The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris [119]
“Did Fredrica ever work at the store, taking measurements? Did she meet customers or the wholesale peo?ple?”
“Sometimes, not much. I didn't work every day.”
“Did Mrs. Burdine work every day, would she know?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Did Fredrica ever mention sewing for a company called Mr. Hide in Chicago or Calumet City, maybe lining leather goods?”
“I don't know, Mrs. Lippman might have.”
“Did you ever see the Mr. Hide brand? Did Richards' ever carry it, or one of the boutiques?”
“No.”
“Do you know where Mrs. Lippman is? I'd like to talk to her.”
“She died. She went to Florida to retire and she died down there, Fredrica said. I never did know her, me and Skip just picked up Fredrica over there sometimes when she had a bunch of clothes. You might could talk to her family or something. I'll write it down for you.”
This was extremely tedious, when what Starling wanted was news from Calumet City. Forty minutes was up. The Hostage Rescue Team ought to be on the ground. She shifted so she didn't have to look at the clock, and pressed on.
“Stacy, where did Fredrica buy clothes, where did she get those oversize Juno workout clothes, the sweats?”
“She made just about everything. I expect she got the sweats at Richards', you know, when everybody started wearing them real big, so they came down over tights like that? A lots of places carried them then. She got a discount at Richards' because she sewed for them.”
“Did she ever shop at an oversize store?”
“We went in every place to look, you know how you do. We'd go in Personality Plus and she'd look for ideas, you know, flattering patterns for big sizes.”
“Did anybody ever come up and bug you around an oversize store, or did Fredrica ever feel somebody had his eye on her?”
Stacy looked at the ceiling for a second and shook her head.
“Stacy, did transvestites ever come into Richards', or men buying large dresses, did you ever run into that?”
“No. Me and Skip saw some at a bar in Columbus one time.”
“Was Fredrica with you?”
“Not hardly. We'd gone, like, for the weekend.”
“Would you write down the oversize places you went with Fredrica, do you think you could remember all of them?”
“Just here, or here and Columbus?”
“Here and Columbus. And Richards' too, I want to talk to Mrs. Burdine.”
“Okay. Is it a pretty good job, being a FBI agent?”
“I think it is.”
“You get to travel around and stuff? I mean places better than this.”
“Sometimes you do.”
“Got to look good every day, right?”
“Well, yeah. You have to try to look businesslike.”
“How do you get into that, being a FBI agent?”
“You have to go to college first, Stacy.”
“That's tough to pay for.”
“Yeah, it is. Sometimes there are grants and fellow?ships that help out, though. Would you like me to send you some stuff?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking, Fredrica was so happy for me when I got this job. She really got her rocks off--- she never had a real office job--- she thought this was get?ting somewhere. This--- cardboard files and Barry Mani?low on the speakers all day--- she thought it was hot shit. What did she know, big dummy.” Tears stood in Stacy Hubka's eyes. She opened them wide and held her head back to keep from having to do her eyes over.
“How about my list now?”
“I better do it at my desk, I got my word processor and I need my phone book and stuff.” She went out with her head back, navigating by the ceiling.
It was the telephone that was tantalizing Starling. The moment Stacy Hubka was out of the cubicle, Star?ling called Washington collect to get the news.
The Silence of the Lambsr
CHAPTER 55
At that moment, over the southern tip of Lake Michigan, a twentyfour passenger business jet with civilian markings came off maximum cruise and began the long curve down to Calumet City, Illinois.
The twelve men of the Hostage Rescue Team felt the lift in their stomachs. There were a few elaborately casual tension yawns up and down the aisle.
Team commander Joel Randall,