Top Cut

It was nearly eight o'clock as Steve Austin arrived home from his morning jog. He was a fit man and very proud of his bulging muscles. He walked into his overly large gym and prepared for the day ahead. Mr.Austin was a personal trainer and a new client had just rung to make an appointment for the following day. He was a stern instructor, but was recognised by most as a gentle giant.

After the session had ended, Steve made his way into the lavish kitchen to prepare lunch for himself and his wife, Jamie Austin. They were both ex-body builders, who met while at a competition, and fell in love. She was extremely beautiful, but was quite introverted and locked herself in her studio, painting all day. They ate in silence and when they finished, she went back to her studio in the barn and he went back to his gym.

The following day, Steve rose early and went down to his gym to wait for the first client. After two hours of extreme workout, his client, Jared Delaney was done. Steve packed up and escorted Jared to the door. "Thank you for a wonderful session today Steve, I'll be back same time next week" Jared said walking out the door. As he made his way down the driveway, he turned and saw Mrs.Austin struggling with a large package. Being the kind man that he was, he went back and helped her carry it into her studio.

The next week, Steve set up the gym and waited for Jared to come by for his workout. After an hour of waiting, he knew Jared wasn't coming. He picked up the phone and dialled his number, but no one picked up. Steve was a little confused but came to the conclusion that Jared had simply forgotten his session. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. He made his way to the front of the house and opened it. "Hello sir, I'm officer Krupke, may I come in?" asked the policeman standing on the porch. He was balding with a large nose and horrible nasally voice. Steve opened the door wider and let him in.

"So...you say you walked Mr.Delaney to the door and that's the last you saw of him?" Officer Krupke asked in his horrible voice. Steve nodded his head. He was tired after the dull hour of interrogation and wanted the pushy man to leave. The officer gathered his papers together and put them in his briefcase before making his way to the front door. "Thank you for your cooperation" he said before walking out the door. Steve closed the door slowly, shaking his head. He was worried about Jared, he was missing and the last anyone had seen of him was last week after training. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He picked it up and spoke to a young man who wanted to come in two days time for a work out. Steve accepted and hung up his phone.

Two days later, at nearly seven o'clock, Steve arrived home from his early morning jog and went to set up the gym. His new client, Matthew Jenks, would be coming by shortly. When he arrived, they trained, and then Matthew left, promising to return in three days time. On his way out he saw Mrs.Austin struggling to carry a large box into her studio. He turned and helped her carry it inside.

A week passed and still there was no sign of Jared, but on top of that, Matthew had also gone missing after he left Steve's house. Officer Krupke had come by to interrogate him once again the previous day, but Steve had nothing to do with the disappearances. He was tired after such a long and stressful day and decided to go to bed.

At around eleven o'clock Steve was woken by the sound of angry voices coming from downstairs. He got up quietly and sneaked down to see who it was. He could make out the silhouette of his wife, but didn't recognise the other. Whoever it was, he was making his wife quite upset and he decided to intervene. Just before he stepped out from around the corner he heard what they were arguing about.

"I don't care, I need better quality. I have a reputation to uphold and these people you are delivering are not up to standard! My meat is the best in town!" The mystery man said, raising his voice.

"I can't decide who my husband decides to train! If you don't like what I provide then I will break our agreement!" Mrs.Austin retorted.

"You can't do that. All I'm asking is for a little less fat." He cried.

"Well then you will have to wait a little while longer between delivery." Mrs.Austin said slamming the door in his face.

The whole conversation seemed extremely strange to Steve, since it obviously had something to do with his training business and his clients.

He went to his wife and asked what it was all about. She seemed quite stressed that he had overheard, but assured him it was nothing. She asked for some help moving a heavy delivery into a studio because she couldn't sleep, and of course, Steve agreed.

They made their way down the winding path and stopped outside the barn door.

"Jamie, who was that man earlier?" Steve asked curiously.

Jamie took a step back and studied him, then she said "It was Sam Jules, the butcher. And I think you will be perfect quality."

Steve was just about to question what she meant when he saw a brick coming for his head and everything went black.

By Porkypie007