Lamb to the slaughter.

(with vocabulary from Focus 5, Units 1 and 2 and the Unit Crime from
the set)

Patrick Maloney came home from work and told his wife something which, without knowing it,
would sentence him to death.

Mary Maloney’s mind went blank after listening to that and went to the cellar to take a frozen
lamb of leg to make supper as if nothing had been true.

All of a sudden, when she was returning from the cellar, she had a gut reaction and without
batting an eyelid, hit her husband with the frozen leg of lamb, killing him in a split second.

As the wife of a detective, she had heard to all the criminal stories under the sun. She used
her common sense: she didn’t have a hope of being let off. It was a minefield. She had a first
class knowledge of it, she knew that nine times out of ten, she would be sentenced to capital
punishment. She was a nervous wreck, she didn’t want her baby to die.

She didn’t have a moment to spare. Despite her unassuming manner and her diminutive
stature, she didn’t get cold feet. She placed the leg of lamb in the oven and she put on a brave
face and made for the greengrocer’s to cook up the alibi that would let her get away with the
crime. She mustered the energy to keep her composure in front of the greengrocer.

When she returned home, her iron will broke down and she felt out of depth. No acting was
necessary.

When the police came, they questioned her thoroughly and looked into the case.

In spite of working hard, they didn’t have a clue of what had happened.

Finally, Mary Maloney talked them into eating the lamb.

No evidence was left. While they were eating in the kitchen, Mary was giggling in the living
room. She felt as if a weight had been lifted from her. A calm came over her, the world was
her oyster.