocent. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one innocent to my left.— Kira, photographer (C3)
Step 11: Omar (C4, lawyer) is innocent. This follows from Petra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 12: Tess (D5, reporter) is a criminal. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Tess and me is innocent.— Omar, lawyer (C4)
Step 13: Silas (C5, reporter) is innocent. This follows from Tess’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Rufus and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Tess, reporter (D5)
Step 14: Quinn (A5, columnist) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Ivan’s and Silas’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly three of my five neighbors are criminals.— Ivan, printer (A3)
Column A has exactly three innocents.— Silas, reporter (C5)
Step 15: Mila (A4, photographer) is a criminal. This follows from Quinn’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If Mila is innocent, then I'm a criminal.— Quinn, columnist (A5)
Step 16: Emil (A2, lawyer) is innocent. This follows from Ivan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 17: Dina (D1, company nurse) is a criminal. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
My column has more innocents than Column D.— Emil, lawyer (A2)
Step 18: Leo (D3, reporter) is a criminal. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 19: Rufus (B5, printer) is innocent. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of my five neighbors is a criminal.— Mila, photographer (A4)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ada criminal | Basil innocent | Cora innocent | Dina criminal |
| 2 | Emil innocent | Freya criminal | Greta innocent | Hattie innocent |
| 3 | Ivan innocent | Joan criminal | Kira innocent | Leo criminal |
| 4 | Mila criminal | Nico innocent | Omar innocent | Petra innocent |
| 5 | Quinn innocent | Rufus innocent | Silas innocent | Tess criminal |
What happened
Every clue was an answer. Leo and Tess, chasing a genuine story about the exam board's security, came back with something better than a story: Mila's photographs of the sealed papers, carried out of the board's offices in Dina's first-aid bag. Joan, a retired headmistress who wrote the education column, worked the answers; Ada, who had set crosswords for thirty years, hid them in the grid; and Freya rushed the page through the press early on Friday nights. The board caught on when a candidate wrote 'seven across' in the margin of her paper.