The Silence Of The Lambs

Clarice meets Pilcher by the moth cages in the Smithsonian’s Insect Zoo. He and Roden identified the moth in Klaus’s head as the Death’s-Head Moth. Pilcher shows Clarice a live Death’s-Head, which the museum keeps behind safety bars. The Death’s-Head Moth is from Malaysia and has a skull pattern on its black wings. The moth has a proboscis for feeding, but it also fights when threatened. The moth’s power frightens Clarice. Pilcher tries to tell Clarice stories from his field studies, but notices that Clarice is in a hurry. Clarice promises to get to know him later, and Pilcher escorts her out with a file on the moth. Meanwhile in the cage, the Death’s-Head Moth punctures a piece of honeycomb and sucks the honey out.

Catherine has a nightmare and wakes to the sound of Gumb sewing. Catherine creates a plan to trick her captor using sex when she hears him leave the house. Precious sneaks into the basement, and Catherine uses the opportunity to try to capture the dog. She makes a trap out of her sanitary bucket and throws it upwards at the oubliette’s opening. When the bucket lands atop the wooden cover, Catherine calls to get the dog’s attention. Precious moves toward the sounds, but in the struggle to bring the bucket down, the dog escapes from the trap. Precious returns upstairs, and Catherine sobs at her failure.

At home, Crawford continues to work on the Buffalo Bill case. Investigators traced Lecter’s handcuff key to the Baltimore hospital and found a note left in the toilet. The note plays on Chilton’s name and the chemical compound bilirubin—the pigment that colors human bile and feces, which is also the color of Chilton’s hair. Chilton was gloating on the news and was out to dinner while Lecter escaped. Burroughs confirms that Lecter tricked the Senator, but Crawford believes the information he gave to Clarice was genuine. Burroughs recommends that Crawford tightens his security in case Lecter comes after him.

Lecter checks into the Marcus Hotel in St. Louis under a false name, Lloyd Wyman. In the Memphis Airport, Lecter surprised Wyman, killed him, and stole his car. The Marcus Hotel is across from the St. Louis hospital, which specializes in craniofacial surgery, so Lecter’s facial bandages won’t stand out. In his room, he relaxes with a drink and meal, pacing the spacious suite and looking out the window. He plans to alter his appearance but is no hurry to begin.

Clarice returns to her dorm at the Academy. Ardelia makes Clarice a cup of tea and recounts her recent classes. Brigham stopped by to see Clarice while she was out, offering to open the firing range for make-up practice. Brigham wants Clarice to join an interservice competition and is confident that she will win her hearing against Krendler. Ardelia quizzes Clarice and promises to help her cram for their exam. She praises Clarice’s good work on the Buffalo Bill case and chats idly to ease Clarice’s mind.

In the night, Crawford awakes to Bella’s shortened breath. He holds her hand and listens as her heart stops. He cradles her, tells her he loves her, and prays that she’ll be reunited with her family. He dresses her in her favorite bedclothes. Crawford recalls their most intimate moments and Bella’s love of gardening. He feels he can’t leave the room, so he simply looks out the window.