Sleuthic

The Black Files · October 18, 2026 · Difficulty: Specialist

Black File #129 — SolutionThe Dark Gallery

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The case

David Ibarra, appraiser, was found dead at Whitmore Museum at 7:10 AM. Seven people were at the scene. Exactly one of them was alone with David in the same zone.

The evidence (11 clues)
  1. Carl was standing on stairs.
  2. Edith was the southernmost person at the scene.
  3. Anita and Faye were in the same zone.
  4. Anita was farther west than Benjamin.
  5. Anita was farther north than Carl.
  6. Gwen was farther west than Edith.
  7. Edith was farther west than Benjamin.
  8. Gwen was farther west than Carl.
  9. Faye was farther north than Anita.
  10. Benjamin was farther west than Faye.
  11. Carl was farther west than Faye.

The answer

The killer: Carl Pruitt, alone with David Ibarra in the Loading Bay.

Fixing rows and columns from the extreme-position clues cascades through the board and leaves Carl alone with David in the Loading Bay.

Step-by-step deduction

  1. Before placing anyone, each clue eliminates cells:
  2. • Anita: was farther west than Benjamin, and Benjamin is no farther than column E; was farther north than Carl, and Carl is no farther than row 4; Faye was farther north than Anita, and Faye is at least at row 1; was in the same zone as Faye, and Faye can only be in the Great Hall; column C already belongs to Edith. Only D2 is left.
  3. • Benjamin: Anita was farther west than Benjamin, and Anita is at least at column A; Edith was farther west than Benjamin, and Edith is at least at column C; was farther west than Faye, and Faye is no farther than column F; row 7 belongs to Edith; row 2 belongs to Anita; row 1 belongs to Faye; only David and the killer were in the crime zone (the Loading Bay), and those are already Carl and David; column D belongs to Anita. Only E6 is left.
  4. • Carl: was on the stairs; Gwen was farther west than Carl, and Gwen is at least at column A; was farther west than Faye, and Faye is no farther than column G; row 7 belongs to Edith; Anita was farther north than Carl, and Anita is at least at row 2; column D belongs to Anita. Only B3 is left.
  5. • David: row 7 belongs to Edith; David cannot be in the Great Hall: the crime zone holds exactly two people and Anita and Faye are already there, and with David that would be more than two; row 2 belongs to Anita; row 1 belongs to Faye; nobody else can occupy column G, so it must be David; row 3 belongs to Carl; row 5 belongs to Gwen. Only G4 is left.
  6. • Edith: was the southernmost person of all, and since there is one person per row somebody occupies row 7: that is Edith; Gwen was farther west than Edith, and Gwen is at least at column A; was farther west than Benjamin, and Benjamin is no farther than column E. Only C7 is left.
  7. • Faye: was farther north than Anita, and Anita is no farther than row 2; Benjamin was farther west than Faye, and Benjamin is at least at column D; column E belongs to Benjamin. Only F1 is left.
  8. • Gwen: was farther west than Edith, and Edith is no farther than column F; row 7 belongs to Edith; was farther west than Carl, and Carl is no farther than column D; row 2 belongs to Anita; row 1 belongs to Faye; only David and the killer were in the crime zone (the Loading Bay), and those are already Carl and David; column C already belongs to Edith; row 6 belongs to Benjamin; column B belongs to Carl. Only A5 is left.
  9. That already places Edith at C7, Anita at D2, Benjamin at E6, Carl at B3, David at G4, Faye at F1 and Gwen at A5.
  10. With all seven placed, the only people in the Loading Bay are David and Carl: Carl was alone with the victim.
Solved map of Black File #129: Anita D2, Benjamin E6, Carl B3, David G4, Edith C7, Faye F1, Gwen A5
The solved map: Anita D2, Benjamin E6, Carl B3, David G4, Edith C7, Faye F1, Gwen A5.

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