Essays

Lamb To The Slaughter (Alternate Ending)

They hurt more than she expected them to, the words that came from his lips. "Mary, I'm leaving you." Of course, she knew it was coming. She'd seen him with the other woman months before. Since then, Mary Maloney had been planning her revenge; Of course this involved a well drawn-out plan to kill her husband and his new lover as soon as he announced this specific piece of news. This is perfect, She thought, I'll get rid of unwanted scum from this Earth, and I won't get caught either. Getting away with the murders would be difficult, of course, but the first would feel almost as natural as breathing air. She'd waited so long for this moment, sometimes it felt like forever, but now it had finally arrived. She pretended not to hear him, went down to the cellar, and grabbed the largest hunk of meat she could find: a lamb leg. As she headed upstairs with this object, she had absolutely no regrets. Her rage had taken over her entire body as if she could feel the color red. Only one thought crossed her mind in the moments before her husband's demise: He is a traitor, a liar, a deciever. Kill the traitor. Then, it was done. She had slammed his face in with a single swing of the leg and a small Crack! Her husband lay on the floor, blood pouring from his mouth, nose, and skull.

Then, Mary Maloney cunningly turned on her stove and began preparing the lamb leg as if it were the night's dinner. Then , she headed for the door, stepping over the bloody floor, and the corpse of who was once her lover. "I'm going out, dear!" she yelled as she walked out the door, just in case anyone was nearby. Everything is normal, she thought to herself, I'm just going to get some vegetables from the grocer for our dinner. Once she arrived at the grocer, she quickly grabbed some fresh carrots, beans and squash and proceeded to pay for them. Slow down, Mary, don't act suspicious. We can't let anyone think we might be guilty. Her thoughts then began racing to and fro with every possible situation where she could get caught. Once the vegetables were back in her hands, Mary quickly headed home, eager to face the detectives and get her acting over with.

As she walked in the door, Mary paused for effect, then let out a blood curdling scream and dropped her groceries. She ran to the phone and immediately called the police, pretending to be hysterical. They won't suspect a thing, she thought. When the detectives arrived to look over the scene before them, and question Mary Maloney for details, she sat crying on the front steps of the house. Of course the tears were fake, but she was a very convincing actor. She invited the men inside the house for dinner, holding a solemn look and even looking away as she approached the gruesome scene in the living room.Once they made it to the kitchen, Mary fed the lamb leg to the detectives, who were starving by this time. Perfect. Now the murder weapon is gone. There is officially no evidence tying this murder to me. Everything is going according to plan, and no one suspects a thing. A small smile appeared on Mary's lips as she thought about how well her plan had been executed. She hid this little sign of victory behind a napkin as she pretended to wipe her mouth.

Soon, the detectives left, apologizing to Mary about how little evidence they had, and offering their condolences. She waved as they left, then shut the door and let out a loud cackle. "I've done it!" She said to herself. "I've gotten away with murder!" She let out another high pitched cackle, then began planning the next murder. This one was less complicated and involved less chance of getting caught. She would simply hit the woman with a metal pole she had hidden under her floorboards. A week later, Mary Maloney once again got away with murder. Detectives were baffled that there had been two murders with a blunt force object, but no one to tie them together. After all, Mary's husband and his other lover had been hiding the affair rather well. Eventually, the police announced that there was a serial killer on the loose and advised everyone to lock their doors and stay indoors at night.

This was perfect for Mary, who had begun doing research on people she suspected were cheating on their husbands and wives in preparation to go on a murder spree. She already had several names on her list, and she was ready to give them exactly what they deserved. Her mental health was slowly deteriorating, and she began to hear voices talking to her, telling her to kill anyone who had ever cheated, giving her more and more gruesome ideas. She wrote each of them down, and prepared for another week of what she now thought of as a fun hobby. Each day, she killed another person on her list, each one more bloody than the last. Detectives became more and more frightened of this seemingly unstoppable force as the murders became more violent. Some quit their jobs to save their sanity. Others kept working, but suffered from horrible night terrors and were forced into psychological treatment by concerned friends and family.