Page 17 of Long Pig

“Met her a few times. Nice woman. Read about what happened to her in the paper. Sorry for your loss.”

The man seemed nice enough, but for some reason, Willow had a bad feeling about him.

“This is her property. Do you come out here hiking often?” Dale asked.

The man chuckled. “Sorry about that. I’ve lived here for years and still get turned around. Thought I was on public land.” He shifted his weight and slung his shotgun farther back.

Max gave another low growl, and Daisy never took her eyes off him. Of the two, she was less protective, but something bothered her too.

“I’ve lived out here for a long time. I’m surprised we haven’t met,” Dale said.

“When I’m not working, I keep to myself. I like the peace and quiet.” He rubbed his hand on his non-existent gut. “I hike to stay in shape.” He added a smile for good measure.

“What kind of work do you do?” Dale asked.

“Trucker. Own my own rig and have steady jobs that take me across the country. What about you?”

“Retired,” Dale said. “My granddaughter keeps me busy helping her around the property.”

“Yeah, this lot wasn’t available when I was buying. Nice acreage you’ve got,” he said to Willow. “I’ll stay away from this section of land. Sorry if I disturbed you. Nice to know the neighbors, though.”

Dale nodded without answering. Willow wondered if he was being intentionally rude because something raised the hair on the back of his neck like it did hers. Larry seemed nice enough, and she had no idea why he gave off a bad vibe.

But the bad vibes were something she couldn’t quite shake.

Chapter Ten

The Slaughter of Innocence

Larry

Larry’s fourteenth birthday would always be the one he remembered. He wasn’t such a skinny kid anymore, and he had grown several inches. He was now five-eleven. Clyde was five-ten and said Larry would grow another inch or more. He had also started getting a little peach fuzz on his face and short curlies down below.

His mother looked at turning fourteen as a sinful time. Larry now understood what his mother had said about touching himself. The boys at school talked about it constantly. Since Clyde also considered it a sin, Larry did it as seldom as possible. He’d wake up in a state of distress and feel dirty when the signs of his sin covered the sheet. His father never explained this to him, and Larry never asked. He could not admit to his sin.

But sin was not what he was thinking about that day. This was Larry’s first trip to the slaughterhouse, and he had trouble containing his excitement.

Cityside Meats was an industrial gray fortress of concrete and steel. His father explained on the drive over that the inside, like the butcher shop, had a stark division between two worlds. In front were the holding pens, where the animals waited. It wassectioned off from where the real work was done. Larry would be able to see the inner mechanics of slaughter, and his entire body felt antsy.

“Nice to see you, Mr. Slyme,” a large man said.

“David, it’s good to see you as well. I’ve told you about my son. This is Larry.”

The boy stuck out his hand, and David shook it graciously. His grip may have been a little too firm for shaking a child’s hand, but Larry didn’t wince. He, however, did manage to cast the man a glare.

“Come to see what happens behind the scenes?” David asked, not really expecting an answer.

“I want to see how the animals are killed,” Larry said truthfully.

“My boy wants to understand all aspects of the business,” Clyde said proudly. “He takes after me.”

David stared at the boy. “Your dad has a keen eye for choosing the best product,” he said. “Nothing gets past your old man.”

Again, Larry bristled. His father was far from old and was younger than David. This time, his expression had David taking a step back. He laughed nervously. “Well. Let’s get the tour started.”

They entered the front area, which immediately assaulted Larry’s senses in a good way. Layers of odors much stronger than those at the butcher shop assailed him. The front area was filled with nervous animal energy combined with urine and feces. The pigs were crowded together, their pink-and-gray bodies pressed against metal bars. Some stood still, while others jostled nervously. Their eyes seemed to reflect a confused placidity, punctuated by the occasional tense glance.

Larry’s heart rate accelerated as he watched the animals move down a narrow chute while making noises of distress.