The Carousel

A travelling fair on a village green · Whit Monday 1908 · the carousel never stopped · Difficulty: Rookie 1 · 5×5

A village green in the Welsh borders, Whit Monday 1908. The travelling fair had come: the steam organ played, the carousel horses went round and round the painted centre pole, and a popcorn cart – the latest novelty from America – drew a crowd of children. Vesta, the lady of the manor who owned the green, had announced that morning that the fair would never be allowed back. In the afternoon she was found dead at the sweet stall, beside the popcorn cart. Four people had been close to her, and each made one short statement – find the one who was alone with her.

Rules

1. Every row and every column holds exactly one person. As soon as you place someone, cross out their whole row and column.
2. “Beside” = directly left, right, above or below, and in the same area. Squares with objects (the ticket counter, the tree, the centre pole, the popcorn cart and the flower bed) cannot be occupied; the carousel horses and the bench can.
3. The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area.

Statements

• Alaric (the new curate of the parish): He was sitting on a carousel horse.
• Bettany (a lady's maid on her day off): She was sitting on the bench.
• Caradoc (the carousel's ticket seller): He was in the Ticket Booth. He was in the first row.
• Drusilla (the sweet-seller of the fair): She was in the last row.
• Vesta (the lady of the manor who owned the green): The victim. She was found in the Sweet Stall area, beside the popcorn cart – alone with the murderer.

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