Is the climax of "Lamb to the Slaughter" when Mary hit her husband or when the police officers ate the evidence?The climax is where the tension in...

Let us just remind ourselves that the climax of a story is
the point in the tale when the tension is highest. This may involve a character having
to choose between two decisions, but not always. I would argue therefore that the climax
of this story is actually when Mary Maloney manages to get the policemen to eat the
murder weapon whilst they are looking for it. This is of course the moment of greatest
emotional intensity, because we know how much Mary Maloney has to lose if she is found
out. The way in which she is described as a perfect wife clearly makes us feel
sympathetic for her, especially when she automatically, without thought, kills her
husband who is about to leave her, pregnant as she is. We side with Mary and hope she is
able to succeed in committing the perfect crime, and the moment when she asks the police
officers to eat the lamb is crucial, as they are looking for the murder weapon and might
put two and two together to work out that the leg of lamb could have been used. This is
of course why Mary Maloney "giggles" at the end of the story, because she knows that
this climactic moment has passed, and she has succeeded in bringing about the
disappearance of the murder weapon.