The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris [115]
Staring into the lighted closet, Starling saw the trian?gles on Kimberly's shoulders outlined in the blue dashes of a dressmaking pattern. The idea swam away and circled and came again, came close enough for her to grab it this time and she did with a fierce pulse of joy: THEY'RE DARTS--- HE TOOK THOSE TRIAN?GLES TO MAKE DARTS SO HE COULD LET OUT HER WAIST. MOTHER FUCKER CAN SEW. BUF?FALO BILL'S TRAINED TO SERIOUSLY SEW--- HE'S NOT JUST PICKING OUT READYTOWEAR.
What did Dr. Lecter say? “He's making himself a girl suit out of real girls.” What did he say to me? “Do you sew. Clarice?” Damn straight I do.
Starling put her head back, closed her eyes for one second. Problemsolving is hunting; it is savage plea?sure and we are born to it.
She'd seen a telephone in the parlor. She started downstairs to use it, but Mrs. Bimmel's reedy voice was calling up to her already, calling her to the phone.
The Silence of the Lambsr
CHAPTER 53
Mrs. Bimmel gave Starling the telephone and picked up the fretting baby. She didn't leave the parlor.
“Clarice Starling.”
“Jerry Burroughs, Starling---”
“Good, Jerry, listen I think Buffalo Bill can sew. He cut the triangles--- just a sec--- Mrs. Bimmel, could I ask you to take the baby in the kitchen? I need to talk here. Thank you.... Jerry, he can sew. He took---”
“Starling---”
“He took those triangles off of Kimberly Emberg to make darts, dressmaking darts, do you know what I'm saying? He's skilled, he's not just making caveman stuff. ID Secifton can search Known Offenders for tail?ors, sailmakers, drapers, upholsterers--- run a scan on the Distinguishing Marks field for a tailor's notch in his teeth---”
“Right, right, right, I'm punching up a line now to ID. Now listen up--- I may have to get off the phone here. Jack wanted me to brief you. We got a name and a place that looks not bad. The Hostage Rescue Team's air?borne from Andrews. Jack's briefing them on the scrambler.”
“Going where?”
“Calumet City, edge of Chicago. Subject's Jame, like 'Name' with a J, last name Gumb, a.k.a. John Grant, WM, thirtyfour, oneninety, brown and blue. Jack got a beep from Johns Hopkins. Your thing--- your profile on how he'd be different from a transsexual--- it rang the cherries at Johns Hopkins. Guy applied for sex reassignment three years ago. Roughed up a doctor after they turned him down. Hopkins had the Grant alias and a flop address in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The cops had a gas receipt with his tag number and we went from there. Big jacket in California as a juvenile--- he killed his grandparents when he was twelve and did six years in Tulare Psychiatric. The state let him out sixteen years ago when they shut down the asylum. He disappeared a long time. He's a fagbasher. Had a cou?ple of scrapes in Harrisburg and faded out again.”
“Chicago, you said. How do you know Chicago?”
“Customs. They had some paper on the John Grant alias. Customs stopped a suitcase at LAX a couple of years ago shipped from Surinam with live 'pupae'--- is that how you say it?--- insects anyway, moths, in it. The addressee was John Grant, care of a business in Calu?met called--- get this--- called 'Mr. Hide.' Leather goods. Maybe the sewing fits with that; I'm relaying the sew?ing to Chicago and Calumet. No home address yet on Grant, or Gumb--- the business is closed, but we're close.”
“Any pictures?”
"Just the juveniles from Sacramento PD so far. They're not much use--- he was twelve. Looked like Beaver Cleaver. The wire room's faxing them around anyway.
“Can I go?”
“No. Jack said you'd ask. They've got two female marshals from Chicago and a nurse to take charge of Martin if they get her. You'd never be in time anyway, Starling.”
“What if he's barricaded? It could take---”
“There won't be any standoff. They find him, they fall on him--- Crawford's authorized an explosive entry. Special problems with this guy, Starling, he's been in a hostage situation before. His juvenile homicides,