The Silence of the Lambs Page #16

CRAWFORD:

You seem pretty sure of that.

CLARICE:

Raspail was killed by the same man

who's killing these girls. And Lecter

knows him. Maybe even treated him...

You think so, too, don't you? Or

you'd never have sent me to that

asylum.

He looks at her for a moment, then sips again.

CRAWFORD:

Before we caught him, Lecter had a

big psychiatric practice in Baltimore.

But he traveled all over the country -

teaching, consulting... Christ, even

testifying in murder trials. Who

knows how many potential psychos he

turned loose, just for the fun of

it...?

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. MR. GUMB'S CELLAR - DAY (DIM LIGHT)

A shadowy male figure looks down at us, leaning over the

edge of a deep hole. He holds a little white poodle in his

arms, stroking it. This is MR. GUMB, aka "Buffalo Bill."

MR. GUMB

(softly)

Rub the cream on your skin. Rub it

in gooood...

CATHERINE MARTIN

looks up at him. She is standing on the cement bottom of the

pit, or oubliette, about 15 feet below floor level. The pit

is bare, except for a futon and a plastic toilet bucket,

from which a thin string rises up to the basement. She's

soaking wet, in an orange jumpsuit, and holds a squeeze bottle

of skin lotion. She struggles to sound calm.

CATHERINE:

Mister... my family will pay cash.

Whatever ransom you're askin' for,

they -

REVERSE ANGLE - UP TOWARDS MR. GUMB

MR. GUMB

Rub it in! Or you'll get the hose

again.

The little dog squirms in his arms, BARKING excitedly.

MR. GUMB

Yes, it will, Precious, won't it? It

will get the hose!

SIDE ANGLE - AT PIT BOTTOM

as Catherine kneels, turning slightly away from him.

CATHERINE:

(under her breath)

Oh God... oh God...

She unzips her jumpsuit, part-way, then squeezes some of the

lotion onto a palm. She reaches inside her suit, rubs it on.

CATHERINE:

Mister, if you let me go, I won't

press charges, I promise. You've

only had me here a couple days, and -

MR. GUMB (O.S.)

No. Just one day...

CATHERINE:

Is that all...? See - see, my mom is

a real important woman... Well, I

guess you already know that. She'll

pay you, no questions asked. Whatever

cause you represent - Iran, Palestine -

she'll see that -

A sudden blinding glare of light silences her. She looks up,

shielding her eyes.

HER POV:

a floodlamp is descending, attached to a small basket.

MR. GUMB

Put the bottle in the basket. No

funny business, or you'll be sorry...

NEW ANGLE - CATHERINE

as the basket stops, and she steadies it. But as she slips

the bottle in, she sees something, O.S., just at the fringe

of the light. She hesitates, looks closer... then begins to

scream, hysterically, again and again. Her outflung hand

hits the lamp, and in its swaying glare, we see - high on

the concrete walls, all around her -

BLOODY FINGER TRACKS

dried now, brownish - left by many pairs of frenzied hands...

CUT TO:

INT.CLARICE'S DORM ROOM - FBI ACADEMY - DAWN

Clarice is at her desk, exercising her right hand with the

grip flexer, while simultaneously studying a thick law book.

Ardelia sticks her head in the door, excited.

ARDELIA:

You better come see this.

CUT TO:

INT. RECREATION ROOM - FBI ACADEMY - DAWN

CLOSE ON a TV screen, filled with a photo of Catherine Martin.

TV ANCHOR (V.O.)

...was listed at first simply as a

missing person, but is now believed

to have been kidnapped by the serial

killer known only as "Buffalo Bill."

The photo disappears, replaced by the TV ANCHOR himself.

TV ANCHOR:

Memphis Police sources indicate that

the missing girl's blouse has been

identified, sliced up the back, in

what has become a kind of grim calling

card. Young Catherine Martin, as

we've said, is the only daughter of

U.S. Senator Ruth Martin -

CLARICE:

looks at Ardelia, surprised. Other trainees are drifting

into the rec room, some whispering among themselves. Clarice

stares back at the TV intently.

TV ANCHOR (O.S.)

...the Republican junior senator

from Tennessee. And while her

kidnapping is not at this point

considered to be politically

motivated, nevertheless it has stirred

the government -

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