The Silence of the Lambs Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapters 56 - 61 Summary

Chapters 56 - 61 Summary

Chapter 56: James Gumb decides to kill Catherine to save the dog. If he uses a head shot to kill her he will only lose the hair, and Precious is worth that. He grabs his Colt Python and sneaks down to the darkened well with his night vision equipment. He finds "it," as he thinks of Catherine, asleep on its side curled up like a "giant shrimp." (pg. 339) Before he can shoot, Precious hears him and jumps up; Gumb realizes Precious is uninjured and knows Catherine will not hurt the dog. This means he can shoot her in the legs and head without danger to Precious. Gumb turns on all the lights in the basement and heads back to the well to kill Catherine.

Just then, his doorbell rings. He ignores it, and sets up the floodlight by the well. Somebody's really leaning on the bell now, and reluctantly...
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