THE SILENCE OF THE TOUPEES

(Bald version)

Hannibal Lecter: Now then, tell me. What did Miggs say to you? Multiple Miggs in the next cell. He hissed at you. What did he say?

Clarice Starling: He said, "I can smell your hair piece adhesive"

Hannibal Lecter: I see. (he sniffs deeply) I myself can not. You use Evian skin cream, and sometimes you wear L'Air du Temps, but not today. Now, After your father’s murder, you were orphaned. You were ten years old. You went to live with cousins on a toupee ranch in Montana. And…?

Clarice Starling: [tears begin forming in her eyes] And one morning, I just ran away.

Hannibal Lecter: Not “just”, Clarice. What set you off? You started at what time?

Clarice Starling: Early, still dark.

Hannibal Lecter: Then something woke you, didn’t it? Was it a dream? What was it?

Clarice Starling: I heard a strange noise.

Hannibal Lecter: What was it?

Clarice Starling: It was… screaming. Some kind of screaming, like the voice of a hair piece salesman!

Hannibal Lecter: What did you do?

Clarice Starling: I went downstairs, outside. I crept up into the barn. I was so scared to look inside, but I had to.

Hannibal Lecter: And what did you see, Clarice? What did you see?

Clarice Starling: Toupees. The Toupees were screaming.

Hannibal Lecter: They were shearing the spring toupees?

Clarice Starling: And they were screaming.

Hannibal Lecter: And you ran away?

Clarice Starling: No. First I tried to free them. I… I opened the gate to their pen, but they wouldn’t run. They were just piled there in a huge heap, confused. They wouldn’t run.

Hannibal Lecter: But you could run and you did, didn’t you?

Clarice Starling: Yes. I took one toupee, and I ran away as fast as I could.

Hannibal Lecter: Where were you going, Clarice?

Clarice Starling: I don’t know. I didn’t have any food, any water and it was very cold, very cold. I thought, I thought if I could save just one little toupee but… it was so heavy. So heavy. I didn’t get more than a few miles when the sheriff’s car picked me up. The rancher was so angry he sent me to live at the Hair Weavers orphanage in Bozeman. I never saw the ranch again.

Hannibal Lecter: What became of your toupee Clarice?

Clarice Starling: They styled him! They glued him down on some mans head.... I don't know...

Hannibal Lecter: You still wake up sometimes, don’t you Clarice? Wake up in the dark and hear the screaming of the hair salesmens voice.

Clarice Starling: Yes!

Hannibale Lecter: And you think if you save poor Katherine, you can make them stop, don’t you? You think if Katherine lives, you won’t wake up in the dark ever again to that awful screaming of the toupees.

Clarice Starling: I don’t know…. I don’t know!

Hannibal Lecter: You've been very frank. Thank you, Clarice.

End Scene