Editing Hannibal Lecter (section)

====''The Silence of the Lambs''====
In the 1988 sequel ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (novel)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'', Lecter assists FBI agent-in-training [[Clarice Starling]] in catching a serial killer, Jame Gumb, known by the nickname "[[Buffalo Bill (character)|Buffalo Bill]]". Lecter is fascinated by Starling, and they form an unusual relationship in which he provides her with a [[Offender profiling|profile]] of the killer and his ''[[modus operandi]]'' in exchange for details about her unhappy childhood.

Lecter had previously met Gumb, the former lover of his patient (and eventual victim) Benjamin Raspail. He does not reveal this information directly, instead giving Starling vague clues to help her figure it out for herself. In return for Lecter's assistance, the FBI and Chilton arrange for him to be transferred to a federal institution with better living conditions.

Lecter escapes while in transit, however, killing and mutilating his guards and using one of their faces as a mask to fool police and paramedics before killing the latter and escaping. While in hiding, he writes one letter to Starling wishing her well, a second to Barney (his primary orderly at the asylum), thanking him for his courteous treatment, and a third to Chilton, promising gruesome revenge; Chilton disappears soon afterward.