The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris [68]
She dressed quickly. Slacks, blouse, and a light sweater vest, the snubnosed revolver tucked tight against her ribs in the pancake holster, the speedloader straddling her belt on the other side. Her blazer needed a little work. A seam in the lining was fraying over the speedloader. She was determined to be busy, be busy, until she cooled off. She got the motel's little paper sewing kit and tacked the lining down. Some agents sewed washers into the tail of the jacket so it would swing away cleanly, she'd have to do that...
Crawford was knocking on the door.
The Silence of the Lambsr
CHAPTER 31
In Crawford's experience, anger made women look tacky. Rage made their hair stick out behind and played hell with their color and they forgot to zip. Any unat?tractive feature was magnified. Starling looked herself when she opened the door of her motel room, but she was mad all right.
Crawford knew he might learn a large new truth about her now.
Fragrance of soap and steamy air puffed at him as she stood in the doorway The covers on the bed behind her had been pulled up over the pillow.
“What do you say, Starling?”
“I say God dammit, Mr. Crawford, what do you say?”
He beckoned with his head. “Drugstore's open on the corner already. We'll get some coffee.”
It was a mild morning for February. The sun, still low in the east, shined red on the front of the asylum as they walked past. Jeff trailed them slowly in the van, the radios crackling. Once he handed a phone out the window to Crawford for a brief conversation.
“Can I file obstruction of justice on Chilton?”
Starling was walking slightly ahead. Crawford could see her jaw muscles bunch after she asked.
“No, it wouldn't stick.”
“What if he's wasted her, what if Catherine dies because of him? I really want to get in his face... Let me stay with this, Mr. Crawford. Don't send me back to school.”
“Two things. If I keep you, it won't be to get in Chilton's face, that comes later. Second, if I keep you much longer, you'll be recycled. Cost you some months. The Academy cuts nobody any slack. I can guarantee you get back in, but that's all--- there'll be a place for you, I can tell you that.”
She leaned her head far back, then put it down again, walking. “Maybe this isn't a polite question to ask the boss, but are you in the glue? Can Senator Martin do anything to you?”
“Starling, I have to retire in two years. If I find Jimmy Hoffa and the Tylenol killer I still have to hang it up. It's not a consideration.”
Crawford, ever wary of desire, knew how badly he wanted to be wise. He knew that a middleaged man can be so desperate for wisdom he may try to make some up, and how deadly that can be to a youngster who believes him. So he spoke carefully, and only of things he knew.
What Crawford told her on that mean street in Balti?more he had learned in a succession of freezing dawns in Korea, in a war before she was born. He left the Korea part out, since he didn't need it for authority.
“This is the hardest time, Starling. Use this time and it'll temper you. Now's the hardest test--- not letting rage and frustration keep you from thinking. It's the core of whether you can command or not. Waste and stupidity get you the worst. Chilton's a God damned fool and he may have cost Catherine Martin her life. But maybe not. We're her chance. Starling, how cold is liquid nitrogen in the lab?”
“What? Ah, liquid nitrogen... minus two hundred degrees Centigrade, about. It boils at a little more than that.”
“Did you ever freeze stuff with it?”
“Sure.”
“I want you to freeze something now. Freeze the business with Chilton. Keep the information you got from Lecter and freeze the feelings. I want you to keep your eyes on the prize, Starling. That's all that matters. You worked for some information, paid for it, got it, now we'll use it. It's just as good--- or as worthless--- as it was before Chilton messed in this. We just won't get any more from Lecter, probably. Take the knowledge of Buffalo Bill you got from Lecter and keep it. Freeze the rest. The waste, the