“You know how you see animals in the fields,
running about?” said their mother.
“Yes,” nodded the twins in unison.
“Then you see meat in the butcher’s or on
the shelves in the supermarket? All packed
up neatly?”
“Yes,” said the twins again. “We’ve been to
Minnie’s house—her dad’s a
butcher.”
“Well, an abattoir is where the in-between
process happens.”
“Or to put it another way, my dears,”
explained Sheila, drawing a green claw
across her throat, “goodbye to Minty Boy and
Gangster’s Moll, and hello to
horse steaks
. . .”
“
Argh!”
said Betty. “They’ve been killed?”
189
