Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 20, 2026 Easy walkthrough
Oct 20, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Easy case “The Holding Pattern”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Easy case seats 16 suspects on a 4×4 grid. 14 of them carry a clue; the other 2 only have something to say about themselves. Every step can be proven from a single clue plus what you already know. 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: Omar (C4) begins the case proven innocent.
There are no innocents between me and Cora.— Omar, pilot (C4)
Step 1: Greta (C2, pilot) is a criminal. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Esme (A2, air-traffic controller) is a criminal. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Esme and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Greta, pilot (C2)
Step 3: Felix (B2, smuggler) is innocent. This follows from Esme’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal between me and Hugo.— Esme, air-traffic controller (A2)
Step 4: Joan (B3, air-traffic controller) is a criminal. This follows from Felix’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Nico is a criminal.— Felix, smuggler (B2)
Step 5: Kira (C3, travel vlogger) is a criminal. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 6: Idris (A3, duty-free clerk) is a criminal. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Everyone to my left is a criminal.— Kira, travel vlogger (C3)
Step 7: Nico (B4, travel vlogger) is innocent. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person below me is innocent.— Joan, air-traffic controller (B3)
Step 8: Mila (A4, travel vlogger) is innocent. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of my five neighbors are criminals.— Nico, travel vlogger (B4)
Step 9: Ada (A1, air-traffic controller) is a criminal. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
My column has exactly three criminals.— Mila, travel vlogger (A4)
Step 10: Basil (B1, pilot) is innocent. This follows from Ada’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Only one of my three neighbors is a criminal.— Ada, air-traffic controller (A1)
Step 11: Dev (D1, duty-free clerk) is innocent. This follows from Basil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Dev and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Basil, pilot (B1)
Step 12: Cora (C1, travel vlogger) is innocent. This follows from Dev’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are no criminals between me and Ada.— Dev, duty-free clerk (D1)
Step 13: Hugo (D2, smuggler) is a criminal. This follows from Cora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Cora, travel vlogger (C1)
Step 14: Lena (D3, air-traffic controller) is innocent. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Hugo, smuggler (D2)
Step 15: Percy (D4, duty-free clerk) is innocent. This follows from Idris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Percy and me is innocent.— Idris, duty-free clerk (A3)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ada criminal | Basil innocent | Cora innocent | Dev innocent |
| 2 | Esme criminal | Felix innocent | Greta criminal | Hugo criminal |
| 3 | Idris criminal | Joan criminal | Kira criminal | Lena innocent |
| 4 | Mila innocent | Nico innocent | Omar innocent | Percy innocent |
What happened
The congestion existed only in the tower. Ada, Esme and Joan, three air-traffic controllers, stacked the incoming flights in a holding pattern so that one small charter could land alone and taxi to a remote stand. Greta, its pilot, parked exactly where the cameras didn't reach; Hugo, a smuggler who had flown in as a passenger, walked the suitcases through a staff door that Idris, a charming duty-free clerk, held open with a crate of perfume. Kira filmed a 'day in the life of an airport' vlog that afternoon, which handily recorded every customs officer's shift change. The gold was in the vlog too, if you paused it.