| Father George | |
| Fictional Character | |
| "Farmers' Law" Set in OTL | |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct POV |
| Nationality: | Eastern Roman Empire |
| Religion: | Eastern Orthodox |
| Date of Birth: | Early 8th century |
| Occupation: | Priest |
| Spouse: | Irene |
| Children: | Maria |
Father George was an Eastern Orthodox priest in the town of Abrostola. He lived during the reign of Emperor Constantine V. He was married to Irene, and had a three year-old daughter, Maria.
When a farmer named Theodore was found murdered, Theodore's widow Anna demanded justice. The whole of Abrostola asked Father George to investigate, rather than bring in Governor Lankinos of the Anatolic Theme. Emperor Constantine was an iconoclast, and Abrostola was quite proud of its icons. An official investigation would see those icons destroyed. Reluctantly, Father George agreed to investigate.[1]
In the next couple of days, George discovered he had four likely suspects, each of whom had a conflict with Theodore in the past: Basil, a farmer who'd been caught stealing milk and sheep from Theodore;[2] Kostas, a farmer who'd traded a plot of land with Theodore, and discovered he'd received bad end of the deal;[3] Demetrios, the village smith, who'd built a mill but was unable to use it because it took too much water from Theodore's wheat fields,[4] and; John, who'd owned an ox that Theodore had wrongly killed.[5] After some days, Father George was frustrated, as each of his suspects had the opportunity and motive. However, it was when his daughter made a remark about her left hand that George realized that the killer was left-handed, as Theodore had been hit on the right side of his head. Moreover, as the killer and the victim had been face-to-face in the attack, George realized that the killer would have to someone who routinely carried a blunt instrument, or Theodore would have been on his guard.[6] Demetrios, the smith, was left-handed and commonly carried his hammer. When confronted, Demetrios tried to escape, but was taken into the custody by the village. For his part, Father George wasn't wholly satisfied with the outcome.[7]
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