WHO KILLED STAMATIS?
"Do you think Minister Kimon will get the justice that he deserves?" Prince Markos asked.
"Kimon is the loyal follower of Prince Samlee, he is untouchable", Prince Antonias added.
"What do you think, son-in-law?" Prince Geoffraie asked me with a shocking address.
"Me? … Minister Kimon will get justice, but it will not be justice from this court, but justice from the one who exposed his crime", I told them.
"What do you mean? Is there a mastermind?" Princess Polina asked me.
"Minister Kimon will not survive in the prison for long, not long enough for the interrogators to interview him. Even the servant who accused him would be nowhere to be found", I replied to the nobles.
"Who will want to kill Kimon and his accuser? Prince Samlee? Because Kimon might snitch on him?" Prince Fotis asked me.
"That will be the question the real killer wants us to think, by killing Kimon and the witness", I replied to him.
"All the evidence of Stamatis' and Kiriakos' murders points to Prince Samlee", Prince Geoffraie said to me.
"Think about who will gain the most from our animosity towards Prince Samlee?" I asked them and the princes and princess pondered about it.
"We will have an answer when we know Kimon is alive by tomorrow and the servant witness", Prince Antonias said to us.
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On the next day, Prince Geoffraie came to me suddenly before my breakfast and informed me, "You are right, son-in-law, Kimon is dead in the prison and the servant who accused him escaped from the prison".
"So, all evidence about Kiriakos' killing is gone and without Kiriakos, there will be no one shouting day in and out asking for the inquiry into Stamatis' death", I told him.
"What you are saying is, someone killed Stamatis to frame it on Prince Samlee?" he asked me.
"If I didn't guess it wrong, Prince Samlee will be banished to another city or town, to be away from this mess", I told him.
"How did you guess? Prince Samlee was sent to another town hurriedly", Geoffraie told me.
"Then who is the real killer of Stamatis?" Orol asked me as he joined us for breakfast.
"The killer is usually the one with the motive, the ones who benefits most from the murders. Who will benefit from Stamatis' death?" I asked them.
"The King?" Orol said to us before closing his mouth suddenly and looked around to see if he was overheard.
"Who else besides the king could find the right people to kill the legendary Stamatis? His suspicion is high although I am not sure about who he may have colluded with", I told them.
"But what about putting Stamatis' corpse in our house to frame us?" Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"That could be an accident. Prince Samlee obtained the corpse of Stamatis by accident and tried to frame the Mithridocus family, to gain a benefit but things didn't happen as he wished. He then tried to frame father for the murder, but the evidence doesn't match", I told them.
"What about Kiriakos' murder?" Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"Duke Kiriakos pleads every day for the open inquiry into Prince Stamatis' murder which was prematurely closed. Who will benefit from his death?" I asked.
"Without the duke, there will be no one from the Appolokis family to pursue this in court. It's a benefit to the king too if he wants to cover Prince Stamatis' murder", Orol said to us.
"And the king got rid of Kimon and the servant to close the case about Kiriakos' murder, and exiled Prince Samlee to appease the nobles. Is that what happened?", Prince Geoffraie said to me and asked.
"That is one scenario", I replied to them.
"There is another scenario?" Orol asked me.
"Anything is possible. There is another person who benefits from all these", I told them.
"Who?" Geoffraie asked me.
"Prince Raslee will be rid of the strongest contender against his position as the Crown Prince, and without Stamatis and Kiriakos, the family of Appolokis will be badly weakened. That will help him when he becomes king", I told them.
"Yes, Prince Raslee was openly supporting the Church to rid our families' presence in Tarah city before this", Prince Geoffraie told us.
"I was involved in Prince Heller's downfall too although Prince Raslee had a hand in it. I'm sorry about that", I told them.
"Don't worry, Heller may be family, but he is always opposed to me anyway. It serves him right for dabbling in Dark magic and he deserves what he got. It is a pity that our family was weakened by his actions", Prince Geoffraie said to me.
"Don't worry, our family will regain all that is lost", Orol told his cousin.
"Yes, with a son-in-law like Oriese, that day will come soon", Geoffraie said to him.
"Ya, ya", Orol replied to him.
"There is a way to find out who among the king and his son, is the real person behind Prince Stamatis' murder", I said to them.
"Do you have spies in the king's court?" Orol asked me in surprise.
"How can you find out about something like that? The advisors of the king and prince are unusually loyal and tightlipped, it is impossible to get any information from them", Prince Geoffraie said to me.
"I don't need spies to get information about who is behind Stamatis' murder", I told them.
"How can you do that, son?" Orol asked me.
"With my newspaper of course", I replied to them.
"How can a newspaper find out about the real killer? Are you going to advertise in the newspaper for whistle blowers to come forward with information?" Prince Geoffraie asked me.
"It won't work, the king's advisors are loyal", Orol added.
"Of course, with just my newspaper is not enough. I'll need to make a trip", I told them.
"Where are you going, son?" Orol asked me.
"I'm going to get something that will tell me who killed Prince Stamatis or at least confirm that the king and his son are innocent of his killing", I told them.
"Are you sure? Even the best families couldn't find out about the king's schemes", Prince Geoffraie said to me.
"In a few days, I'll have the answer", I replied to him.
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