Sleuthic

The Black Files · November 3, 2026 · Difficulty: Cadet

Black File #145 — SolutionCold Storage

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The case

Dennis Brennan, security guard, was found dead at Riverside Warehouse at 11:15 PM. Seven people were at the scene. Exactly one of them was alone with Dennis in the same zone.

The evidence (9 clues)
  1. Aaron was sitting on a sofa.
  2. Connie was in the Office Cage.
  3. Felicia was in the Office Cage.
  4. Grace was standing on the floor.
  5. Elliot was sitting on a sofa.
  6. Connie was sitting on a sofa.
  7. Beth was the easternmost person at the scene.
  8. Beth was the northernmost person at the scene.
  9. Aaron was the southernmost person at the scene.

The answer

The killer: Elliot Morgan, alone with Dennis Brennan in the Loading Dock.

Fixing rows and columns from the extreme-position clues cascades through the board and leaves Elliot alone with Dennis in the Loading Dock.

Step-by-step deduction

  1. Before placing anyone, each clue eliminates cells:
  2. • Aaron: was sitting on the sofa; was the southernmost person of all, and since there is one person per row somebody occupies row 7: that is Aaron. Only D7 is left.
  3. • Beth: was the easternmost person of all, and since there is one person per column somebody occupies column G: that is Beth; was the northernmost person of all, and since there is one person per row somebody occupies row 1: that is Beth. Only G1 is left.
  4. • Connie: was in the Office Cage; was sitting on the sofa; column D already belongs to Aaron. Only E2 is left.
  5. • Dennis: Dennis cannot be in the Office Cage: the crime zone holds exactly two people and Connie and Felicia are already there, and with Dennis that would be more than two; row 7 already belongs to Aaron; column D already belongs to Aaron; row 1 already belongs to Beth; column G already belongs to Beth; row 2 belongs to Connie; column E belongs to Connie; row 3 belongs to Felicia; column C belongs to Felicia; row 6 belongs to Grace; column F belongs to Grace; nobody else can occupy row 5, so it must be Dennis; nobody else can occupy column A, so it must be Dennis. Only A5 is left.
  6. • Elliot: was sitting on the sofa; row 7 already belongs to Aaron; column D already belongs to Aaron; row 2 belongs to Connie; column E belongs to Connie; column C belongs to Felicia. Only B4 is left.
  7. • Felicia: was in the Office Cage; column D already belongs to Aaron; row 1 already belongs to Beth; row 2 belongs to Connie; column E belongs to Connie. Only C3 is left.
  8. • Grace: was standing on the floor; row 7 already belongs to Aaron; column D already belongs to Aaron; row 1 already belongs to Beth; column G already belongs to Beth; row 2 belongs to Connie; column E belongs to Connie; column C belongs to Felicia. Only F6 is left.
  9. That already places Aaron at D7, Beth at G1, Connie at E2, Dennis at A5, Elliot at B4, Felicia at C3 and Grace at F6.
  10. With all seven placed, the only people in the Loading Dock are Dennis and Elliot: Elliot was alone with the victim.
Solved map of Black File #145: Aaron D7, Beth G1, Connie E2, Dennis A5, Elliot B4, Felicia C3, Grace F6
The solved map: Aaron D7, Beth G1, Connie E2, Dennis A5, Elliot B4, Felicia C3, Grace F6.

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