Ardelia Mapp had been floating around the lobby of the hospital for a few hours, and she was sick of it. A combination of elation and dread held her gut in a vise of opposites. They'd caught the bad guy and saved Charlene. That was great. But Clarice…where was Clarice? And what was the mysterious splotch of blood they'd found in the factory? They'd typed the blood, and it wasn't McCracken's, although there was plenty of his blood around. She found it hard to feel sorry for him, though. But it had matched Clarice's blood type. But where was she? If she was dead, where was her body? She couldn't be dead. Not Clarice. They'd been together for too long.
She hadn't wanted to interrupt Charlene. God only knew what she'd been through. Ardelia had seen the bruises on her legs when they'd loaded her into the ambulance. The poor girl. But she couldn't let Clarice stay missing forever.
Calmly, she went up to the lobby and displayed her ID to the elderly woman behind the desk. Her ID and a friendly manner got her Charlene's hospital room number. Ardelia tried to ignore the growing misgivings in her gut on the elevator ride up. Charlene wasn't in intensive care. Thank God for small favors. She stopped in at the nurses' desk and asked to speak to the charge nurse. She'd learned from her own time in the field to get the OK of hospital personnel before interrogating someone in the hospital. Otherwise they could make your life miserable.
The charge nurse came over and observed Ardelia cautiously.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes," Ardelia smiled. "I'm Special Agent Ardelia Mapp. I'm with the FBI. I'd like to talk to Charlene Stenson in room 364."
The nurse looked dubious. "She's just been sedated," she said. "She's not really up to talking right now."
Ardelia sighed. "I'm her aunt's roommate," she said. "Her aunt is missing. Now look, I know she's been through hell. I'm not going to upset her. I just need five minutes to talk with her. She might be able to give us information about her aunt."
The nurse eyed her carefully, considering her request against her charge's well-being.
"You'll have to ask her mother, Agent Mapp. And if she wants to rest, then you'll have to wait."
Ardelia held up her hands, her palms creamy against her coffee skin.
"Of course. I really don't mean to get her upset. And if she wants to rest I'll let her be. But I think she'll talk to me."
The nurse escorted Ardelia down the hall to a bare hospital room. One bed was empty. Charlene Stenson lay in the other. She wore a white hospital gown with blue dots on it. One wrist was bandaged where it had been scraped raw by the handcuffs McCracken had forced her to wear. She looked calm, having been recently sedated so that she might be able to sleep.
Patty Starling Stenson sat at her daughter's bedside. Her face was wan, torn by the same elation and grief that Ardelia herself was feeling. Her daughter was safe, but her sister was missing. Her eyes met Ardelia's wordlessly. Charlene turned her head slowly and observed Ardelia for a few moments with drugged curiosity.
"Miz Mapp," she said. "Well, howdy, Miz Mapp."
For a moment, Ardelia remembered Clarice saying Howdy, Ardelia, whenever she wanted to get a rise out of her. She sighed.
"Hi," she smiled. "How're you doing, Charlene?"
Charlene shifted her legs and shrugged. "Awl raht, I guess," she said.
"Mrs. Stenson," Ardelia said. "I'm Ardelia, Clarice's roommate. I just wanted to ask Charlene a couple of questions. Is that okay with you?"
Patty nodded and patted her daughter's hand.
"Charlene," Ardelia said. "Can you tell me what happened at the factory?"
"Aunt Clarice was there," Charlene said promptly. "That guy had me in the room and she came and got me. Then he locked us both in there." She looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember. "Then Aunt Clarice told him to let me go and she'd take my place." Her jaw wobbled and her eyes moistened. Her voice thickened as she continued. "An' she gave him her gun and took off her shirt. I told her not to, but she did it anyway."
"It's okay, Charlene," Ardelia said. "She was very brave." Smooth move, 'Delia, she told herself. "She is very brave. And she wanted you out of there. Now don't cry, it's all OK."
Patty Stenson gave her a look.
"An' then I ran out of the factory and he had her. I was so scared…all I did was run. Then I ran into this guy. Knocked me flat down, he did."
Ardelia leaned forward. "You ran into McCracken?"
Charlene reached out for the plastic pitcher of water at her bedside and drank from it thirstily. Thus fortified, she shook her head.
"Naw, he was in the factory with Aunt Clarice," she said. "This was another guy. I don't know who he was. But he knew my name and he gave me his jacket and tole me he was gonna go help Aunt Clarice."
"Did he tell you what his name was?" Ardelia asked, trying to keep the urgency out of her voice, lest she get Charlene more upset.
Charlene shook her head.
"What did he look like?"
"Cain't right tell. It was dark. He had a suit on. And a hat like you see in old movies. Wasn't too tall, but taller'n me, I guess."
"How old was he?"
"Not sure," Charlene admitted.
"He gave you his jacket? Where's the jacket?"
Charlene rolled over and looked at her, puzzled.
"That other guy from the FBI took it. Didn't he tell you?"
Ardelia frowned in thought. "Well, no," she acknowledged. "Who took the jacket?"
"This old guy," Charlene said thoughtfully. "Old guy with a long face. Looked kinda like a basset hound. And he talked like Ben Stein on the Visine commercials. Momma, what was his name again?"
"Crawford," Patty supplied. "He said his name was Crawford. Now you just take it easy now an' tell Agent Mapp what you can."
Despite herself, Ardelia grinned.
"Then the guy went in the factory," Charlene continued, encouraged by her mother. "I just waited there…I was ascairt. There was some hootin' and hollerin' in the factory." Then her face began to crumple and she turned away.
"Charlene, what is it?" Ardelia asked gently. "It's okay, you can tell me. It's all right."
"I…I can't," Charlene sobbed.
"Yes, you can," Ardelia said compassionately but firmly. She moved in a bit closer and put her hand on Charlene's. "Tell me what happened. It's OK. You're safe. No one's gonna hurt you."
"Then…then…he come out with Aunt Clarice," Charlene cried. Her eyes flamed with horrible memory coming to life as she remembered who the stranger was.
"She was with him? Was she OK?"
"No!" Charlene shouted. Hysteria overtook the sedative for a moment. "He was holdin' her and she was all bloody and nekkid, and she wasn't movin' or nothing, and I ast him not to take her but he didn't an' he told me not to meddle an' he took her away an' I knew he was gonna eat her and I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Overcome by her emotions, she simply cried, moving her face away from Ardelia's.
Ardelia Mapp's face went an ashy gray. Hearing that Clarice was bloody and naked was bad enough. Not moving was worse. But he was gonna eat her? That could be only one man.
No. No, it couldn't be. Charlene was confused. That was it. She was drugged now, she'd been traumatized then. She had misidentified the man who had helped Clarice. Of all the people to find Clarice in the factory, possibly wounded…not Dr. Hannibal Lecter. God help Clarice if that was the case.
Both the older women tried to calm down the distraught girl, and after several minutes Charlene was calm enough to speak again. Ardelia found herself murmuring soothing nothings and patting Charlene's back until she calmed down.
"I shoulda helped her," Charlene sniffled. "I shoulda made him put her down. She tried to save me. An' he took her. And I tole him to put her down but he wouldn't listen and now he's gonna eat her."
"Eat her? Now why would he do that?" Ardelia asked, although she knew in her heart what she meant.
Charlene turned and looked at Ardelia, and her face was vulnerable and full of pain.
"Cause that's what he does," she whispered. "He's that doctor who ate people long time ago. I read about it on the Internet."
Ardelia Mapp swallowed.
"Okay," she said. "Listen, Charlene, I want you to rest now. You've done real good. We'll find Clarice. You just stay here and everything will be just fine."
"He's gonna kill Aunt Clarice," Charlene said miserably.
"No, he isn't," Ardelia soothed. "Just leave it to us. We'll find her. Everything will be all right." She rose. "You've been a great help, Charlene. You just take care of yourself now. We'll find Clarice."
It wasn't until she left the room until she dared let an expression of horror cross her face. She crammed a knuckle in her mouth. She glanced down the hall and sat down hard on a bench.
Dr. Lecter. Jesus Christ, let her be wrong. Please don't let this be.
She noticed Jack Crawford skulking down the hall, looking expectantly at her. Once eye contact was made, he sidled up to her and swallowed.
"Mr. Crawford," she said. "Do we know anything?"
He sighed. "I sent the suit jacket she was found with to Quantico for testing," he said solemnly.
"And?"
"PCR-STR testing confirms it." He produced a folded piece of paper. "They found hairs on the jacket collar. A couple were hers, but not too many. The others…," he closed his eyes behind his glasses and showed her the white paper. Five words printed across the bottom dashed Ardelia's hopes in a heartbeat.
Genetic match confirmed: Lecter, Hannibal.
"My dear God," Ardelia whispered.
"We've got FBI and local police out beating the bushes for Lecter right now," he said. "But he's had a couple hours head start. He could be anywhere."
"But…Clarice…we've got to do something," she whispered.
"Look, Mapp," he said regretfully. "Charlene's stuck to her story. Starling was bleeding and unconscious when Lecter carried her out of there. I don't think she's lying. Starling would've arrested McCracken or shot him. She wouldn't have…done what was done to him. Lecter did it. Lecter was there. He punished McCracken for taking what was his. Then…he took her. He must've knifed her and taken her with him."
Tears sprang to Ardelia Mapp's eyes. "So Clarice is dead."
"Clarice is gone," Crawford agreed somberly.