The "Ethical" Butcher: A Short Story

The "Ethical" Butcher

"This just in, Emily Moore, a previous missing person, has been found-" The news reporter announced.
"Toby! Did you hear that?" Julie exclaimed, turning to face her husband who was fixing their dinner plates. "They found her!"
"Unfortunately, it seems that the authorities were too late," The reporter continued. Julie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she brought her attention back to the TV. "Emily Moore has been pronounced dead as of early this morning, when she was found discarded in Foxhills lake, with parts of her body missing."
Julie gasped and turned to face her husband once again. "That's near our house! Toby, are you listening to this?"
Toby looked up to make eye contact with his wife. "Yes, I'm listening."
Julie huffed and turned back to the TV where they were showing pictures of Emily Moore before her passing, with soft music playing in the background. "That's so sad..."
Toby walked into the living room holding two plates with a healthy, yet delicious dinner on them. Toby gently sat a plate onto the coffee table in front of Julie. "I think that's enough of the news, tonight." Toby swiftly picked the remote up off of the couch and changed the channel to some old sitcom that Julie had never heard of. "Let's eat. I know the baby must be hungry."
Julie placed a hand on her stomach just in time to feel a small kick. She smiled to herself and looked up at Toby. "She's always hungry. And, what is this show, anyway?"
"Something more lighthearted than murder," Toby answered.
"What if I'm next?" Julie asked.
"Don't talk like that,"
"I'm sorry," Julie apologized. "I just can't help but wonder."
"Stop wondering and eat," Toby instructed.
Julie picked up her fork and began to cut a small sliver off of the meat on the plate. Her husband had always been a great cook and he always volunteered to do the cooking in the household. Which Julie didn't mind.
Julie put the forkful of the meat into her mouth, her husband repeating her actions with his own food. Julie's eyes trailed to the TV, trying to gain some interest in the old fashioned sitcom her husband had turned on. To be honest, she would have been perfectly fine watching the news.
Julie and Toby lived in a small town called Rowmill where nothing ever happened. Everyone knew everyone and the crime rates were extremely low, making it a safe and peaceful place to live. That is until last summer. June 12th. When Mary Hogan turned up missing. At first, no one was worried. She was a teenager, and a rebellious one at that. Everyone assumed that she ran away and would be back once she realized she couldn't survive on her own. But, she never came back.
More people turned up missing and that's when the town realized that this was not a one time thing. 6 more people were gone before Emily Moore disappeared on December 17th.
Emily was the only one to be found. Julie's town had never dealt with anything like this before. And, no one knew what to do, except hope that they weren't next.
"Everything, all right?" Toby asked.
Julie turned to face her husband, realizing that she had zoned out. She swallowed the food that she had been anxiously chewing on for the past five minutes, turning it into an unrecognizable mush. "Yes. I'm fine." Julie quickly changed the subject. "What kind of meat is this?"
Toby looked down at Julie's plate and then his. "It's pork. Why?"
"I was just curious," Julie answered with a shrug. "You locked the doors and windows, right?"
Toby sighed. "Yes. Just like I do, every night."
"We should double check..." Julie suggested. "You know, just in case."
"Stop being so paranoid," Toby said. "Nothing is going to happen to you."
"You don't know that," Julie said. "Has he killed any pregnant women?" Toby asked.
"No, but I could be the first!" Julie paused as Toby's words registered in her brain. "He? Toby...the gender of the killer hasn't been discovered."
"Well, I just assumed it was a guy," Toby stated.
Julie put her plate on the coffee table in front of her and turned to face Toby. "Okay, real talk, now. Are you not scared?"
"Not really," Toby said.
"Why?"
"I don't know, I'm just not," Toby answered. "I mean, don't twist my words, I'm not saying that I don't feel bad for these people. I do. I just think that we're going to be fine."
"There's no way to know for sure, though," Julie reminded. "I just don't understand how or why this happened."
Toby raised an eyebrow. "Could you elaborate?"
"Nothing ever happens in this town! It's boring! But, that's how I like it," Julie said. "Where did this killer even come from? And, why are they doing this?" Julie paused, feeling a lump catch in her throat. "Why did they have to kill Emily?"
"I wish I could answer your questions," Toby spoke in sympathy. He picked up his empty plate and left the living room to put it in the kitchen sink. He proceeded to speak with Julie as he washed his plate and utensils. "Really, I do."
"Why did the killer have to be so...brutal?" Julie asked. "They dismembered her and kept parts of her body. That's so...vile."
"The world is full of sick people who do things like that," Toby reminded. "Poor Emily. It must've been so painful. Being killed by blunt force trauma. Truly heartbreaking."
"Yeah-" Julie went quiet. Blunt force trauma? She thought to herself. "Um, Toby..."
"Yes?"
"The cause of death was never stated..." Julie spoke softly.
There was a split silence, before Toby corrected her. "Yes, it was. The lady on the news said it. Weren't you listening?"
"Yes. I was listening. So, I would know that it was never mentioned," Julie stated. "Toby, how would you know that unless-"
Julie's voice ceased as she finally put together the terrible, unimaginable puzzle of truth. The sink faucet turned off and there was a long brief silence, the only noise being the sound of the ridiculous sitcom on the TV. Julie stared ahead of her, not wanting to turn around and face the horrid reality that was consuming her. She stayed that way for a few minutes, before she could hear the sound of Toby's footsteps creeping up behind her.
Out of her peripheral vision she could see Toby's large arm, reach beside her on the couch to grab the remote. His hand disappeared from her sight and a second later the TV turned off, forcing her to come to terms with the stranger behind her.
The stranger. He wasn't a stranger, but at the same time he was. She didn't know this man. She knew the man who made a dorky promposal to her when they were seniors. She knew the man who took her on date nights every Friday. She knew the man whose baby she was carrying. This man was not him. This man was a murderer. Therefore...a stranger.
"Julie..." Toby spoke.
The terrified woman squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to face it. She didn't want to come to terms with it. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. In a few seconds, she'd wake up in her bed with beads of sweat dripping down her face, with her husband to comfort her. Her husband who wasn't a murderer. Julie pinched her arm and opened her eyes. But, she was still there.
"It's not a dream, Julie," Toby said.
"Why...?" Julie whimpered. "Why did you do this?"
"It was all for you," Toby answered.
Julie shook her head in denial. "No. No, don't you dare drag me into this."
"It's the truth," Toby said.
"What did you do with Emily?"
"I killed her."
Julie felt a jolt go through her body. She knew it. But, hearing the words come out of his mouth. Hearing him admit to murder...it sent a chill down her spin.
"You killed the others too, didn't you?" Julie asked quietly.
"Yes."
"What did you do with..." Julie trailed off. She didn't know if she wanted to finish the rest of her question. She didn't know if she wanted the answer. But, she continued. "What did you do with the rest of Emily's body?"
Toby gently moved his hand to grip Julie's jaw. Julie tensed up as he guided her face downwards. Her eyes landed on her nearly untouched plate of food. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"It went to a good cause," Toby answered.
Julie's eyes widened in horror. "You... cooked her?"
"Yes."
"You ate her..." Julie felt bile rise in her throat. "I ate her..."
Julie broke down into a fit of sobs, while Toby stood behind her, his face void of any sympathy or emotion. "You're insane..."
"What."
"You're a psycho..." Julie said, a little louder. "I hate you."
Toby grabbed her jaw once again, this time not caring to be gentle. "No, you don't."
Julie didn't dare move. She'd already set him off. If she made another wrong move...she might be the one on the plate. "Wh-What do you want?"
Toby forcefully moved her head to look down at her plate. "I want you...to eat."