Sleuthic

The Black Files · November 5, 2026 · Difficulty: Rookie

Black File #147 — SolutionOvertime

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The case

Fabian Adebayo, auction buyer, was found dead at SecureBox Storage Facility at 12:50 AM. Seven people were at the scene. Exactly one of them was alone with Fabian in the same zone.

The evidence (9 clues)
  1. Elena was in Unit 118.
  2. Celia was in the Front Office.
  3. Daniel was sitting in a chair.
  4. Blake was sitting on a sofa.
  5. Gina was sitting on a sofa.
  6. Celia was sitting on a sofa.
  7. Anthony was the easternmost person at the scene.
  8. Anthony was the southernmost person at the scene.
  9. Gina was the northernmost person at the scene.

The answer

The killer: Blake Ellison, alone with Fabian Adebayo in the Unit Corridor.

Fixing rows and columns from the extreme-position clues cascades through the board and leaves Blake alone with Fabian in Unit Corridor.

Step-by-step deduction

  1. Before placing anyone, each clue eliminates cells:
  2. • Anthony: was the easternmost person of all, and since there is one person per column somebody occupies column G: that is Anthony; was the southernmost person of all, and since there is one person per row somebody occupies row 7: that is Anthony. Only G7 is left.
  3. • Blake: was sitting on the sofa; row 7 already belongs to Anthony; row 1 belongs to Gina; row 2 already belongs to Celia; column C already belongs to Celia; row 3 belongs to Elena; nobody else can occupy column A, so it must be Blake. Only A5 is left.
  4. • Celia: was in the Front Office; was sitting on the sofa; row 1 belongs to Gina. Only C2 is left.
  5. • Daniel: was sitting in a chair; column G already belongs to Anthony; row 1 belongs to Gina; row 2 already belongs to Celia; row 4 already belongs to Fabian; nobody else can occupy row 6, so it must be Daniel. Only E6 is left.
  6. • Elena: was in Unit 118; column G already belongs to Anthony; column C already belongs to Celia; row 4 already belongs to Fabian; column E belongs to Daniel; column F belongs to Gina. Only D3 is left.
  7. • Fabian: Fabian cannot be in the Front Office: the crime zone holds exactly two people and Celia and Gina are already there, and with Fabian that would be more than two; row 7 already belongs to Anthony; column G already belongs to Anthony; nobody else can occupy column B, so it must be Fabian. Only B4 is left.
  8. • Gina: was sitting on the sofa; was the northernmost person of all, and since there is one person per row somebody occupies row 1: that is Gina; column C already belongs to Celia. Only F1 is left.
  9. That already places Anthony at G7, Celia at C2, Fabian at B4, Blake at A5, Daniel at E6, Elena at D3 and Gina at F1.
  10. With all seven placed, the only people in Unit Corridor are Fabian and Blake: Blake was alone with the victim.
Solved map of Black File #147: Anthony G7, Blake A5, Celia C2, Daniel E6, Elena D3, Fabian B4, Gina F1
The solved map: Anthony G7, Blake A5, Celia C2, Daniel E6, Elena D3, Fabian B4, Gina F1.

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