As a ruler with no apparent heir to the throne, Macbeth exercises every opportunity to remain king of Scotland. In response to the Witches’ predictions in Act I, Macbeth proposes a scheme of murdering Banquo and his son, Fleance. Macbeth hires two assassins to carry out the homicides. In Act III, Scene 3, the two hitman are waiting in the forest when Shakespeare introduces a clever and mysterious plot element. Shakespeare adds an anonymous third accomplice who joins the assassins. Upon Banquo’s eventual death and Fleance’s escape, Banquo screams, “O slave” (III, 3, 40), to indicate to the audience that he recognized the third murderer’s identity. However, one question still remains: who was the third