Chapter Text
Step One
The cooler the temperature is outside, the quicker the carcass will chill. Start early in the morning and try to avoid exceptionally hot days. If butchering out of doors, remember windy days can introduce dirt, debris, field chemicals, insects, and the like.
Will always checks the weather for any activity: a social gathering, crime scene, academy outing, or even a nice murder like this one. It's not sunny or humid by any means. Despite it being May, it feels more like November. The chill gives a prime time for this excursion.
Step Two
Get the water heating. Cleaned metal drums work well for scalding. When filling the drum, remember that the carcass will displace a lot of water so only fill the drum about 1/2 - 2/3 full. If there is too much water, the drum will overflow and possibly put out your fire. If you do not have a large enough container to dip the carcass into, heat as much water as you can. The water will need to be about 150°F. If you are choosing to skin the carcass, you do not need as much hot water, but you will need enough to clean your hands and equipment when necessary.
This is a great example of why living in the distant Virginian woods is a good idea. The farmhouse and barn are just the front. The Graham family owns most of the land out here, and he uses an old horse stable with a 55-gallon basin practically built into the building. He turns to his circulation pump with an on-off relay to heat as he fills it with water from the well spigot. He knows he's got a water-based thermometer around here, hopefully, one that doesn't need a deep cleaning.
Step Three
Make sure to know where all of your equipment is so you can work efficiently. Go through the slaughter process and set up your stations accordingly. Being organized will help make this process go much more smoothly. If you intend to use a tractor and loader for hoisting the carcass, make sure the loader is clear of any loose debris that could fall onto and contaminate the carcass.
Will grins as he looks around his little workshop. He's prepared with his favorite little checklist. A firearm for stunning his prey, he sights it in for the appropriate range. Several sharp boning knives, most at 6-inch blades. Metal basin and its heating source, he pats it, letting a little singe into his skin. A pulley system to hoist the carcass into the air, letting the blood drain... Will almost loses his train of thought, just the mental taste dancing on his tongue. Buckets for scalding and a skinning knife that make him feel powerful. Coolers with ice to put the meat to cool. A clean bone saw that never looks out of place within his fishing paraphernalia. A container for proper disposal, and several smaller ones for the meats. Last item on the list is the most dreaded, a butcher buddy. Someone he can manipulate. Someone with just as much dirt on them. Someone he can blame.
Step Four
Move the hog into the area where you will stun it. It may be helpful to do this on a slight incline so that when exsanguinating, the blood runs away from your work area. The stunning area should be small enough that the pig cannot run away from you and you can get close enough to get a clear, accurate shot.
Will stalks her from afar, only showing himself when he's truly ready. Kaito approaches her a little too early, but he goads her, corralling her uphill. She searches in her bag, likely for pepper spray, but Will can't let it get that far. She let a convicted pedophile back on the streets, where he got a new alias and began work under clean sheets as a pet shop employee. Will's been watching. He could have gone after her before her initial court date, but he'd had other fish. Witnessing her attitude toward the animals in the shop after hours pushes him past his limit. He emerges from the fields...
Step Five
Stun the pig. You want to aim for the brain, which can be found by drawing an imaginary X from the top of the base of the ear to the opposite eye or about 1.5 inches above the eyes in the center of the forehead. You may find it beneficial to put a small amount of feed on the ground to entice the pig to stand still. The goal is to stun the animal with one shot, use patience, and wait for a clear shot. However, it is important to have a backup round ready if the first shot does not go as planned. Once you have stunned the animal, check for signs of consciousness. When an animal has been properly stunned, they will not blink if you touch their eye, they should not vocalize, their head should hang limply, and there should be no rhythmic breathing.
One shot. One shot and she crumples. There's no fight in her, and Will's disappointed. He and Kaito load her into the bed of the pickup. It isn't his, of course. It's all muddied and was borrowed from a neighbor. For the dogs, of course. And he may have talked about bagging a stag, so if excess blood finds its way in the hinges, it's easily explained away. His gloved finger touches one of her eyes as it gazes into the night sky. No blinking, no screaming; barely a puff of air. Kaito climbs in the back with the prey, slapping the side of the truck as Will goes around to drive them back. Not to the main house, but to the stable.
Step Six
After the animal is stunned, the arms and legs will likely begin to flail and kick rapidly. This is normal. It is caused by the disruption to the nervous system caused by the stun, not a sign of consciousness. It is important to be careful when exsanguinating because these movements after stunning can be unpredictable. Always be aware of where your knife is. Roll the animal over so you have access to its underside. Use your fingers to find the sternum bone below the arms where the ribs meet. Trace the sternum towards the head to find the end of the sternum. Insert your knife behind the sternum with the tip of your knife pointed towards the tailbone and the sharp side of the blade towards the backbone of the animal. The knife should be parallel to the sternum but behind it. Once the knife is fully inserted so the handle is up to the skin, flick your wrist so the blade is at about a 45-degree angle from where it started and draw the knife back out. If done correctly, blood should exit the body rapidly, if it does not, reinsert the knife and repeat the motion. This motion severs the carotid artery and the animal will bleed out quickly.
Kaito keeps her limbs down in the truck as Will navigates. He keeps her lying on her back, on the dogs' tarp, throughout the drive. She doesn't moan; doesn't say a word. He kills the engine just outside the stable and climbs into the back. Tracing, inserting, carving. It's beautiful. The dogs' towels are in place to keep the blood localized. Kaito watches with excitement and anticipation. He's likely thinking about his reward for assisting. Will doesn't mind; he's in his peripheral vision, but he's not the important one right now. His prey takes central focus. He doesn't want to flay her entirely yet. He has plans for her.
Step Seven
Hang the carcass. This is where a pulley may come in handy as you want the carcass to be completely off the ground. You can use a thick rope or chain around the hocks. Be sure to get the chains behind the dewclaws. Exercise caution if you choose to use this method as the carcass could slip from the shackles. You can also use a gambrel if you have one and make an incision parallel to the length of the leg on the inside of each dewclaw to expose the gambrel tendon. The tendon is a pearly white color that runs from the toes to the hock joint. Be careful if you choose to hang the carcass this way. If you cut into the tendon, it may snap under the weight of the carcass and the carcass will fall. Rinse the carcass with water and scrub with a bristled brush if you have one. This will keep the process cleaner.
Kaito helps Will with a makeshift gurney, bringing her into the stable so they can shackle her to the mainframe. She dangles above the basin so they can rinse her much easier. Cleanliness makes his job easier, after all. The tendons look delicious, and it only reminds him of how he skipped lunch. He fed the pack, but they're important. There are six of them and only one Will. His prey hangs limp in the air, swaying just so, drops of crimson sliding down her ebony skin.
Step Eight
If you choose to skin the carcass, it is similar to skinning a deer. It is important to avoid as much contamination as possible when skinning. When making cuts to the skin, stab through the skin with the sharp side of the knife blade pointed up and away from the carcass. This will prevent pushing any contaminants from the skin into the meat. Also, designate a “clean” hand and a “dirty” hand. Your clean hand is the hand you hold your knife with, and your dirty hand will be used to pull the hide out of the way. Do not switch or confuse which hand is which. Wash your clean hand if it ever gets dirty and do not touch the carcass with your dirty hand. Make cuts around each leg just above the knee or hock joints. You can begin from the front or back legs depending on how the carcass is positioned (hanging or lying down on a clean surface such as a tarp). Follow the leg to the center of the carcass. Open the skin down the middle of the carcass. Once the skin has been opened, work from the legs to the center of the body by cutting between the skin and the fat until all the skin is removed. Some people prefer to loosen the skin around the hind legs and from the belly and then pull the skin off. This method can be faster, but it increases your chance of pulling the fat off the carcass, which can negatively impact the quality of the meat. If you do not want to keep the head, you do not need to skin it.
The pure removal is gorgeous. It's much better than a deer. Sometimes, he would prefer a struggle, a spray; however, he's got classes to teach tomorrow. He still has plenty to do, but then his eyes face his prey once again. He watches the stunned look in her frozen wide eyes. It shouldn't thrill him as much as it does. It shouldn't get him hot and bothered. He's barely started, but he has big ideas. And none of them involve Kaito.
Step Nine
Remove the head. Stand so you are facing the carcass’s back. Locate the base of the skull and make a cut slightly above the skull that exposes the vertebrae. You can use a saw to sever the backbone or insert your knife between the skull and the first vertebrae to separate the skull from the backbone. Using your knife takes a little bit of skill and patience. The joint is not straight across, but rather fits together like an “m”. Once the backbone is severed, slowly continue to cut around the head until only the trachea (windpipe) and esophagus are attached. The trachea feels like a rigid structure with cartilage rings. Use your hand to locate the Adam’s Apple. This is a large, hard structure where the esophagus and trachea fuse together. Remove the head by cutting through the esophagus and trachea above (towards the tailbone) the Adam’s Apple. This will make the removal of the internal organs much easier.
After keeping her skin in the cooler, he gets to work on head removal. Kaito looks like he's going to get sick, but Will always keeps a sick bag on hand. He's not about to let his butcher buddy out of his sight. If he's going to get sick, it won't touch his pristine scene. She's off the pulley system, lowered into the basin, and now laid bare on the ground, on the tarp so the remaining blood not collected will glide into the drainage pipes. With her head severed, she looks like something more. She never used her head for anything good, after all.
Step Ten
Evisceration. The first section of evisceration is called bunging. Stand behind the carcass so the tailbone is close to you. Use your knife to carefully cut around the anus. Give yourself about ½ -1” clearance around the anus to make sure you do not puncture the rectum or “bung”. You should not be cutting into the muscles of the ham, but right next to them. Once you have loosened the anus, you can grab it to move it side to side to continue cutting the connective tissues holding the bung in place. Next, move to the belly side of the carcass. Starting where the legs meet and hold your knife parallel to the length of the carcass, using light pressure, score the skin from between the back legs to the sternum. Then, holding your knife in the same starting position, slowly open the body cavity. Do not stab into the carcass to prevent puncturing the intestines and bladder. Once you have opened a large enough hole to insert your hand, place your hand that is holding the knife inside the carcass so the blade of the knife is outside the carcass at a 90-degree angle and the handle is inside the carcass and pressed against the inside of the body wall. In one swift motion, open the carcass down to the sternum. It is critical to not remove your hand until you have made the full cut. Opening the carcass with your knife handle inside will prevent you from puncturing any organs and contaminating the carcass. Stopping before you have reached the sternum and trying to start again drastically increases your chances of contamination.
Once you have opened the carcass, use your hands to pull the bung downwards and out of the carcass. You can use string or a zip tie to close off the anus to prevent fecal contamination. Then working slowly, continue to pull the organs forward and out of the body. You may need to use a knife to cut the ureters or heavy connective tissue. Be careful not to cut the intestines or stomach. When most of the organs are removed, you will see the diaphragm muscle with associated white-colored connective tissue separating the digestive organs from the heart and lungs. Using your hand, follow the esophagus (light pink tube about 1” wide) through the diaphragm and separate the esophagus from the trachea. Once you pull the esophagus free, the digestive organs should be easily separated from the carcass. Place the organs into a tote or other container. Next, cut the connective tissue of the diaphragm. Use your knife to cut the large vein that runs along the backbone. Place your finger into the vein as a handle and cut between the vein and the backbone towards the head of the carcass. Then, loosen the connective tissue around the heart to remove the heart, lungs, and trachea together.
Kaito sits by the basin, letting the water mixed with blood drip down his back each time he heaves. He is not the butcher buddy Will had expected of him. The professor is now deep into the body. His arms are sheathed in gloves and his "patented" murder scrubs, drowning in blood and sinew. The smell can be tasted in the back of his throat, and it's a delight. His eyes dilate with each edge of the blade, struggling not to give in and bathe in her cavity.
Step Eleven
The abdominal cavity is lined with a large amount of fat known as leaf fat. Use your hand to separate the fat from the muscle using caution to not put your hand under the thin layer of muscle along the belly. Leaf fat can be used to make lard if desired, otherwise, it can be disposed of with the other organs.
Lard is exceptionally great for baking, and he'll be baking cookies soon. It's tradition to have cookies at the ready just in case a student may surprise him. It gives them an incentive. And his students don't need to know what's in the treats.
Step Twelve
Take a moment to inspect the organs for any signs of illness or infection. Palpate the lungs for any hard lumps, inspect the liver for signs of parasitic infection (small white lines) or abscesses, and cut open the heart. In general, look for anything that looks suspicious. If you want to save the liver, heart, or kidneys, separate them from the rest of the organs. Remove the gallbladder from the liver and pop the kidneys by lightly scoring them and peeling back the thin membrane.
Her blood is settling in Mason jars, and Tupperware easily contains her liver, heart, and kidneys - as well as her brain, lungs, tripe, ribs, intestines, and even tongue. Kaito is no longer vomiting in the corner, though he is watching Will warily. The latter has weaponry on his side, and he's ready to attack.
Step Thirteen
Using hot water if possible, spray the carcass down beginning at the legs and working toward the arms. Allow the carcass to drip for a few minutes. Using a clean, new spray bottle or garden sprayer, spray the carcass liberally with a 2% acetic acid wash to help inhibit bacterial growth.
Things are settling down now. Though Will still wants to dive into the basin, he has more self-control. Spritzing the carcass of his prey is nothing troubling, and the excitement of the kill is dying like embers in his belly. It'll satisfy him for at least a week. Maybe longer. It depends on how long her body will last. He hasn't seen her smoking or attending anonymous meetings or walking into clinics, so perhaps he'll be solid for a good two weeks, or even three.
Step Fourteen
If you have access to a large cold room or cooler that will fit entire carcasses or sides, set the temperature to between 33 and 38°F, place the side inside, and you are done with the slaughter steps.
Easily said, and easier done. Kaito helps him fold her body into the empty freezer; what's left of it, anyway. She's completely defaced and she'll likely never be recognized. If she's discovered and identified, it'll never tie back to him. He hands her head to Kaito, who fumbles for a moment but doesn't drop it as they trek to another barn on the property. The pack awaits them, growling at the newcomer and sniffing the head. Will scratches Harley's head. She's the most protective of the bunch, and he quickly slices off his prey's nose. Harley eats it off the gloved fingers, delicately chewing around the bones. Kaito swallows a lump in his throat; Will hears it.
"I could set this down on the counter for your dogs," he offers.
"Or you can keep holding it."
The way Will talks means it isn't up for discussion, and Kaito blanches. He holds the head as Will slices it up five more times, providing treats for his family. He then pulls out a set of pliers and a metal bowl to first yank out the teeth and then incinerate them.
Step Fifteen
The organs, hide, head, feet, or trim you removed from the carcass should be disposed of properly. If you have access to an animal disposal pit, you can dispose of it there.
With the dogs properly nourished and lying in their beds, Will and Kaito return to the stable. Kaito struggles with what's left of the woman's head while Will grabs the partially frozen body wrapped in biodegradable cloth. He leads his butcher buddy deeper into the woods, straight to a freshly dug grave. Rather than six feet deep, he'd made it nine. Will carelessly tosses it in, pointedly ignoring the gawking expression on the other man. He fills the hole with stolen farm machinery. It belonged to his former neighbor who moved away almost a year ago. They won't be coming back for it, and it's helped Will a lot in his illegal endeavors. Once three feet are filled, he orders Kaito to drop the head. The other man is blatantly relieved as Will climbs down.
"Payment," Will declares, handing over a small baggie of spliffs.
"Got a light?" Kaito chances.
Will smiles indulgently and gestures him toward the vehicle. He slides on the ground against it and flicks the lighter. Kaito bites his lower lip but takes his chances and slides down to Will's right. They light up and relax. It's been a long night. Close to forty minutes are spent smoking the reward and, by the butt, Kaito is fully relaxed. Will places a hand on his shoulder and helps him to his feet. Kaito doesn't even notice the lighter being lit again. He doesn't notice how close he is to the grave. He notices that his shirt is on fire much too late. He falls into what he believes is dirt, but there is a lot of dry grass down in the hole. And a load of wet hay. He doesn't have time to question it before barrels of dirt come raining down on him. Soon, the fire dies out and the screams are cut off. Will whistles as he replaces a false faerie ring around the grave and returns home. He's got plenty more to do tonight.