Red Dragon - Thomas Harris [52]
Crawford looked at his watch. “Will, we’re left with three choices and we’ve got to decide right now. We can pull Lecter’s message out of the paper and run nothing. We can substitute our messages in plain language, inviting the Tooth Fairy to the mail drop. Or we can let Lecter’s ad run as is.”
“Are you sure we can still get Lecter’s message out of the Tattler?”
“Chester thinks the shop foreman would chisel it for about five hundred dollars.”
“I hate to put in a plainlanguage message, Jack. Lecter would probably never hear from him again.”
“Yeah, but I’m leery of letting Lecter’s message run without knowing what it says,” Crawford said. “What could Lecter tell him that he doesn’t know already? If he found out we have a partial thumbprint and his prints aren’t on file anywhere, he could whittle his thumb and pull his teeth and give us a big gummy laugh in court.”
“The thumbprint wasn’t in the case summary Lecter saw. We bet?ter let Lecter’s message run. At least it’ll encourage the Tooth Fairy to contact him again.”
“What if it encourages him to do something besides write?”
“We’ll feel sick for a long time,” Graham said. “We have to do it.”
# # #
Fifteen minutes later in Chicago the Tattler's big presses rolled, gathering speed until their thunder raised the dust in the pressroom. The FBI agent waiting in the smell of ink and hot newsprint took one of the first ones.
The cover lines included “Head Transplant!” and “Astronomers Glimpse God!”
The agent checked to see that Lecter's personal ad was in place and slipped the paper into an express pouch for Washington. He would see that paper again and remember his thumb smudge on the front page, but it would be years later, when he took his children through the special exhibits on a tour of FBI headquarters.
? HYPERLINK “” \l “CONTENTS” ??
Red Dragon
CHAPTER 15
In the hour before dawn Crawford woke from a deep sleep. He saw the room dark, felt his wife's ample bottom comfortably settled against the small of his back. He did not know why he had awakened until the telephone rang a second time. He found it with no fumbling.
“Jack, this is Lloyd Bowman. I solved the code. You need to know what it says right now.”
“Okay, Lloyd.” Crawford's feet searched for his slippers.
“It says: Graham home Marathon, Florida. Save yourself. Kill them all.”
“Goddammit. Gotta go.”
“I know.”
Crawford went to his den without stopping for his robe. He called Florida twice, the airport once, then called Graham at his hotel.
“Will, Bowman just broke the code.”
“What did it say?”
“I'll tell you in a second. Now listen to me. Everything is okay. I've taken care of it, so stay on the phone when I tell you.”
“Tell me now.”
"It's your home address. Lecter gave the bastard your home address. Wait, Will. Sheriff's department has two cars on the way to Sugarloaf right now. Customs launch from Marathon is taking the ocean side. The Tooth Fairy couldn't have done anything in this short time. Hold on. You can move faster with me helping you. Now, listen to this.
“The deputies aren't going to scare Molly. The sheriff's cars are just closing the road to the house. Two deputies will move up close enough to watch the house. You can call her when she wakes up. I'll pick you up in half an hour.”
“I won't be here.”
“The next plane in that direction doesn't go until eight. It'll be quicker to bring them up here. My brother's house on the Chesapeake is available to them. I've got a good plan, Will, wait and hear it. If you don't like it I'll put you on the plane myself.”
"I need some things from the armory.
“We'll get it soon as I pick you up.”
# # #
Molly and Willy were among the first off the plane at National Airport in Washington. She spotted Graham in the crowd, did not smile, but turned to Willy and said something as they walked swiftly ahead of the stream of tourists returning from Florida.
She looked Graham up and down and came to him