In Plain Sight – A Short Story

~ Meg

People are oblivious. In my case, it was a good thing. As long as I kept up the normal routine, no one noticed that Marty had disappeared. Even after the sale sign went up in front of the house, the neighbors weren’t suspicious. “Where y’all headed?” they would ask. “Moving closer to the in-laws now that they’re getting up in years,” I’d answer. And that would be the end of it.

The human body has 206 bones, 79 organs, as well as muscle, connective tissue, and fat. Marty was a big man so he took a long time to dispose of. I started by draining the five liters of blood. It was a struggle to prop him up in the bathtub, but I’m a strong woman and the adrenaline was still pumping at that point. My hand shook as I severed the femoral artery.

After that, I separated the limbs and the head with my sharpest knife and wrapped them up in the freezer. That left the torso with it’s mass of organs and fat. I put my oven and my largest stock pots to work, cooking up a stew that fed the dogs for weeks. Still, nobody was missing Marty.

I kept the window washing business going all by myself. Sure it took a little longer now that I was doing it alone but I managed to keep our clients satisfied. “Where’s your other half?” someone would occasionally ask. “He’s off on another job,” I’d answer. And that would be the end of it.

Each time I went out —to work, to the supermarket, to grab lunch at McDonald’s, a small bag would go into the public trash can. That way, I disposed of a few of Marty’s bones at a time. They were dry and well wrapped so that no one would ever discover them in amongst the rest of the landfill debris.

It’s funny how fast I was able to recover our finances now that Marty wasn’t drinking away all our income. I was able to sell all the frivolous items he’d bought over the years too. The big screen TVs, the stereo equipment and the overpriced, underpowered “classic” Mustang he’d bought to restore. Even I knew the 90’s were a bad decade for Mustangs.

It took a full year. But it was time well spent. I slowly put everything in my name. It was easier than you might think. Even selling the house, I told the realtor my husband had to go on ahead to care for his sick parents and he’d left it all to me. It turns out you can have your contracts signed electronically which meant I could sign an approximate version of Marty’s signature for him. Nobody raised an eyebrow.

When it was done, I hauled all the furniture to an auctioneer and sold it for whatever I could. I packed the dogs and my clothes in the back of my old Jeep and drove west, not knowing where we’d land but knowing anywhere was better than here.

People are oblivious. No one ever noticed the bruises on my legs or the burn marks on my arms. Or how I kept my hair over one blackened eye or the other. For twenty years, I wished that someone would pay attention but no one ever did. Lucky for me, no one decided to start now.

Published by Meg

Easily amused, never bored and constantly distracted. My creative pursuits include writing, drawing, painting and photography.

76 thoughts on “In Plain Sight – A Short Story”

  1. This was a truly scary story. I kept thinking why would she do this? And why no one missed Marty? As you stated, people are oblivious. Then came the answer to my questions. Empowerment can come at any time to set matters straight. I bet someone noticed… but was oblivious.
    -Well Done Meg-

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  8. Enjoyed your story Meg but I think you would need something more substantial than a sharp knife to cut off limbs and a head…electric saw perhaps! This comes not from experience but from watching a lot of horror films! LOL. 😂

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  14. Intense! Great details and nice counterbalance with how oblivious people can be relating to the suffering she would have endured being abused by a husband she later killed. Well written! 🙂

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  19. I absolutely adore this short piece, and I would love to see it being turned into a series or even a longer novella. I get a vibe of “Gone Girl” from your piece, but it’s a very good vibe. I appreciate how you gradually slither the idea of domestic abuse and society’s ignorance into the story’s plot. All in all, great work!

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    1. Isn’t that the truth? I was thinking that when I recently moved. If I hadn’t gotten their mail by accident once in a while, I’d have never met any of them!

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