A Pinch of Paula
Jack Slab worked diligently as he prepared his meat while waiting
until his custom grill was at just the right temperature. For six years he was
the reigning champion at the “Mid-States BBQ and Grillin’ Showdown.” He fully
expected to hold his title this year as well. He had developed a new technique
and array of special new “spices” that brought his flavors to another level. His
success wasn’t all because of his cooking skills. A lot of it was all because
of Paula.
Paula was his culinary muse. Her belief in him was the
reason for his success. Her love inspired some of the greatest recipes a chef
could hope for. She loved his cooking, his style and especially his “secret” seasoning.
She introduced him to all her upscale friends who were eager to try something
new. They all raved about his menus and his business took off. She was the
catalyst that launched his career.
He started out as a teenager working in the kitchen of a
popular bar and grill doing anything and everything they needed. He learned his
way around the kitchen and showed some talent when it came to preparing the BBQ
meats. One of his jobs was to prepare the meat for the next day. He was
responsible for mixing the ingredients that made up the “World Famous,” dry rub
used to flavor the assorted roasts and slabs of ribs
Using various
“secret” spices he combined them together in a closely guarded recipe that gave
his dry rub a unique smoky flavor that had become a local legend.
As he perfected the recipe customers began to compliment him
and would line up when he was working the kitchen. His bosses noticed and soon
he was making more money than most of the staff. Eventually he started thinking
about having a place of his own. It wasn’t until he met Paula that he started
to turn his dream into reality.
Paula was a regular customer who always insisted on
complimenting him personally. She was close in age and seemed to enjoy some
playful flirting. They had become casual friends and talked often about random
subjects. When he told her about his plans to open his own place he was
surprised when she offered to back him financially.
He graciously declined her first offer being reluctant to
perhaps take advantage of a good natured but inexperienced investor. It was
after she persisted and proved that she had the financial means and the
business experience that he agreed to become partners.
At first she was content to leave the kitchen management to
Jack and focused on the customer end. It wasn’t long before Paula began to
inject herself into the food operations of their restaurant and Jack began to
feel pressured by her constant questioning when it came to how he prepared his
recipes. Eventually she asked him to commit his “secret” ingredients to paper
so that in the event of his being unable to fulfill his role as chef the recipe
would be accessible.
Jack refused to reveal his recipes no matter how often and
how hard Paula tried to persuade him. When she finally threatened to pull her
financial support unless he provided his secrets Jack was put in a desperate
situation. If he didn’t share his secrets he would lose his business. If he did
he might very well lose a lot more.
He invited Paula to his home for a meal he would cook just for
her and then they would discuss the terms of her demands. As they enjoyed the
special meal he took the time to reminisce about his early days as a chef and
how he created his secret recipe.
His skill as a chef was surpassed only by his talent as a
serial killer. After his first kill he panicked when it came to how to dispose
of the body. He managed to dismember the body and bury the pieces in woods far
from his home but it proved to be a tiring and difficult task. It took a long
time to focus on the problem at hand. If he was going to go around killing
people he needed to figure out what to do with the body. He worked in a BBQ
restaurant that had large ovens that could burn anything put in it completely. In
the end he decided to burn the bodies to ashes. He even devised a plan to get
rid of the ashes.
It became the signature conclusion to every kill he made
over the last decade. He would incinerate the remains in the restaurant’s furnace
at night. He would then take the ashes and mix them into the dry rub
ingredients. As he refined his recipe he learned just which cut of meat from
his victims added the most flavors.
It was no problem to take the ashes from the best cuts of Paula
to work and mix her in along with the other secret recipe ingredients. He
already had his victory speech written in anticipation of winning his seventh
title. Jack smiled as he added another pinch of Paula.
