The Hallway Seats

The case file

Four witnesses waited in the courthouse hallway, seated left to right in chairs 1 through 4. The bailiff jotted down four facts about the seating chart -- but the page is smudged where one chair should be. Who sat in chair 4?

The rule: Each person sat in exactly one chair, and each chair held exactly one person. All four facts are true.

The clues

1. Hugo Bain sat somewhere between Lucy Fern and Silas Reed.
2. Mira Sol sat somewhere between Hugo Bain and Silas Reed.
3. Hugo Bain sat somewhere to the left of Silas Reed.
4. Hugo Bain sat somewhere to the left of Mira Sol.

Who did it?

1. Silas Reed
2. Lucy Fern
3. Mira Sol
4. Hugo Bain

The verdict

Silas Reed

Only Silas Reed fits in chair 4. Not Lucy Fern: if Lucy Fern sat in chair 4, "Hugo Bain sat somewhere between Lucy Fern and Silas Reed" could not be true. Not Mira Sol: if Mira Sol sat in chair 4, "Mira Sol sat somewhere between Hugo Bain and Silas Reed" could not be true. Not Hugo Bain: the four facts together rule Hugo Bain out of chair 4.