The Railway Station

A junction station in the Tyrol · a snowy November night in 1937 · the express was late · Difficulty: Rookie 2 · 6×6

A small junction station in the Tyrol, a snowy night in November 1937. The Vienna express was two hours late, the waiting room was warm, and the new espresso machine of the station café hissed away. Verena, a rich heiress on her way to Vienna, had spent the whole evening complaining – about the draughts, about the coffee and, loudest of all, about the staff. When the express finally pulled in, she was found dead in the waiting room, beside the potted palm. Five people had been in the station, and each gave 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 station sign, the potted palm, the shelf, the table, the espresso machine, the luggage trolley and the pile of suitcases) cannot be occupied; the benches and the chairs can.
3. The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area.

Statements

• Algernon (an English travel writer): He was in the last row.
• Blodwen (a Welsh singer on tour): She was sitting on a bench.
• Clovis (a French wine merchant): He was in the Ticket Hall.
• Delphina (the waiting-room attendant): She was beside a bench.
• Ernst (the waiter of the station café): He was beside the espresso machine.
• Verena (a rich heiress on her way to Vienna): The victim. She was found in the Waiting Room, beside the potted palm – alone with the murderer.

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