Chapter 35 Chapter Thirty-Four

Clarice Starling recognized the Stonehenge Gardens sign from the TV news.This residential complex in Memphis is a mix of condominiums and new-style townhouses that wraps around a parking lot to form a giant U. Starling parked her rented Chevrolet Celebrity in the center of the lot.It was populated by well-paid blue-collar workers and low-level administrators—she could tell from the Trans Arms and the IROC-z Camoras.Weekend motorhomes and shiny ski boats are parked in their respective sections of the parking lot. Stone Hench Gardens - Starling felt bad every time she read those words.The apartment is likely to be filled with white wickerwork and peach-coloured plush rugs.There are some snapshots pressed under the glass of the coffee table, and there are books like "Dinner Cookbook for Two" or "Hot Pot According to the Menu" on it.Starling's only residence was a student dormitory in the FBI academy, and she didn't like these things at all.

She needed to know about Katherine Baker Martin, it seemed unusual for a senator's daughter to live in a place like this.Starling had read the brief biographical data collected by the FBI on Catherine Martin, which indicated that she was poor academically but intelligent.She failed her studies at Farmington, and her two years at Midbury were unhappy.She is now a student at Southwestern University and a trainee teacher. Starling could have easily imagined Catherine as a self-absorbed, blunted boarding school student, the kind of young man who never listened to pie.Starling knew she had to be careful not to be rash at this point, because she had her own prejudices and grudges.Starling spent time at several boarding schools, lived on a scholarship, and fared better academically than in the clothes she wore.She had met a lot of kids from rich families with chaotic families who spent most of their time in boarding schools.For some of them she was downright dismissive, but as she'd grown older she'd learned that indifference could be a strategy for avoiding pain that was often misinterpreted as shallowness and indifference.

Better to think of Catherine as a child sailing with her father, as she was in that home video they had shown on television at Senator Martin's request.She didn't know if Catherine had thought about trying to please her father when she was a little girl, or what she was doing when she was told that her father had suddenly died of a heart attack at the age of forty-two.Starling was certain that Catherine missed him—missing her father, a shared trauma that made Starling feel emotionally close to the young woman. Starling found that liking Catherine Martin was crucial, as it helped her give her all.

Starling could see where Katherine's apartment was located—two Tennessee Highway Patrol cars parked in front of it.Nearest to the apartment, white powder was scattered in several places in the parking lot.The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation must have been using a pumice stone or some other blunt object to remove the grease from the ground.Crawford said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is still pretty good. Starling walked over to the amusement rides and ski boats parked in a special section of the parking lot in front of the condominium.This is where Buffalo Bill caught her.It was quite close to the door of her apartment, so she didn't lock the door when she came out.She was lured out by something, and the trap she designed must not look like a murderous one.

Starling knew that the police in Memphis had gone door-to-door and no one had seen anything happen, so maybe it was in those tall motorhomes.He must be observing from here, in some kind of car, that's for sure.But Buffalo Bill knew Catherine was here.He must have stumbled upon her somewhere, watching her quietly, waiting for an opportunity to strike.Girls of Catherine's size were not common, and he hadn't just sat around waiting for a woman of the right size to show up, and he might not see one for days at a time. All the victims were big men.They are all big men.A few were very fat, but all were very large. "So he needs to be able to get a suitable material." Recalling Dr. Lecter's words, Starling shuddered.Doctor Lecter, the new citizen of Memphis.

Starling took a deep breath, puffed out her cheeks, and let it out slowly.Let's see what we can find out about Catherine. A Tennessee State Trooper wearing a Smokey Bear hat came out and opened the door of Catherine Martin's apartment.After Starling showed him her papers, he motioned her in. "Officer, I need to be here to see the establishment." The word establishment seemed appropriate for a man in the house with his hat on. He nodded. "If the phone rings, don't worry about it, I will answer it." The kitchen door was open, and Starling saw a tape recorder on the cupboard, connected to a telephone.Beside them were two new telephones, one without a dial—a direct link to BellSouth Security, the south-central tracking agency.

"What can I do for you?" asked the young police officer. "Have the police finished their investigation here?" "This apartment has been checked and given to her family. I'm only here to answer the phone. If that's all you want to know, you can touch the stuff here." "Very well, then I'll take a look around." "Okay." The young policeman picked up the newspaper he had stuffed under the sofa and returned to his original seat. Starling wanted to concentrate.She wished she was the only one in the apartment, but she knew she was lucky the place wasn't full of cops.

She starts with the kitchen.It is not used for serious cooking and cooking.Catherine's boyfriend told police she was there to get popcorn.Starling opened the refrigerator, and there were two boxes of popcorn made in the microwave.You can't see the parking lot from the kitchen. "Where are you from?" For the first time, Starling didn't notice that someone was asking her. "Where are you from?" The state trooper was sitting on the couch, watching her from above the newspaper he was holding. "Washington," she said. Under the sink - yes, there are scratch marks on the fittings, they took the trap down and checked.The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is really good.Those knives weren't fast.Dishwasher used but stuff still in there.The only thing in the fridge was cottage cheese and ready-made fruit salad.Catherine-Martin likely shopped for fast food groceries at a nearby drive-thru store, likely staying at one.Maybe someone is hunting for sex in this store, so it's worth checking it out.

"Are you working for the Attorney General?" "No, at the FBI." "The Attorney General is coming. I heard that when I came out on duty. How long have you been with the FBI?" In the vegetable drawer was a rubber cabbage stalk.Starling turned it over and looked at the compartment for the jewels.empty. "How long have you been with the FBI?" Starling looked at the young cop. "Officer, how can I tell you, I may need to ask you something after I check here, maybe you can help me then." "In a word. If I could—" "Okay, fine. Let's wait until then. I have to think about it at this moment."

"No problem, you are busy." The bedroom was bright, with a sunny, drowsy quality that Starling loved.The fabrics and furnishings of the interior are better than most young women's, which they cannot afford.There was a screen of ebony, two cloisonnés on a shelf, and a fine writing-table of knotted walnut.There are two twin beds.Starling lifted the edge of the comforter, and the wheels on the left bed locked, but not on the right.Catherine would have pushed the two beds together if it pleased her, and there might be a lover without her boyfriend knowing it.Or they might sometimes spend the night here too.There was no remote pager on her dictating telephone.She needs to be here when her mother calls.

The dictaphone, like her own, was of the ordinary beauty type.She opened the panel. The tape recording the incoming and outgoing sounds was gone. In its place was a note that read: Tape Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Property No. 6. The room was reasonably tidy, but it still looked like it had been tampered with by searchers with oversized hands; those who tried to put things back exactly as they were, always came close.Even without fingerprints on all those smooth surfaces, Starling knew the place had been searched. Starling believes that no step in the crime took place in this bedroom.Crawford was probably right and Catherine was caught in the parking lot.But Starling wants to know her, and this is where she used to live.She's still living here, Starling corrected herself again.She still lives here. In the small compartment of the bedside table is a phone book, Kleenex tissues, a box of cosmetics, behind the cosmetic box is a Polaroid SX-70 camera with a shutter release, and a pair of short tripods folded away Beside.ah.Starling stared at the camera like a lizard, and she blinked like a lizard.She didn't touch the camera. It was the wardrobe that most interested Starling.Catherine Baker Martin's laundry label is C-B-M, and she has a lot of clothes, some of which are very good.Many of the signs Starling knew, including Garfunkel and Washington Bridges.They were all presents from Mom, Starling said to herself.Catherine had excellent first-class clothing, made in two sizes to suit different weights; Starling accounted for her being about one hundred and forty-five pounds when she was light, and about one hundred and sixty-five pounds when she was heavy.She also had a few baggy emergency pants and a couple of pullovers from The Magnificent, and on the rack were twenty-three pairs of shoes, seven of which were Faragmoss in a size 16, and several The pair were Baques, and some worn-out loafers, and on the top shelf were a knapsack and a tennis racket. This is something the child of a privileged family has.A student and trainee teacher has a better life than most. There are many letters in the desk.There are short notes written by former classmates in the east, with curvy fonts and all leaning to the left.There are postage stamps and small signs affixed to the mail.In the bottom drawer was a bundle of gift wrapping paper in various colors and patterns, and Starling ran her fingers through it. She was thinking of going to the local "rabbit drop off" market and asking the clerk about it. Suddenly, among the bundles of gift wrapping paper, her fingers touched a particularly thick and hard one.Her fingers touched it, but it came back again.She has been trained to draw her attention to anything unusual.She pulled out half of the paper to look at it.The paper is blue in color and is made of a thin blotting paper material. The pattern printed on it is a poor imitation of the cartoon dog Pluto. The small rows of dogs all look like Pluto, and the color is inverted. Both are still authentic yellow, but the proportions are not quite right. "Catherine oh Catherine!" said Starling.She took tweezers from her bag and used them to push the colored paper into a plastic bag.She improvised the plastic bag on the bed. The jewelry box on the dresser was the patterned leather thing you'd find in every girls' dorm.The two drawers at the front of the jewelry chest and the box with the multi-ply lid contained costume jewellery, but nothing of value.Starling wondered, did the best things ever sit in that rubber cabbage tree in the fridge?If yes, who took it? She hooked one of her fingers under the lip of the lid and pushed out the secret drawer at the back of the jewel case, which was empty.She was thinking, who are these drawers kept a secret from?Certainly not a secret from burglars.Pushing the drawer back into place, she reached toward the back of the jewelry box when her fingers came across an envelope taped to the back of the secret drawer. Starling pulled on a pair of cotton gloves and turned the jewelry box around.She pulled out the empty drawer and turned it upside down. Masking tape stuck a brown envelope to the bottom of the drawer, with the flap just folded over and unsealed.She held the envelope to her nose.They didn't fumigate it for fingerprints, and Starling opened the envelope with tweezers and took out the contents.Inside the envelope were five Polaroid photos, and she took them out one by one.The photo shows a man and a woman having sex.No head or face was shown, and there were two photos taken by the woman, two by the man, and one that seemed to be taken from a tripod on the bedside table. It's hard to judge a person's size in a photo, but with her long frame and an astonishing weight of one hundred and forty-five pounds, this woman could only be Catherine Martin.The man's penis appeared to be wearing an ivory-carved ring, and the resolution of the photo was not high enough to show the details.This man had an appendectomy.Starling bagged the photos, each in a sandwich bag, and put them together in her own brown envelope.She put the drawer back in the jewelry box. "The good stuff is in my handbag!" said a voice behind her. "I don't think anything has been stolen." Starling looked in the mirror.Senator Ruth Martin was standing in the bedroom door.She looked exhausted. Starling turned around. "Hello, Senator Martin. Would you like to lie down and rest? I'm almost done." Senator Martin, even with extreme fatigue, had an air of air.Behind her cautious and elegant words and deeds, Starling still saw that this was a combative person. "Who are you, please? I think the police have finished their investigation." "This is Clarice Starling, from the FBI. Have you spoken to Dr. Lecter, Senator?" "He gave me a name." Senator Martin lit a cigarette and looked Starling up and down. "We'll see what it's worth. What did you find in the jewel box, Officer Starling? And what was it worth?" "It's documentary evidence, we can identify it in a few minutes." That's the best Starling could do. "Finding documentary evidence in my daughter's jewelry box? We'll see." Starling heard voices in the next room and wished someone would barge in and intervene. "Is Mr. Copley with you? He's an agent from Memphis, in--" "No, he wasn't with me, and you didn't answer my question. I'm not being rude, Officer, but I'm still going to see what you found in my daughter's jewelry box." Calling from behind, "Paul! Paul! Come inside for a second, please? Officer Starling, you may recognize, this is Mr. Krendler from the Department of Justice. Paul, this is the one Jack Crawford sent to Lecter's place." that girl." Krendler's bald head was suntanned, and he looked healthy for a forty year old. "Mr. Krendler, I know who you are. Hello," said Starling, a congressional liaison officer in the Department of Justice's Crime Division, a veteran of difficult problems, and at least an assistant attorney general. God, save my life. ! "Officer Starling found something in my daughter's jewelry box and she put it in one of her brown envelopes. I think we'd better see what it is, don't you think?" "Please, officer," Krendler said. "May I speak to you, Mr. Krendler?" "Of course, later." He held out a hand. Starling's face was hot.She knew that Senator Martin had lost his composure, but she would never forgive Krendler if he looked suspicious.no way! "Take it," Starling said, and she handed him the envelope. Krendler glanced in at the first photograph and folded the flap again, at which point Senator Martin took the envelope from him. It was painful to watch her examine the photos.After reading it, she went to the window.She stood, raised her face to the overcast sky, her eyes were closed, and she looked old in the sunlight.She wanted to smoke, but her hands were shaking. "Senator, I—" Krendler spoke first. "The police have searched the room," Senator Martin said. "I'm sure they found the photos and wisely put them back without saying a word." "No, they didn't," Starling said.The woman is hurt, but, fuck it! "Mrs. Martin, we need to know who this man is, and you can see that. If it's her boyfriend, fine, I can find out in five minutes. No one else needs to see these pictures, Catherine And never need to know." "I'll take care of that." Senator Martin put the envelope in her bag, and Krendler let her do the same. "Senator, did you take the jewelry from that rubber cabbage tree in the kitchen?" Starling asked. Senator Martin's aide, Brian Gossage, poked his head through the door. "Sorry to interrupt. Senator, they have the terminal ready, we can go and see them look up the name William Rubin from the FBI." "Go ahead, Senator Martin," said Krendler, "I'll be out in a minute." Ruth Martin left the room without answering Starling's question. As Krendler went to close the bedroom door, Starling had a chance to look him up and down.His suit was cut to a single-stitch pattern, and he did it with great success.He was unarmed.The half inch of the heel of his shoe was scuffed to a shine from the heavy carpet he often walked on, and the edge of the heel was sharply defined. Holding the doorknob with one hand, he stood with his head bowed for a while. "You did a good job," he said, turning around. Starling couldn't have gotten away that cheaply.She looked at him. "In Kundy, they still produced very good investigators," Krendler said. "They don't train thieves!" "I know that," he said. "Hard to say." "Let's not talk about it." "We're going to take appropriate action based on those photos and that rubber cabbage, right?" she said. "yes." "What is the name 'William Rubin,' Mr. Krendler?" "Lecter said it was Buffalo Bill's name, and here's what we sent to the Identification Department and the National Crime Information Center, and you look at this." He gave her a transcript of Lecter's interview with Senator Martin, and it was Printed by a dot-matrix printer, it is blurry and not very clear. "Any thoughts?" he asked after she had finished reading. "There's nothing he said here to take back," Starling said. "He said it was a white man named Billy Rubin who had ivory anthrax. Whatever happened, you couldn't catch it here." He's lying, at best, wrong. I hope he's telling the truth, but it's possible he's playing with her. Mr. Krendler, it's absolutely possible he did that. .have you ever... met him?" Krendler shook his head and let out a snort. "Dr. Lecter has killed nine people, as far as we know. He's not going to get away with it anyway—he can bring people back to life, but they won't let him out. So, the only way he's left is to play, That's why we're playing him—" "I know you're playing him, I listened to the Chilton tape. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that - I'm saying it's over. Behavioral Sciences can use the information you've got - the transgender From the point of view, continue to pursue to obtain valuable results, and you go back to Kundik to go to school tomorrow." Oh boy! "I've discovered something else." The colorful wrapping paper had been lying on the bed unnoticed.She gave him the paper. "what is this?" "Looks like a sheet of paper with lots of Pluto's dogs printed on it." She wanted him to ask anything else. He moved his hands and motioned for her to tell the story. "I'm pretty sure it's the acid used in blotting paper, lysergic acid diethylamine. It's probably from the mid-seventies or earlier, but it's a rarity these days. Where did she get it worth?" Check it out. We'll have to test it to be sure." "You can take it back to Washington and hand it over to the lab. You'll be leaving in a few minutes." "If you don't want to wait, get a field kit and we can do it right now. If the police had a standard narcotics discriminator, it would be a J test, two seconds, and we'd—" "Go back to Washington, go back to school," he said, opening the door. "Mr. Crawford instructed me—" "What I'm telling you is your instruction. You are no longer under Jack Crawford's leadership. You go back immediately, and any other trainee is under your control. You will The matter is in Kundike, did you understand what I said? There is a flight at 2:10, just take that flight. "Mr. Krendler, Dr. Lecter talked to me after refusing to talk to the Baltimore police, and he might do it again. Mr. Crawford thinks—" Krendler closed the door again, hard, but he didn't need to close it so hard. "Officer Starling, I don't need to explain what I mean to you, but you listen to me. The briefs provided by the Behavioral Sciences Division are for reference, and always have been, and still are." Jack Crawford On leave of absence anyway. I'm amazed he's been able to do so well. He took a foolish risk in this case, kept Senator Martin from it, and ended up dead. But considering he The achievement of a lifetime is so close to retirement, even she can't hurt him too much. So I won't worry about his pension, if I were you. " Starling was a little out of control. "Have any of you ever caught three serial killers, and do you know anyone who has caught one? You shouldn't have let her run this, Mr. Krendler!" "You must be a smart kid, or Crawford wouldn't be bothering you, so I'll tell you once more: keep your mouth shut, or you'll be thrown into the typing pile Go. Do you understand—the only reason you were sent to Lecter in the first place was to get some information for your chief to use when he went to Capitol Hill. About some major crime stuff, no mention What harm; the 'insider tip' about Dr Lecter; the stuff he pulls out like candy in his pocket and withdraws while trying to get his budget earmarks passed. They are very interested, and they are invited to dinner everywhere by grasping the inside story. Your words and deeds are out of line, Officer Starling, don't take care of this case anymore. I know you have another additional ID card, hand it over to us Bar." "I need it to fly with a gun. The gun belongs to Kundik." "Gun! God! Hand in this document as soon as you go back!" Senator Martin, Gorsuch, a technician, and several police officers gathered around a video playback terminal with a modulator attached to it, connected to a telephone.The information provided by Dr. Lecter was being processed in Washington, and the National Crime Information Center's hotline was continuously reporting on its progress.Here's the message from the National Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta: Ivory anthrax is contracted by inhaling the powder emitted when grinding African ivory, which is often used for decorative handles.In the United States, the disease is seen in knife makers. Senator Martin closed his eyes at the word "knifemaker."Her eyes were hot and there were no tears.She clutched the Kleenex tissue tightly in her hand. The young state trooper who had let Starling into the apartment brought the senator a cup of coffee.He's still wearing his hat. It wasn't Starling if she was afraid to shrink back and sneak out.She stopped before the woman and said, "Good luck, Senator! I hope Catherine is safe." Senator Martin nodded without looking at her.Krendler urged her to get out. "I didn't know I shouldn't have let her in here," said the young state trooper as he left the room. Krendler stepped out the door with her. "I have nothing but respect for Jack Crawford," he said. "Please tell him how sorry we all are for... Bella's problems, everything about her. Now let's go back to school and work hard." , okay?" "Good-bye, Mr. Krendler!" Then she came to the parking lot alone.She was in a trance, feeling that she didn't understand a single thing in this world. She watched a pigeon walk around under the motorhome and ski boat.It picked up a peanut shell and put it down again.The damp wind ruffled its feathers.Starling wanted to talk to Crawford. "Wasting the moment to be stupid is the worst thing you can do." That's what he said. "Use this time to exercise. Now comes the toughest test—don't let anger and frustration get in the way of your thinking. Whether you can control the situation is the core." It doesn't matter to her whether she can control the situation or not.She realizes that it doesn't matter if she makes "Agent Starling" or not, and doesn't give a damn.She still cares about you playing like this! She thought of the poor "poor" fat girl she'd seen dying miserably on that table at the Porter Funeral Home in West Virginia. Her nails were glittery with polish, like these nasty Saturn rustic ski boats. What's her name?Kimberly. Don't let these bastards see me cry! God!Everyone's name is Kimberly, and she has four of them in her class!There are three boys named Sean.Kimberly, she got her name after watching a soap opera.She tried to dress herself up, with holes in her ears, trying to make herself look more beautiful.And Buffalo Bill looked at her sadly deflated tits, with the muzzle of the gun between her breasts and a starfish bursting out of her chest. Kimberly, her miserable fat sister!She shaves her legs with hot wax.No wonder—her face, arms and legs, the best part was the skin.Kimberly, where are you angry now, no senator is looking out for her.No jets flying crazy people around for her.She shouldn't have used the word crazy.There are many things she shouldn't do.Crazy people! Starling looked at her watch. There was still an hour and a half before the plane took off. There was one little thing she could do. She wanted to stare at Dr. Lecter's face and see what he said. If she could hold on to those strange maroon eyes long enough, if she could see deep into the darkness swallowing the spark, she would either You can find something useful, she thought she might see joy. Thank God I still have the ID card! She drove the car out of the parking lot, leaving a twelve-foot trail of rubber tires on the ground.