Scenedoku

Crime-scene logic cases

The Night Porter

Hotel Edelweiss · three in the morning · an empty desk and a bare key board · Difficulty: Inspector 8 · 9×9

The Edelweiss is a small hotel above the pass, and at night it belongs to Vella, the night porter, who watches the desk, the keys and the kettle. At three in the morning a guest found the desk empty, the key board bare and the front door bolted from the inside. Nine people were in the house. Vella was found dead. Morning came without 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 lamp, the counters, the suitcase, the espresso machine, the desk, the safe, the luggage trolley, the painting, the potted plant, the stove, the fridge, the sink, the table, the wardrobes, the mangle, the washtub and the TV) cannot be occupied; the deckchairs, the sofas, the stools, the armchairs and the beds can.
  3. Directions refer to rows and columns, not to the same line: “exactly one row north of him was a guest” = the person in the row directly above was a guest, in any column; “the northernmost person in her area” = nobody else in her area was in a row further up.
  4. The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area. The victim made no statement – her square, too, follows from the others’.

Statements

  • Anette (guest, a hiker): She was alone with a member of staff. Somebody else in her area was beside a bed.
  • Billy (guest, a travelling salesman): He was the only one sitting on a stool.
  • Carrie (guest, a photographer): She was not at the Reception. She was north of Billy.
  • Donovan (the cook): There was no armchair in his area. The sink was somewhere in his row.
  • Esperanza (the chambermaid): Exactly one person was lying on a bed – not her, but somebody in her area.
  • Fairuza (the barmaid): She was alone with a guest. She was in the Bar.
  • Grayson (taxi driver, waiting for a dawn fare): The sink was somewhere in his column. A counter was somewhere in his area.
  • Hunor (the owner, up from the village): He was right beside an area where nobody was. The potted plant was somewhere in his row.
  • Vella (the night porter): The victim. She was alone with the murderer.

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