Lamb to the Slaughter Roald Dahl (1916-1990) The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn,

the two table lamps alighthers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whisky. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket. Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come home from work. Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come. There was a slow smiling air about her, and about e erything she did. The drop of a head as she bent o er her sewing was curiously tran!uil. "er skin # for this was her sixth month with child # had ac!uired a wonderful translucent !uality, the mouth was soft, and the eyes, with their new placid look, seemed larger darker than before. $hen the clock said ten minutes to fi e, she began to listen, and a few moments later, punctually as always, she heard the tyres on the gra el outside, and the car door slamming, the footsteps passing the window, the key turning in the lock. %he laid aside her sewing, stood up, and went forward to kiss him as he came in. &"ullo darling,' she said. &"ullo darling,' he answered. %he took his coat and hung it in the closet. Then she walked o er and made the drinks, a strongish one for him, a weak one for herself( and soon she was back again in her chair with the sewing, and he in the other, opposite, holding the tall glass with both hands, rocking it so the ice cubes tinkled against the side. For her, this was always a blissful time of day. %he knew he didn)t want to speak much until the first drink was finished, and she, on her side, was content to sit !uietly, en*oying his company after the long hours alone in the house. %he lo ed to luxuriate in the presence of this man, and to feel # almost as a sunbather feels the sun # that warm male glow that came out of him to her when they were alone together. %he lo ed him for the way he sat loosely in a chair, for the way he came in a door, or mo ed slowly across the room with long strides. %he lo ed the intent, far look in his eyes when they rested on her, the funny shape of the mouth, and especially the way he remained silent about his tiredness, sitting still with himself until the whisky had taken some of it away. &Tired darling+' &,es,' he said. &-)m tired,' .nd as he spoke, he did an unusual thing. "e lifted his glass and drained it in one swallow although there was still half of it, at least half of it left. %he wasn)t really watching him, but she knew what he had done because she heard the ice cubes falling back against the bottom of the empty glass when he lowered his arm. "e paused a moment, leaning forward in the chair, then he got up and went slowly o er to fetch himself another. &-)ll get it/' she cried, *umping up. &%it down,' he said. $hen he came back, she noticed that the new drink was dark amber with the !uantity of whisky in it. &0arling, shall - get your slippers+' &No.' %he watched him as he began to sip the dark yellow drink, and she could see little oily swirls in the li!uid because it was so strong.

&- think it)s a shame,' she said, &that when a policeman gets to be as senior as you, they keep him walking about on his feet all day long.' "e didn)t answer, so she bent her head again and went on with her sewing( but each time he lifted the drink to his lips, she heard the ice cubes clinking against the side of the glass. &0arling,' she said. &$ould you like me to get you some cheese+ - ha en)t made any supper because it)s Thursday.' &No,' he said. &-f you)re too tired to eat out,' she went on, &it)s still not too late. There)s plenty of meat and stuff in the free1er, and you can ha e it right here and not e en mo e out of the chair.' "er eyes waited on him for an answer, a smile, a little nod, but he made no sign. &.nyway,' she went on, &-)ll get you some cheese and crackers first.' &- don)t want it,' he said. %he mo ed uneasily in her chair, the large eyes still watching his face. &2ut you must eat/ -)ll fix it anyway, and then you can ha e it or not, as you like.' %he stood up and placed her sewing on the table by the lamp. &%it down,' he said. &3ust for a minute, sit down.' -t wasn)t till then that she began to get frightened. &4o on,' he said. &%it down.' %he lowered herself back slowly into the chair, watching him all the time with those large, bewildered eyes. "e had finished the second drink and was staring down into the glass, frowning. &5isten,' he said. &-) e got something to tell you.' &$hat is it, darling+ $hat)s the matter+' "e had now become absolutely motionless, and he kept his head down so that the light from the lamp beside him fell across the upper part of his face, lea ing the chin and mouth in shadow. %he noticed there was a little muscle mo ing near the corner of his left eye. &This is going to be a bit of a shock to you, -)m afraid,' he said. &2ut -) e thought about it a good deal and -) e decided the only thing to do is tell you right away. - hope you won)t blame me too much.' .nd he told her. -t didn)t take long, four or fi e minutes at most, and she sat ery still through it all, watching him with a kind of da1ed horror as he went further and further away from her with each word. &%o there it is,' he added. &.nd - know it)s kind of a bad time to be telling you, but there simply wasn)t any other way. Of course -)ll gi e you money and see you)re looked after. 2ut there needn)t really be any fuss. - hope not anyway. -t wouldn)t be ery good for my *ob.' "er first instinct was not to belie e any of it, to re*ect it all. -t occurred to her that perhaps he hadn)t e en spoken, that she herself had imagined the whole thing. Maybe, if she went about her business and acted as though she hadn)t been listening, then later, when she sort of woke up again, she might find none of it had e er happened. &-)ll get the supper,' she managed to whisper, and this time he didn)t stop her. $hen she walked across the room she couldn)t feel her feet touching the floor. %he couldn)t feel anything at all # except a slight nausea and a desire to omit. 6 erything was automatic now # down the steps to the cellar, the light switch, the deep free1e, the hand inside the cabinet taking hold of the first ob*ect it

met. %he lifted it out, and looked at it. -t was wrapped in paper, so she took off the paper and looked at it again. . leg of lamb. .ll right then, they would ha e lamb for supper. %he carried it upstairs, holding the thin bone-end of it with both her hands, and as she went through the li ingroom, she saw him standing o er by the window with his back to her, and she stopped. &For 4od)s sake,' he said, hearing her, but not turning round. &0on)t make supper for me. -)m going out.' .t that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without any pause she swung the big fro1en leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head. %he might *ust as well ha e hit him with a steel club. %he stepped back a pace, waiting, and the funny thing was that he remained standing there for at least four or fi e seconds, gently swaying. Then he crashed to the carpet. The iolence of the crash, the noise, the small table o erturning, helped bring her out of the shock. %he came out slowly, feeling cold and surprised, and she stood for a while blinking at the body, still holding the ridiculous piece of meat tight with both hands. .ll right, she told herself. %o -) e killed him. -t was extraordinary, now, how clear her mind became all of a sudden. %he began thinking ery fast. .s the wife of a detecti e, she knew !uite well what the penalty would be. That was fine. -t made no difference to her. -n fact, it would be a relief. On the other hand, what about the child+ $hat were the laws about murderers with unborn children+ 0id they kill them both # mother and child+ Or did they wait until the tenth month+ $hat did they do+ Mary Maloney didn)t know. .nd she certainly wasn)t prepared to take a chance. %he carried the meat into the kitchen, placed it in a pan, turned the o en on high, and sho ed it inside. Then she washed her hands and ran upstairs to the bedroom. %he sat down before the mirror, tidied her hair, touched up her lips and face. %he tried a smile. -t came out rather peculiar. %he tried again. &"ullo %am,' she said brightly, aloud. The oice sounded peculiar too. &- want some potatoes please, %am. ,es, and - think a can of peas.' That was better. 2oth the smile and the oice were coming out better now. %he rehearsed it se eral times more. Then she ran downstairs, took her coat, went out the back door, down the garden, into the street. -t wasn)t six o)clock yet and the lights were still on in the grocery shop. &"ullo, %am,' she said brightly, smiling at the man behind the counter. &$hy, good e ening, Mrs. Maloney. "ow are you+' &- want some potatoes please, %am. ,es, and - think a can of peas.' The man turned and reached up behind him on the shelf for the peas. &7atrick)s decided he)s tired and doesn)t want to eat out tonight,' she told him. &$e usually go out Thursdays, you know, and now he)s caught me without any egetables in the house.' &Then how about meat, Mrs. Maloney+' &No, -) e got meat, thanks. - got a nice leg of lamb from the free1er.' &Oh.'

&- don)t know much like cooking it fro1en, %am, but -)m taking a chance on it this time. ,ou think it)ll be all right+' &7ersonally,' the grocer said, &- don)t belie e it makes any difference. ,ou want these -daho potatoes+' &Oh yes, that)ll be fine. Two of those.' &.nything else+' The grocer cocked his head on one side, looking at her pleasantly. &"ow about afterwards+ $hat you going to gi e him for afterwards+' &$ell # what would you suggest, %am+' The man glanced around his shop. &"ow about a nice big slice of cheesecake+ - know he likes that.' &7erfect,' she said. &"e lo es it.' .nd when it was all wrapped and she had paid, she put on her brightest smile and said, &Thank you, %am. 4oodnight.' &4oodnight, Mrs. Maloney. .nd thank you.' .nd now, she told herself as she hurried back, all she was doing now, she was returning home to her husband and he was waiting for his supper( and she must cook it good, and make it as tasty as possible because the poor man was tired( and if, when she entered the house, she happened to find anything unusual, or tragic, or terrible, then naturally it would be a shock and she)d become frantic with grief and horror. Mind you, she wasn)t expecting to find anything. %he was *ust going home with the egetables. Mrs. 7atrick Maloney going home with the egetables on Thursday e ening to cook supper for her husband. That)s the way, she told herself. 0o e erything right and natural. 8eep things absolutely natural and there)ll be no need for any acting at all. Therefore, when she entered the kitchen by the back door, she was humming a little tune to herself and smiling. &7atrick/' she called. &"ow are you, darling+' %he put the parcel down on the table and went through into the li ing room( and when she saw him lying there on the floor with his legs doubled up and one arm twisted back underneath his body, it really was rather a shock. .ll the old lo e and longing for him welled up inside her, and she ran o er to him, knelt down beside him, and began to cry her heart out. -t was easy. No acting was necessary. . few minutes later she got up and went to the phone. %he knew the number of the police station, and when the man at the other end answered, she cried to him, &9uick/ :ome !uick/ 7atrick)s dead/' &$ho)s speaking+' &Mrs. Maloney. Mrs. 7atrick Maloney.' &,ou mean 7atrick Maloney)s dead+' &- think so,' she sobbed. "e)s lying on the floor and - think he)s dead.' &2e right o er,' the man said. The car came ery !uickly, and when she opened the front door, two policeman walked in. %he knew them both # she knew nearly all the men at that precinct # and she fell right into a chair, then went o er to *oin the other one, who was called O)Malley, kneeling by the body. &-s he dead+' she cried. &-)m afraid he is. $hat happened+' 2riefly, she told her story about going out to the grocer and coming back to find him on the floor. $hile she was talking, crying and talking, Noonan

disco ered a small patch of congealed blood on the dead man)s head. "e showed it to O)Malley who got up at once and hurried to the phone. %oon, other men began to come into the house. First a doctor, then two detecti es, one of whom she knew by name. 5ater, a police photographer arri ed and took pictures, and a man who knew about fingerprints. There was a great deal of whispering and muttering beside the corpse, and the detecti es kept asking her a lot of !uestions. 2ut they always treated her kindly. %he told her story again, this time right from the beginning, when 7atrick had come in, and she was sewing, and he was tired, so tired he hadn)t wanted to go out for supper. %he told how she)d put the meat in the o en # 'it)s there now, cooking' # and how she)d slopped out to the grocer for egetables, and come back to find him lying on the floor. &$hich grocer+' one of the detecti es asked. %he told him, and he turned and whispered something to the other detecti e who immediately went outside into the street. -n fifteen minutes he was back with a page of notes, and there was more whispering, and through her sobbing she heard a few of the whispered phrases # &...acted !uite normal... ery cheerful... wanted to gi e him a good supper; peas... cheesecake... impossible that she...' .fter a while, the photographer and the doctor departed and two other men came in and took the corpse away on a stretcher. Then the fingerprint man went away. The two detecti es remained, and so did the two policeman. hey were exceptionally nice to her, and 3ack Noonan asked if she wouldn)t rather go somewhere else, to her sister)s house perhaps, or to his own wife, who would take care of her and put her up for the night. No, she said. %he didn)t feel she could mo e e en a yard at the moment. $ould they mind awfully of she stayed *ust where she was until she felt better. %he didn)t feel too good at the moment, she really didn)t. Then hadn)t she better lie down on the bed+ 3ack Noonan asked. No, she said. %he)d like to stay right where she was, in this chair. . little later, perhaps, when she felt better, she would mo e. %o they left her there while they went about their business, searching the house. Occasionally one of the detecti es asked her another !uestion. %ometimes 3ack Noonan spoke to her gently as he passed by. "er husband, he told her, had been killed by a blow on the back of the head administered with a hea y blunt instrument, almost certainly a large piece of metal. They were looking for the weapon. he murderer may ha e taken it with him, but on the other hand he may ha e thrown it away or hidden it somewhere on the premises. &-t)s the old story,' he said. &4et the weapon, and you) e got the man.' 5ater, one of the detecti es came up and sat beside her. 0id she know, he asked, of anything in the house that could) e been used as the weapon+ $ould she mind ha ing a look around to see if anything was missing # a ery big spanner, for example, or a hea y metal ase. They didn)t ha e any hea y metal ases, she said. &Or a big spanner+' %he didn)t think they had a big spanner. 2ut there might be some things like that in the garage. The search went on. %he knew that there were other policemen in the garden all around the house. %he could hear their footsteps on the gra el outside, and

sometimes she saw a flash of a torch through a chink in the curtains. -t began to get late, nearly nine she noticed by the clock on the mantle. The four men searching the rooms seemed to be growing weary, a trifle exasperated. &3ack,' she said, the next time %ergeant Noonan went by. &$ould you mind gi ing me a drink+' &%ure -)ll gi e you a drink. ,ou mean this whisky+' &,es please. 2ut *ust a small one. -t might make me feel better.' "e handed her the glass. &$hy don)t you ha e one yourself,' she said. &,ou must be awfully tired. 7lease do. ,ou) e been ery good to me.' &$ell,' he answered. &-t)s not strictly allowed, but - might take *ust a drop to keep me going.' One by one the others came in and were persuaded to take a little nip of whisky. They stood around rather awkwardly with the drinks in their hands, uncomfortable in her presence, trying to say consoling things to her. %ergeant Noonan wandered into the kitchen, come out !uickly and said, &5ook, Mrs. Maloney. ,ou know that o en of yours is still on, and the meat still inside.' &Oh dear me/' she cried. &%o it is/' &-)d better turn it off for you, hadn)t -+' &$ill you do that, 3ack. Thank you so much.' $hen the sergeant returned the second time, she looked at him with her large, dark tearful eyes. &3ack Noonan,' she said. &,es+' &$ould you do me a small fa or # you and these others+' &$e can try, Mrs. Maloney.' &$ell,' she said. &"ere you all are, and good friends of dear 7atrick)s too, and helping to catch the man who killed him. ,ou must be terribly hungry by now because it)s long past your suppertime, and - know 7atrick would ne er forgi e me, 4od bless his soul, if - allowed you to remain in his house without offering you decent hospitality. $hy don)t you eat up that lamb that)s in the o en+ -t)ll be cooked *ust right by now.' &$ouldn)t dream of it,' %ergeant Noonan said. &7lease,' she begged. &7lease eat it. 7ersonally - couldn)t touch a thing, certainly not what)s been in the house when he was here. 2ut it)s all right for you. -t)d be a fa or to me if you)d eat it up. Then you can go on with your work again afterwards.' There was a good deal of hesitating among the four policemen, but they were clearly hungry, and in the end they were persuaded to go into the kitchen and help themsel es. The woman stayed where she was, listening to them speaking among themsel es, their oices thick and sloppy because their mouths were full of meat. &"a e some more, :harlie+' &No. 2etter not finish it.' &%he wants us to finish it. %he said so. 2e doing her a fa our.' &Okay then. 4i e me some more.' &That)s a hell of a big club the guy must) e used to hit poor 7atrick,' one of them was saying. &The doc says his skull was smashed all to pieces *ust like from a sledgehammer.' &That)s why it ought to be easy to find.' &6xactly what - say.'

&$hoe er done it, they)re not going to be carrying a thing like that around with them longer than they need.' One of them belched. &7ersonally, - think it)s right here on the premises.' &7robably right under our ery noses. $hat you think, 3ack+' .nd in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.