The Silence of the Lambs Page #11

He peels back the collar of her blouse, reading the size

tag.

MAN:

Good.

He carefully slits her blouse up the back, with a pair of

bandage scissors, peeling apart the two halves. There's no

bra strap. He strokes her bare skin delicately, very happily.

MAN:

Gooood...

CUT TO:

EXT. THE PARKING LOT - NIGHT

LOW ANGLE - CLOSE - on Catherine's grocery bag, as her blouse

is tossed out beside it. SOUND of the truck's motor starting.

The truck backs up, one rear wheel knocking over the bag,

partly squashing it. Then is drives away, taillights

shrinking, as a lone orange rolls slowly away from the bag...

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. FBI ACADEMY CLASSROOM - QUANTICO - DAY

CLOSE ON a large video screen, where a BLURRY image gradually

sharpens, resolving into two separate pieces of fabric.

INSTRUCTOR (O.S.)

Electron microscopy reveals fiber

"signatures" that are nearly as

distinct as fingerprints...

Clarice sits at a long table, with other trainees. Ardelia

is beside her. Other tables and students in the background.

Each trainee has his own microscope. Clarice is tired, but

straightens, hearing -

INSTRUCTOR (O.S.)

Both of these blouses were worn by

victims of Buffalo Bill. They were

found in two different states, and

four months apart. He always slits

them up the back, like a funeral

suit...

ON THE SCREEN:

successively CLOSER VIEWS of the cut fabric edges, until we

are seeing individual threads, big as tree limbs. The cuts

match.

INSTRUCTOR (O.S.)

The bunching you see - this

compression - is characteristic of

scissor cuts, rather than a single

blade. And, as you see - Bill always

uses the same pair...

ANGLE ON THE DOOR

as John Brigham, the gunnery instructor, sticks his head in.

BRIGHAM:

Clarice Starling! Are you in here?

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY - CLASSROOM BUILDING - DAY

Clarice and Brigham walk briskly down the hall, passing other

trainees. He carries a small canvas bag.

BRIGHAM:

Get your field gear, take stuff for

overnight. You're goin' with Crawford.

CLARICE:

Where?

BRIGHAM:

Some fishermen in West Virginia found

an unidentified girl's body. It's a

Buffalo Bill-type situation. Been in

the water about a week, and Jack

needs somebody that can print a

floater. Think you can handle it?

CLARICE:

(thinking quickly)

I'll need the big fingerprint kit...

and the one-to-one Polaroid, the CU-

5, with film packs and batteries.

CUT TO:

INT. BRIGHAM'S JEEP CHEROKEE - DAY (DRIVING)

Brigham steers as they pass hangars, parked planes, an

airstrip. Clarice holds a big fingerprint kit and a weekend

bag.

BRIGHAM:

Jack's pretty tough on you, isn't

he? Impatient...

CLARICE:

Sometimes.

BRIGHAM:

He's got a lot on his mind besides

Buffalo Bill... His wife, Bella, is

real sick. Comatose... I'm tellin'

you about it now, 'cause he may never.

Clarice absorbs this in silence as they stop near an ancient,

rather dilapidated Beechcraft. Its door is open, the twin

props and beacons already turning. Brigham turns to her,

holding out his small canvas bag.

BRIGHAM:

You're goin' in the field, so you

gotta have full kit. Take this -

it's my own...

Clarice opens the bag, stares at the big blue gun nestled in

its shoulder holster. She looks up at him, touched.

BRIGHAM:

Wear it, don't ever leave it in your

purse. Dry fire it whenever you get

the chance. And do your exercises.

CLARICE:

I will... I promise.

BRIGHAM:

Listen, I hope you never need a thing

I've taught you. But you've got

something... Jack sees it, I do too.

If you ever need to, you can shoot.

She nods, climbs out. Then she looks back in at him. They're

both moved by this rite of passage, but a little embarrassed.

BRIGHAM:

Bless you, Starling...

CUT TO:

INT. BEECHCRAFT PLANE - DAY (FLYING)

CLARICE'S POV - Out the plane's window, at the landscape far

below. Wisps of cloud, a quilt of farms.

Clarice turns from the window, looks at a think folder in

her lap. The cover reads "Case File: / BUFFALO BILL." Clarice

is moody, distracted. She hesitates, then opens the file,

begins to scan.

INSERTS - HER POV

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