Where have you been? I've been waiting since 7.
Get in. I have to find fireworks.
- Let me drive. - Get in. I haven't eaten in 24 hours.
Are you coming or not?
- - all next week at Ganzori Diamonds at 1 01 7 Fourth Street, San Rafael.
Open till 9 Friday.
It's too crowded.
I thought you were starving.
Let's go somepIace quiet.
Okay.
What are we doing?
Sitting. Listening to music. TaIking.
You seem weird. Is everything okay?
Yeah, everything's fine.
It's JuIy. How many shirts are you wearing?
- I'm coId. - You're coId on the Fourth of JuIy?
Fuck off and die!
What?
''Fuck off and die''?
Shut up.
Was that car at the drive- in?
I saw that car at Mr. Ed's.
- Do you want me to teII him to Ieave? - Stay in the car.
- Was that your husband? - No.
Who was that, DarIene?
Don't worry about it.
Don't teII me not to worry. Who was it?
It's nothing.
Oh, shit.
Let's go.
Now, D.
Get your waIIet.
Man, you reaIIy creeped us out.
- Vallejo Police Department. - I wanna report a double murder.
- May I have your name and- - ? - If you go one mile east...
...on Columbus Parkway to the public park, you'll find kids in a brown car.
They were shot with a 9 mm Luger.
I also killed those kids last year.
Goodbye.
Spit.
Come on, buddy.
I swaIIowed it.
Why?
It was minty.
You can't do that. It's not good for you.
Lunchbox.
- Why am I not going on the bus? - Because we're Iate.
Okay, you're staying with your mom and Aaron tonight.
So you don't Iike having a new IittIe brother?
No, not reaIIy.
That's honest.
Learn a Iot.
There wiII be a test tonight.
With Gerrard turntable and Pioneer speakers for $ 1 88.
Make it to Manny's before 1 0 but hurry.
64 Renovation Street, top of the hill at 86th.
Morning.
- Fine, how are you this morning? - Morning.
- Morning. - Morning.
Take it easy.
Reminds you the deadline to submit applications for...
...the 1 5th annual Junior Rock competition.
Applications are available at libraries and schools throughout the Bay Area.
How's the coffee today, Shorty?
EditoriaI in two.
- Good morning, gentIemen. - Good morning.
Oh, Stanton, teII Mr. Howe the draft- board piece was damn near perfect.
Mr. Graysmith.
Horrid. Horrid.
Not so horrid.
Horrid. I'm thinking we go with ''not so horrid.''
PauI, what's on the crime beat?
Janice in Datebook Ieft the fondue party before everyone got naked.
That's a crime.
Have you seen her? WouIdn't kid you.
It may be the beginning of a crime wave.
You need to see this.
Go get the pubIisher.
Christmas. Brand name of ammo: Super- X.
Ten shots were fired.
The boy was on his back with his feet to the car.
The girI....''
WouId you read that, pIease?
''The girI was on her right side, feet to the west.
Fourth of JuIy. One, girI was wearing patterned sIacks.
The boy was aIso shot in the knee. Brand name of ammo was Western.
Here is part of a cipher.
The other two parts of this cipher...
...are being maiIed to the editors of the Vallejo Times and S.F. Examiner.
I want you to print this cipher on the front page of your paper.
In this cipher is my 'idenity.'
If you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fri.- - ''
F- R- Y. ''- - 1 st of Aug. '69, I wiII go on a kiII rampage Fri. night.
I wiII cruise around aII weekend kiIIing Ione peopIe in the night...
...then move on to kiII again untiI I end up with a dozen peopIe over the weekend.''
It's unsigned except for a symboI.
Is it me, or does that Iook Iike a gunsight?
Today's August 1 st. He wants his code in the afternoon edition.
If the Examiner doesn't have the baIIs to run it, we scoop the Bay.
- This is about shooting peopIe. - Not running this might make him.
If we run it, we might be setting a dangerous precedent.
It's newsworthy.
We're giving some sick bastard a soapbox. What does that say to peopIe?
Back up. Is this VaIIejo story true? Do we know that?
- PauI? - What? I cover crime in VaIIejo?
- I cover crime in VaIIejo. Ten minutes. - Let's shoot the code and caII S.F.P.D.
If it turns out to be reaI, at Ieast we'II have the materiaI.
AII right.
Graysmith, don't you have that cartoon to finish?
Oh, yeah.
This is PauI Avery from the San Francisco Chronicle.
I'm Iooking for someone to shed some Iight on a Ietter we received.
- Thank you. - Sergeant MuIanax.
Sergeant, Paul Avery from the San Francisco ChronicIe.
I wanted to check if you had an unsoIved firearm homicide on Christmas...
...and maybe one on July 4th?
Shit. You guys got one too?
Confirmed. V.P.D., they confirmed the shootings.
AI's on the phone with the Examiner. They got a different code.
So did Times- Herald. Christmas, two teenagers on Iovers' Iane.
Both DO A. David Faraday and Betty Jensen.
JuIy 4th, DarIene Ferrin and MichaeI Mag- - I think it's ''Mayhew.''
- Anyway, he Iived, she didn't. - The murder weapon?
BaIIistics, everything he said in the Ietters match.
I mean, I think the Times- Herald's gonna go with it.
The Examiner's going, but won't go front page.
I say Iet's go front page.
If he kiIIs 1 2 peopIe, it's not our fauIt.
Robert.
We need the cartoon.
- You're not finished? - No, I'm finished, CaroI. I'm finished.
Thieriot's stiII here.
ReaIIy?
The first edition is off the fIoor in 1 0, CharIes.
Give us a sec.
Okay, re- pIate.
We'II go on page.... Page 4.
What do you say, 20 bucks to whoever cracks the psycho's name?
He won't give his name.
Morti's? Anyone?
- That's where I'm heading. - AII right.
Put those on my desk. Turn on the Iight.
Grab your book.
Now go get your jammies on.
All right, people, listen up.
The cipher's broken into three sections...
...each with 8 Iines and 1 7 symboIs.
No breaks denoting different words.
No numbers or cIues to substitution keys.
And you got symboIs from at Ieast seven different sources.
Greek, Morse code, Navy semaphore, weather symboIs, astroIogicaI signs.
- Hey, take a gander at this code thing. - Okay.
You wanna give it a go?
Guy who used to sit there was a great cartoonist. Bob Bastian.
Now he's on pubIic teIevision for some reason.
PauI Avery.
Robert Graysmith. I've been here nine months.
You were right, by the way. He didn't give his name.
- Who cracked it? - A history teacher and his wife in SaIinas.
''I Iike kiIIing peopIe because it is so much fun.
It is more fun than kiIIing wiId game in the forest...
...because man is the most dangerous animaI of aII.
To kiII something gives me the most thriIIing experience.
It is even better than getting your rocks off with a girI.
The best part of it is that when I die...
...I wiII be reborn in paradise...
...and aII that I have kiIIed wiII become my sIaves.
I wiII not give you my name, because you wiII try to sIow down...
...or stop my coIIecting of sIaves for my afterIife.''
Methinks our friend's a tad bit ''fuckered'' in the head.
I heard he even sent VaIIejo a code key, just to heIp.
- What is that at the bottom? - Leftovers.
Maybe an anagram.
How does one do that?
I Iike puzzIes. I do them a Iot.
How did you know he wasn't gonna give his name?
''Dangerous animaI.''
Dangerous animaI.
What dangerous animaI? How do I know that?
- PauI. - Yes, TempIeton?
- EditoriaI, now. - Very weII.
Another Ietter.
More of the same.
DetaiIs about the murders.
He taped a fIashIight to the gun. That's how he hit them in the dark.
And he gave himseIf a name.
You know this used to be the town of Monticello?
But at some point, the county decided that the Iand...wouId work better as a Iake
so they fIooded it.
- But there's an entire- - - Hidden city under the water.
- We were here Iast spring, remember? - Oh, yeah.
- Somebody eIse is here. - It is a pubIic park.
I think he's watching us.
WeII, we're very good- Iooking.
Where'd he go?
- He went behind that tree. - AII right, so he's taking a Ieak.
He's coming towards us.
Oh, my God, he has a gun.
Don't move.
- I want your money and your car keys. - Okay.
We're not gonna do anything, okay?
We're gonna cooperate. Just teII me what you want us to do.
Here.
You're weIcome to everything I have.
If there's anything eIse I couId do for you...?
Maybe I couId write you a check?
Okay, I couId give you my phone number.
You know, I might be abIe to heIp you...
- ...even more than you might think. - He's a socioIogy major.
PreIaw, actuaIIy.
Oh, keys. You know, I'm sorry. I don't know exactIy where I put my keys.
They might be on the bIanket. Is it okay- - ?
Here's the keys.
Don't get up. I want her to tie you up.
Okay.
You know, if he comes any cIoser I might be abIe to get that gun.
- Don't get any ideas. - I'm not.
I kiIIed a guard escaping from prison in Montana.
I'm not doing anything, okay?
I'm not afraid to kiII again.
Look away.
What was the name of that prison?
Hey, you said it was in Montana, right?
I'm taking your car and going to Mexico.
We didn't compIain when you tied our hands.
Okay, you have everything that I have. We have done everything that you've asked.
It's okay. It's okay.
She tied you Ioose, didn't she?
Get on your stomach so I can tie your feet.
Okay. It gets reaIIy coId out here at night. We couId freeze.
Okay, you aII done?
You know, just because peopIe are gonna ask, was that thing even Ioaded?
It's okay. This is aII gonna be okay.
Dispatch, this is 43L2, heading south on Knoxville Road.
I've got an abandoned white VW Karmann Ghia.
Napa Police Department.
I want to report a murder. No, a double murder.
They are two miles north of park headquarters.
They were in a white Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.
I'm the one that did it.
43L2 has a male victim with him. Piner's ambulance has been dispatched.
Boy Iived, the girI didn't. Again.
Can you imagine surviving that? Writing the dates on the side of the car.
We got two VaIIejo kiIIings, now there's one in Napa. Why Napa?
What the heII is he doing out of VaIIejo? Sweet mother of Christ...
...what are you drawing?
Kid at the Iake? This is what he said the Zodiac was wearing.
- My God, that's a heII of a getup. - What are you doing?
Hyman, I wrote it. It's done. Now I just gotta type it up.
It's not finished untiI you type it up. We've gotta read it.
- What's that? - That's the Zodiac at the Iake.
What's the story with the kid? He seems a IittIe touched or medicated or....
- Graysmith? He's a fucking Boy Scout. - Yeah.
He doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink, he doesn't curse.
- And he's back. - ''Man is the most dangerous animaI.''
I knew that I heard that from somewhere. The Most Dangerous Game.
It's a movie about a count who hunts peopIe for sport.
PeopIe. The Most Dangerous Game.
- Who's that? That's the- - ? - That's Count Zaroff.
Zaroff? With a Z?
That will be all for the news.
We've got curfews tonight for the following counties:
Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, and San Mateo...
...so please, everyone, stay safe.
Vic in San Francisco, you're on the line. You're not scared of the Zodiac?
Heck, no, he's only shooting those farm kids.
What scares me is those hippies out in the Haight...
...with their free love and weird clothes.
- Taxi. - We've got Alfred from Vacaville.
You know, I think that was really offensive. It's not just farm kids.
These are nice clean- cut people.
Hey, nobody's downplaying the loss of human life here.
Well, that last guy was.
We have good solid communities out here in the North Bay...
...unlike in the city where you have Satanists running around.
Well, you bring up a good question. Is the Zodiac a Satanist?
Amber from Oakland, what do you think?
I don't know, but I thought that code they printed didn't look very Christian.
I think a bigger problem is the papers...
...shouldn't have printed anything Zodiac has been doing.
That they're printing all that stuff to sell more newspapers.
Well, the Zodiac did demand they print his letters or he'd kill more people.
But he would have done it anyway, whether they printed it or not.
An interesting point. So, what do you think he'll do next?
- San Francisco Police Department. - There's a fight in a cab!
What is your location?
3398 Washington, at the corner of Cherry.
One's drunk and we think he's robbing him.
- Is the crime still in progress? - Yes, please hurry.
Oh, my God, look!
Nuts!
Whoever this is, you owe me a new Iamp.
Cabby's been shot three blocks from the Presidio.
It wasn't me. I been with my bride aII night, she can vouch.
Go put on the FoIgers.
You'll pick me up?
Let me just describe the Iamp you're gonna buy me.
- I just got to sIeep. - Suspect's Negro, maIe aduIt.
WaIt's on scene, Iocked the cab, secured the crowd.
Dead asIeep. I Iost feeIing in my arm and everything.
Crackers?
You ever try Japanese food?
- What do you mean, Iike teriyaki? - No, Iike the urchin.
- Raw fish? - I'm eating here, BiII.
- I aIways wanted to try it. - So why don't you?
Haven't got around to it.
Evening, gents. What a IoveIy night for a botched robbery.
Yeah, third this week. Must be end- of- summer rush.
I got foot patroIs going through the park, the dogs are on the way.
The victim's name is PauI Stine. Dousette pronounced him at 1 0:1 0.
Suspect fired one shot to the head. Driver's waIIet and car keys are missing.
- How'd you know his name? - Leroy there...
...came down from YeIIow Cab to ID him.
Neighborhood's pretty high- end for this, so I aIready set up transpo for the cab.
- Coroner's here. - Any witnesses?
Kids who caIIed it in saw the suspect from that window.
- They hear a shot? - No.
They saw him in the front seat, thought he was a drunk.
OIdest kid ran to get a better Iook from the dining room...
...described him as a white maIe, gIasses... ...crew cut, stocky, and wearing a dark jacket.
- I thought someone said he was bIack. - The description went out to radio cars.
- We aIready corrected it. - Oh, weII, that's good.
- You guys need anything eIse? - No. Get out of here.
Thanks. Happy birthday.
Wait, it's your birthday?
- Yep. - That's great. Happy birthday.
- Thanks. Body or scene? - It's your birthday, I'II take the body.
Dave, he wiped the cab down pretty good. We got some bIood over here.
- Prints? - CouId be. We'II dust it at the HaII.
The odd thing is, we aIso got gIoves.
- Suspect's? - There's bIood on them.
Hey, Pete? You through over there, can I get in there?
Yeah, I'm aII set.
- Who roIIed him? - Stewarts.
I got a singIe 9 mm casing.
Yeah, Luger.
Nothing from the crowd.
I'm your shooter, Negro maIe aduIt...
...who aIso happens to be a stocky, crew- cut Caucasian.
I fIag a cab. I give him this address.
Did I give him this address? Who's got the fare book?
Right here.
Washington and MapIe. That's one bIock east.
Lighting's the same over here, so maybe I see someone waIking their dog.
You don't want any witnesses, so you teII him to go down a bIock. PuIIs over.
I wait for him to park because I'm smart.
I don't want him hitting the acceIerator when I shoot.
He stops, puts it in park:
I shoot him on the right side, he sIumps right?
Maybe you've got your hand on his coIIar when you shoot.
So I just dumped a quart of bIood in the front seat.
- So why do you get in the front seat? - For the money.
But you couId just reach over the seat, puII out his waIIet.
You don't have to go anywhere near the bIood.
So why'd he get in the front seat?
- I'm an idiot. - But you're not.
You waited for him to put it in park.
- Right. Thank you. - Yeah, sure.
- May I see that? - Yeah.
I am an idiot. I just kiIIed a man for $8.25.
It's his third fare of the night. Does anyone have any AnimaI Crackers?
- AnimaI Crackers? - They're in the car.
I'm saving those for Iater.
Fine.
- Are you a reporter? - No, I'm Inspector Dave Toschi, S.F.P.D.
Sir, I was wondering if I'd be abIe to taIk to your chiIdren one at a time...
- ...and preferabIy aIone? - They just saw a man murdered.
I understand.
- It Iooked Iike they were drunk. - Yeah, and he had a rag.
He came around the car. He was wiping stuff.
Did you get a chance to see his face?
I did. WeII, sort of.
Do you remember what he Iooked Iike?
NormaI.
- Yeah. - NormaI?
''This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver...
...over by Washington Street and MapIe Street Iast night.
To prove this, here is a bIoodstained piece of his shirt.
I am the same man who did in the peopIe in the North Bay Area.
The poIice couId've caught me Iast night if they had searched the park properIy...
...instead of hoIding road races with their 'motorsickIes.'''
- GentIemen. - Dave.
PauI, where's the shirt?
Right there, boss.
- Your rag the kids taIked about. - So he got in the seat to tear off a piece.
- Is this on the record? - WeII, what do you think?
He confirms the VaIIejo and Napa kiIIings.
- Gets worse. - Robert, do you have a deadIine?
What does he mean, ''it gets worse''?
Read the Iast part.
''SchooI chiIdren make nice targets.
I think I shaII wipe out a bus some morning.
Just shoot out the front tire...
...then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out.''
Who's got buses, Department of Transportation?
- SchooI board. - AII right.
I'm gonna need eIimination prints from your staff.
Is anyone here that didn't touch this Ietter?
Going back to my desk. I can get the phones if you want.
We need matches on bIood and fabric.
I'II caII and get the Ietters up to Sherwood in Sacramento.
Dave, just one thing. Is it true they got a print off the cab?
Yeah, we got a partiaI in bIood.
- But that is not for pubIication. - No, hey, come on.
Hey, it's me.
Did he say they got a print?
PartiaI.
- He wears his gun Iike BuIIitt. - No, McQueen got that from Toschi.
He think Zodiac's gonna send another code? I think Zodiac's gonna send- -
Jesus HaroId Christ on rubber crutches. What are you doing?
You're doing that thing we discussed. The thing that I don't Iike.
- Starts with an L. - Oh, Iooming.
Yeah.
In cooperation with S.F.P.D...
...we wiII run the Zodiac Ietter without incIuding the threat on chiIdren.
We don't wanna start a city- wide panic...
...so I'm asking aII of you to pIease keep this confidentiaI.
Just go about your daiIy business. Thank you.
Packed you your carrots and your ceIery and peanut butter, okay?
- Dad, you don't have to wait with me. - I know.
Hi, ShirIey.
You know what? You know what? I'm gonna drive him today, okay?
Come on.
What's that?
SimiIarities in the Iowercase R's.
- And that? - It is you waiting in the haII...
...if you speak again. I have to concentrate.
- Sorry. - ''Sorry'' counts as speaking.
There are simiIarities in the Iowercase R's.
We have to reIease the bus threat.
- It'II screw us. - We're aIready screwed.
We just went from ''Routine Cabby Shooting'' ...
...to ''Mass Murderer Targets Kids.''
The Zodiac Killer has come to San Francisco.
Confirmation tonight from the San Francisco Police Department...
...that in his latest taunting letter...
...which takes credit for the murder of cabdriver Paul Stine...
...the Zodiac has threatened to, quote, ''Wipe out a school bus...
...and pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out. ''
If you think you might know who the Zodiac is...
...you can call the San Francisco Police Department's newest tip line.
We need poIicemen out there.
Press conference is at 4. We gotta give them something.
We're coordinating with the schooI board, and we expect a break soon.
- What do we reaIIy got? - We're swamped.
When they can't get the tip Iine, they caII the switchboard.
- You got any hard suspects? - About 90 an hour. I'm up to around 500.
- Can't you narrow it down? - I wouId Iove to, if I couId get out- -
Homicide, pIease hoId.
Yeah, hoId, pIease. We're gonna need to teII them we got the entire force on this.
- How many men can you give me? - You and BiII, and Monday's a schooI day.
I know. I have three daughters.
- Yeah, I know. Where's Armstrong? - He's on the phone with VaIIejo.
We're pIaying catch- up, Jack.
I'd Iike to set up a meeting with your MichaeI Mageau.
I can't. He skipped town.
The onIy guy who's seen Zodiac without a mask is missing?
When he was in the hospitaI we couId show him Iineups aII day.
- Soon as he got out, he spIit. - Really? Why?
I don't think he wanted anything to do with this.
Can you send us everything that you have?
WeII, the road goes both ways.
Now, we need that print you Iifted from the cab...
...and we should have been in on the handwriting.
I apoIogize. Things have been moving fast.
Who should I talk to in Napa so we can coordinate?
TaIk to Ken NarIow.
We shouId have been in on the handwriting.
I apologize. Things have been moving fast.
- We're gonna need your photos. - Can't heIp you.
I don't wanna get into a jurisdictional thing- -
No, no. We didn't have a crime scene.
The ranger IiteraIIy swept everything into a picnic bIanket.
- All we have are the Wing Walker prints. - The what?
Boot prints to and from the crime scene made by Size 1 0- and- a- haIf Wing WaIkers.
MiIitary- styIe boots soId onIy at miIitary PXs.
Designed to waIk on the wings of pIanes.
And you can't buy at a PX without a military ID...
...so our suspect couId be miIitary.
- Did you guys narrow your Iist off of this? - Yeah.
- Did Vallejo? - I don't know.
I don't work in VaIIejo. I work here.
- I'II need photos of those boot prints. - Sure, if you send me the handwriting.
I thought Questioned Documents did.
Nope. VaIIejo's got them, not us.
I'II have Questioned Documents- - Forget it. I'II teIefax it to you.
We don't have teIefax yet.
- Okay, I'II put it in the maiI. - We'll mail ours too.
And caII MuIanax in VaIIejo. Maybe he can get you a mimeo.
- Right. - Why don't you get a photo off the cast?
We'd have to wait because they don't have a fax.
We don't have a fax, either.
- I'm just trying to get us coordinated. - Have you caIIed SoIano?
Why wouId I caII SoIano?
Because the two kids that got killed last Christmas were Solano's.
- I thought they were VaIIejo. - They were over the county Iine.
- You'II need to coordinate them too. - Okay.
BiII? Can I have a word with you?
Where did you see this guy?
We got the caII to Iook for a Negro maIe aduIt- -
Where was he?
On Jackson. Heading east. About the middIe of the bIock.
- This is three minutes after the shooting? - Give or take.
- And you were heading east or west? - We were going west.
So you're on Jackson going west.
So the cab was one bIock catty- corner southwest?
Correct.
- Did you sIow down? - Of course we sIowed down.
Listen, Dispatch said it was a Negro maIe.
That was corrected.
No, but at the time they hadn't changed it.
This guy was white. Right, not in a hurry. Kind of Iumbering aIong Iike- -
Lumbering? What do you mean, ''Iumbering''?
- ShuffIing. - Stocky? Had a crew cut?
Yeah, that's aII correct.
Listen, it was dark. The guy was wearing a dark jacket.
- There's no way- - - He wouId have been covered in bIood.
Did you stop him?
Did you taIk to him?
- Yes? No? - No.
You need to get with a sketch artist.
We have to put out a new composite right away.
Five persons have been murdered in the area and in each case, the killer- -
''I shall wipe out a school bus some morning- - ''
San Francisco police- -
To see the Stones in concert this Sunday....
The new letters from the Zodiac Killer...
...were sent to the City room of the San Francisco ChronicIe.
Looming. No Iooming.
- Have you considered the water theory? - What?
Every attack takes pIace near a body of water or a water- based name.
- This is your water theory? - Lake Berryessa. BIue Rock Springs.
- Lake Herman. - Washington and Cherry?
- You think? - No.
I'm reading this book, Homicide Investigation...
- ...by LeMoyne Snyder- - - ''LeMoyne.''
He says you Iook for patterns.
No. You can't think of this case in normaI poIice terms.
- Why not? - You got four crime scenes:
SoIano, VaIIejo, Berryessa and here.
Not a singIe usabIe print at the first three or in any of the Ietters?
How does that master criminaI come to the city and Ieave a bIoody Iatent?
I mean, assuming the gIoves are his...
...he shoots the cabby and then takes them off?
So it's not his print?
Maybe. You're missing the point. The point is the first attack- -
- David Faraday and Betty Jensen. - They both die.
From there out, he onIy manages to kiII the girIs.
- Not for Iack of trying. - Not for Iack of trying.
Mageau Iives, Ferrin dies. HartneII Iives, Shepard dies.
He gets so caught up with the women, he forgets to finish the men.
PIus they're aII coupIes and aII on Iovers' Ianes.
- PauI Stine is not. - ExactIy.
SingIe maIe cab driver on Cherry doesn't fit.
Doesn't fit.
So why does Zodiac kiII him?
He's breaking the pattern.
- Yeah? - Someone claiming to be Zodiac...
...called Oakland P.D. a half- hour ago.
Says he's gonna call in on Jim Dunbar's morning show in three hours.
- On teIevision? - He wants Melvin Belli on to counsel him.
AII right. AII right. Let's go wake up MeIvin.
AnimaI Crackers?
GIove box.
Are these windows buIIetproof?
Yes, MeIvin. You don't have to Iie down back there.
This man is a marksman. CouId snuff me out at a moment's notice.
- Are you sure you're up for this? - Don't you worry about me, inspector.
I'II be fine when the Iights are on.
This man has asked for my heIp.
The man you're worrying about snuffing you out?
What are these, cookies?
Dear Lord, do you ever cIean this car?
Shit. KGO must have tipped other stations.
Get him talking. Convince him to meet you somewhere.
If you see an opportunity, we want you to suggest OId Saint Mary's Church.
You'II be tracing the caII?
You need to keep him on the Iine for 1 5 minutes.
We can do that, can't we, Jim?
- Fifteen seconds. CIear the set. - CIear the set.
Here you go, you drunken reprobate.
We interrupt our program to bring you this bulletin.
This special edition of our show, we are joined by attorney Melvin Belli...
...who the Zodiac Killer personally requested to appear.
Finish up, buddy, and put it in the sink.
- Good morning, Melvin. - Good morning, Jim.
So the phone lines are open. Mr. Belli is here.
- Here to help, Jim. - Yes. Here to help.
And we ask the public not to call in so that the Zodiac himself can reach us.
I saw your Star Trek, by the way. It was exceIIent.
A shame about the show. Good peopIe.
You know, I've often thought of becoming an actor fuII- time.
- What was your character's name? - Gorgan.
Gorgan. That's right.
- RoII the tape. Get the tape. - Jim, we have a caII. We're going Iive.
HeIIo?
HeIIo? This is MeIvin BeIIi.
Who am I speaking with?
This is the Zodiac speaking.
Is there something I can caII you that's a IittIe Iess ominous?
Sam.
Is there somewhere we can meet, Sam, and talk about this?
Meet me on top of the Fairmont Hotel.
Without anyone else or IĄŻll jump...
Have a unit go to the Fairmont Hotel.
- Sam. - Yes.
Sam, do you think you need medicaI care?
Medical, not mental.
Do you have heaIth probIems?
I'm sick. I have headaches.
Headaches?
I have headaches, too, but a chiropractor stopped them a week ago.
I think I can heIp you, Sam.
Sam?
He knows they're tracing his caIIs.
Sam, we'd like you to know that we are not tracing these calls.
It's a long, difficult process and ineffective with these short calls.
Sam?
We're not tracing these caIIs. You have my word.
Okay.
Sam, you need to tell me what your problem is.
I don't want to go to the gas chamber. I have headaches. I kill, I don't get them.
That is fucked up.
You want to live, don't you? Well, this is your passport.
How long have you been having headaches?
Since I killed a kid.
- Do you have blackouts? - Yes.
- Do you have fits? - No. I just have headaches.
Did you attempt to call one other time
when F. Lee Bailey was with us two or three weeks ago?
Yes.
And why did you want to talk to Mr. Bailey?
Why do you wanna tal k to me, Sam?
- I don't want to be hurt. - Why is he caIIing?
Hey, just a second, buddy.
You won't get hurt if you talk to me.
And you're not going to the gas chamber.
I wouIdn't think they wouId ask for capitaI punishment.
We shouId ask the district attorney. Do you want me to do that, Sam?
Do you want me to taIk to the district attorney?
What was that, Sam?
I did not say anything.
We heard a scream.
That was my headache.
You sound Iike you're in a great deaI of pain.
My head aches. I'm so sick.
I'm gonna kill them.
- Okay. - I'm gonna kill those kids!
Fantastic.
Sam?
Let's meet and talk. Just us.
Okay.
How about OId Saint Mary's Church in Chinatown?
No. In front of the Daly City St. Vincent De Paul at 1 0:30.
I'II see you there.
Take care of yourseIf, Sam.
My, my, my. You feIIows certainIy know how to put on a secret meeting.
BeIIi, over here.
I don't want to go to the gas chamber. I have headaches. I kill, I don't get them.
No, it's not him.
It's the voice. The voice is too high. It's too young.
AII right. Thanks for coming down, Bryan.
That's okay. I got it.
They puIIed off the trace. Our DaIy City no- show caIIed from a mentaI institution.
OakIand P.D.'s operator is sure the man she taIked to had a deeper voice.
CaImer. Might have actuaIIy been him.
''So I shaII change my way of coIIecting sIaves.
I shaII no Ionger announce to anyone when I commit my murders.
They shaII Iook Iike routine robberies, kiIIings of anger...
...and a few fake accidents, et cetera.
The poIice shaII never catch me, because I have been too cIever for them.
I Iook Iike the description passed out onIy when I do my thing.
The rest of the time I Iook entireIy different.
I shaII not teII you what my disguise consists of when I kiII.
As of yet I have Ieft no fingerprints behind me...
...contrary to what the poIice say.
I wear transparent fingertips.
AII it is is two coats of airpIane cement coated on my fingertips.
I enjoy needIing the bIue pigs. Hey, bIue pig, I was in the park.
You were using firetrucks to mask the sound of your cruising prowI cars.
Hey, pig, doesn't it riIe you up to have your nose rubbed in your boo- boos?
If you cops think I am going to take on a bus the way I stated I was...
...you deserve to have hoIes in your heads.''
And you need to Iook at this.
''Take one bag of ammonium- nitrate fertiIizer...
...one gaIIon of stove oiI and dump a few bags of graveI on top....''
- Okay. - It's a bomb.
We gotta caII the Army...
...and see if this science experiment couId actuaIIy work.
Another cipher.
- When did these arrive? - They arrived this morning.
- Are you pIanning to pubIish? - Robert.
We shouId have a drink.
Thank you.
So teII me about yourseIf. You married?
Divorced. I have two kids.
What do you do for fun?
I Iove to read.
- I enjoy books. - Those are the same things.
Why you been going through my trash?
We'II come back to that.
How'd you know he'd send another code?I just guessed.
- You just guessed. - The first one seemed too easy.
AII right, this can no Ionger be ignored.
What is that you're drinking?
It's an Aqua VeIva.
You wouIdn't make fun of it if you tried it.
But who actuaIIy cracked the code?
A married coupIe who Iiked puzzIes. So, what's that teII us about the Zodiac?
- He's no expert. - Right. It's a simpIe substitution code...
...Iike the one that we used to do as Boy Scouts.
- A is one, B is two. - We weren't aII Boy Scouts, Robert.
WeII, it's not that hard. You just gotta know where to start.
- In the first cipher- - - You actuaIIy carry that around with you?
- Why? - No reason.
What's the most common doubIe consonant in the EngIish Ianguage?
- Consonant? - The doubIe L.
- DoubIe L. - And what's the one word...
...that we know that he'II use in here, at Ieast once?
- ''KiII.'' - Right, ''kiII.''
The Hardens start Iook for doubIe symboIs, which they find here and here...
...each with the same symboIs preceding them.
They've got a repeating four- Ietter word ending with two symboIs that stand for L.
- Since they think the word is ''kiII'' .... - You got your K, your I...
...and you're on your way.
But how do you go from A is one, B is two to figuring out this whoIe code?
WeII, same way I did. You go to the Iibrary.
In this book...
...the author presents a very simpIe substitution code in the preface.
Eight of the 26 symboIs he suggests are found in this cipher.
But there are non- Ietter symboIs. There's these medievaI ones.
I thought they Iooked medievaI too.
But I found a code written in the MiddIe Ages. Guess what it's caIIed.
The zodiac aIphabet.
Jesus.
- What do you want out of this? - What?
What's your angIe? This is good business for everyone but you.
How do you mean ''business''?
Hey. Come to bed.
I'II be up in a minute. I need to make a phone caII.
- Hello? - BiII?
There's not many basements in CaIifornia.
''Basement for future use. ''
That's right.
I'll have Vallejo and Napa check with their city planners. Get some sleep.
Yeah, sure.
''Dear Melvin, this is the Zodiac speaking.
I wish you a happy Christmas.
The one thing I ask of you is this: Please help me.
I cannot reach out for heIp, because this thing in me won't Iet me.''
Thank you.
''I am finding it extremeIy difficuIt to hoId it in check...
...and I am afraid I wiII Iose controI again and take my ninth...
...and possibIy 1 0th victim.''
MeIvin, he's reaching out to you.
AbsoIuteIy. Inspectors, he sent this Ietter directIy to my residence.
It is a cry for heIp intended as a private communique.
Which is why you contacted the Chronicle.
The peopIe have a right to know. Toddy?
- When did the Ietter arrive? - In the middIe of Iast week.
I was away on safari.
What did you gentlemen do for Christmas?
- You're looking at it. - You must see Africa.
Cradle of civilization. Fascinating people. Beautiful. Savage.
- Back to the killer who wrote to you. - Yes. Of course.
It is my beIief that he penned this Ietter...
...because he couIdn't get to me on the show or here.
- He tried to contact you here? - SeveraI times.
I was out, but he spoke with my housekeeper.
- Didn't Ieave a number. - He's crafty Iike that.
- Do you mind if I speak to her? - Not at aII.
But the reaI story is the Ietter.
- I'II be back. - Yeah.
- She's right this way. - Inspector Toschi...
...it is my beIief this is a window into this man's souI.
KiIIing is his compuIsion.
Even though he tries to ignore it, it drives him. It's in his bIood.
CouId be. Or maybe he just Iikes the attention.
I didn't mean to scare you, but your right rear wheeI is Ioose.
- ReaIIy? - If you Iike...
...I couId tighten the Iugs up for you.
- If you don't mind. - WeII, you can't be too carefuI.
- AII done. - Thank you.
No probIem. Have a good night.
It's okay.
Are you okay?
Yeah. Yeah, we're fine.
Must have been worse than I thought. I can give you a Iift to a service station.
Okay.
It's okay. Come on.
I didn't know you had a baby.
Oh, is that okay?
The more, the merrier.
You shouIdn't smoke. It's a bad habit.
I think we just passed a fiIIing station.
It was cIosed.
Do you aIways go around heIping peopIe in the night?
When I'm done with them, they don't need much heIp.
It's okay.
Before I kiII you...
...I'm gonna throw your baby out the window.
PIease! No!
She was on the side of the road.
- She fIagged me down. - What happened?
She said she jumped from a car. I found her Iike this.
- What is it? - PIease, he said....
- It'II be okay. - Tried to kiII me.
- My baby! - Where's her baby?
She didn't have one when I stopped.
Where's your baby?
Jesus.
- You hid it? - In case he came back.
''This is the Zodiac speaking.
By the way, have you cracked the last cipher I sent you?
I'm mildly curious as to how much money you have on my head now.
I hope you do not think I was the one who wiped out that blue meanie...
...with a bomb at the cop station...
...even though I talked about killing children with one. ''
''This is the Zodiac speaking.
I'd like to see some nice Zodiac buttons wandering around town.
Everyone else has these buttons...
...like peace, black power, 'Melvin eats blubber, ' et cetera.
It would cheer me up if I saw a lot of people wearing my button.
- Please no nasty ones. '' - ''This is the Zodiac speaking.
I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38. Zodiac 1 2, S.F.P.D. 0.
The map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set.
You have until next fall to dig it up. ''
''This is the Zodiac speaking.
I'm rather unhappy because you people will not wear some nice Zodiac buttons.
I now have a Iist, starting with the woman and her baby...
...I gave an interesting ride a few months back...
...that ended in my burning her car where I found them.''
We're not gonna run any more of his Ietters?
New poIicy. Our brothers in bIue want us to hoId back and see how he reacts.
Four Ietters in three months and this is the first mention of KathIeen Johns?
- That's very weird. - That's because he's fuII of shit.
What do you mean?
You don't know?
WeIcome. PIease put your stuff down. You're going down five rows and Ieft.
Looking for the Modesto Bee from March.
I'm going to stand here and attempt not to vomit.
Left.
- What am I Iooking for? - KathIeen Johns.
AIso probabIy wanna puII the Chron- - You know, never mind. I'II see to that.
Look at this Ietter again, the part about KathIeen Johns.
TeII me what facts he gives.
- A woman and a baby abducted. - Fact.
- The car on fire. - Okay, now...
...Iook at the articIe from the Bee.
See it yet?
Everything aIready appeared in the articIe. And he's done it before.
Officer Radetich, shot sitting in his car.
Zodiac cIaimed that he shot someone in their car.
CoupIe days after this articIe came out. PoIice aIready had somebody in custody.
Zodiac didn't do it...
...but took credit for it anyway because he's in it for the press.
- He even stoIe his symboI. - What?
Yeah. Shit. If I show you something, you promise not to teII anyone?
- Who wouId I teII? - Okay. TotaIIy soIid point. Okay.
That's the onIy pIace that word and symboI...
...appeared together before the Ietters.
- The guy stoIe his Iogo off a watch. - How can somebody who's kiIIed 1 3- -
He cIaims he's kiIIed 1 3 peopIe, but which ones can we confirm?
There's three in VaIIejo, one in Berryessa, the cabby. That's it.
Bobby, you aImost Iook disappointed.
Chief's puIIing everybody off buses.
- Business as usuaI. - Something wiII shake Ioose.
Not a peep in four months. First he won't shut up and now....
Maybe we drove him underground.
Maybe he's gone.
3- 1 1 at 582 Haight, cross at Fillmore. There's a male- -
- Happy birthday, BiII. - Thanks.
Does it ever bother you that peopIe caII you Shorty?
Does it bother you that peopIe caII you a retard?
- Nobody caIIs me that. - Right.
As governor, I pledge to use all my influence...
...to make sure Darlene Ferrin's killer is brought to justice.
I believe some clues were overlooked in the murder of Darlene Ferrin.
- Her murder was premeditated. - Who is that?
FIorence DougIas, mayor of VaIIejo. Running for governor.
I believe the police department did not have the money...
...or, yes, the inclination....
Sayonara, poIice endorsement. Good work, FIo.
Does anyone ever caII me names, or...?
- You mean Iike retard? - Yeah.
No.
Shit. Fuck. My God. Jesus.
TeII me that's not a piece of bIoody shirt! Fuck! HoIy fucking crap!
I feel it in my bones You ache to know my name
And so I'll clue you in But then, why spoil the game?
''Happy HaIIoween.''
PauI, you did caII him a Iatent homosexuaI- ...in at Ieast one of your articIes.
- Dave. I want a gun.
A gun?
You're in Herb Caen.
''PauI Avery's investigation has won him a message from the Zodiac warning:
'You are doomed.'
As a resuIt, severaI crime newsmen are wearing IapeI buttons reading:
'I am not PauI Avery.'''
You shouId seII these. You couId do weII.
It's been a windfaII since they pubIished the threat on my Iife.
I got Ieads coming out of the woodwork. There's one guy down in Riverside.
I'm gonna see him tonight. You wanna tag aIong?
No, I have a date.
- ReaIIy? - Who is this guy?
He wishes to remain anonymous. I wish to remain infamous.
So we're going to get aIong great.
Hi. Good evening. Hi. I'm Iooking for a MeIanie.
- It's the young Iady sitting by herseIf. - Thank you.
You must be MeIanie.
- Which wouId make you Robert. - It wouId.
GIynnis toId me Iots about you.
- And you have wine, great. - I do.
Great. How Iate am I?
Just a few minutes, reaIIy. I just got here myseIf.
Traffic was bumper- to- bumper. I was at the gun range.
GIynnis said you were a cartoonist.
Oh, yeah.
- WeII, what are you doing at a gun range? - Reading.
Get some more.... You need some more napkins.
So you work with GIynnis.
- For her, actuaIIy. - For her?
Oh, weII....
My chiIdren are terrified of GIynnis.
Me too.
- So the gun range? - Oh, we were- - I'm working on- -
- Do you know the Zodiac? - Yeah.
I'm working with- - You know who PauI Avery is?
- Sounds famiIiar. - He's the writer the Zodiac threatened.
- Oh, yeah, I saw that on TV. - WeII, I work near him...
...and he was going down tonight to track an anonymous tipster in Riverside.
Where is Riverside?
It's near L.A.
I don't think PauI knows that it's that far away.
Sounds kind of dangerous.
Yeah. How do you mean?
WeII, you said it was an anonymous tip, right?
Yeah.
So it couId be an ambush. I mean, it couId be the Zodiac.
Don't you think it's kind of stupid?
Yeah, yeah. WeII, PauI has a gun.
So do you know what's good here?
I've never been here before.
The pasta, spaghetti?
Are you ready to order yet?
I'II have the penne vodka, but do it in a cream sauce.
Of course.
Maybe give us another minute?
Do you have any change?
Oh, wait. No, wait, hoId on.
- Nope. That's a penny. - Do you have to make a phone caII?
Yeah, you know, when you were saying that the Zodiac...?
When you said it was dangerous, I thought that it is dangerous, and- -
- Stupid? - Stupid.
And I just thought that I shouId caII his wife and just see if she's heard from him.
I have some change.
Okay. WeII, she said she'd caII when she heard from him.
- Good. - Yeah.
MeIanie, I shouId reaIIy go home and wait for the caII.
Is this some sIeazy pIan to get me to go home with you?
What? No.
I'II get the food to go.
Hello!
Hi! I'm supposed to meet somebody here.
Anything?
- You don't have to stay. - Are you kidding?
This is the most interesting date I've ever had.
- Paul? - Robert?
- Yes. - You sitting down?
- Yes. - You're not gonna beIieve this.
- Dave. - In a bizarre twist...
...the hunted has become hunter.
San Francisco ChronicIe reporter and Zodiac target Paul Avery...
...claims to have uncovered new information...
...regarding the only unsolved homicide in Riverside County's history...
...a 1 966 Southern California murder...
...that Avery now believes was the Zodiac's first victim.
- What? - He didn't caII you?
- Hang on. - The Riverside killer wrote to the press...
...letters that I took to the Office of Questioned Documents.
And what did this expert tell you?
What I knew in my gut, Ron.
The handwriting matches Zodiac's.
How'd he get the evidence out of Riverside?
He took it to Sherwood without teIIing us.
- You know how bad this Iooks? - How do we know that this Iead is reaI?
It's very reaI. You know how I know? Because I saw it on TV.
Dave? Hi.
You know MeI NicoIai. He's working the case.
Good to see you again, MeI.
Can someone expIain to me why I'm reading about breaks in this case...
...instead of getting caIIs from you?
- We got screwed. - Dave, come on.
You do get your name in the paper a Iot. PeopIe taIk.
I don't ever taIk about an open investigation, period. Okay, Ken?
Dave? Hey. Hi. PauI Avery.
- Can I catch a ride with you gents- - ? - Not a good idea, PauI.
He's gonna make me take a cab when we're going to the same pIace.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for choosing PSA.
- Fair enough. Fair enough. - Please take your seats.
Remember, smoking is in the last six aisles only.
Enjoy your flight.
- Cross? Hi. - Yeah.
- Detective David Toschi, SFPD. - How are you doing?
Great. Thanks for having us down today.
Not at all. I hear you have some files for us.
I'll show you mine. You show me yours.
- Frisco huh? - That's right. San Francisco.
- Ken Narlow from Napa. - Ken.
- Mel Nicolai, Justice. - Mel.
Here's what we know.
Cheri Jo Bates attended Riverside Community CoIIege.
She studies in the Iibrary the night of October 30th, 1 966.
She Ieaves with an unidentified maIe at cIosing, 9 p.m.
Her body's found the next morning in a parking lot, stabbed to death.
Her car is disabled.
Someone cut the coil in the distributor, the battery died.
The someone comes back, offers to help.
- Like Kathleen Johns. - Who?
A woman outside of Modesto, might be a Zodiac victim.
Might. Might be. I have her comp right here in this file.
Okay.
A typewritten confession was sent to the Riverside Press- Enterprise...
...on November 29th, a month after Bates' murder.
They ran it.
''I'm not sick. I am insane. But that wiII not stop the game.
This shouId be pubIished for aII to read.''
He wants to be pubIished. He caIIs it a game. This couId be our boy.
Six months Iater, the poIice, the girI's father and the paper...
...they aII received these.
DoubIe postage, just Iike Zodiac.
These are what Sherwood MorriII matched to the Zodiac Ietters?
These and the desktop. Don.
This was found a coupIe of months Iater by a janitor in RCC storage.
Sherwood got a handwriting match off wood?
Who etches in their own handwriting?
To be honest with you, our Ietters and your Ietters, I don't see it.
How did PauI Avery get his hands on the exempIars?
I gave them to him. We taIked on the phone for about an hour.
- And I toId him you were gonna be here. - You toId him we were meeting?
Yeah. I aIso toId him we don't think this is Zodiac.
Okay, wait a minute. You don't think this is Zodiac?
We got a guy we Iike for it.
We don't have enough to pin him yet, but we're sure it's him.
If you don't think this is Zodiac, why give anything to Avery?
- I'm trying to cooperate. - That's how you cooperate...
...by giving information to reporters?
About the handwriting, Sherwood says it's a match, right?
So Iet's just say that your guy did Cheri Jo. He types the confession.
Zodiac reads it in the paper and writes a Ietter taking credit for it.
- Now, that's something he's done before. - Look, now you have everything we have.
But in my opinion, you guys came south for nothing.
FUBAR, gentIemen. FUBAR.
I don't care what he says. This stiII couId be Z.
The probIem is the entire state aIready thinks it is.
WeII, there's your press agent. TaIk to him about it.
I come in peace. I don't want troubIe. Dave.
- I don't want to taIk to you now. - Just trying to do my job.
Oh, reaIIy? WeII, now I can't do mine.
We're screwed with the amount of tips and you freaked out the entire state.
I have got Napa, VaIIejo, and DOJ Iooking at me sideways...
...and Riverside's teIIing me I'm on a snipe hunt!
Cheri Jo Bates was a gift. I gave that to you.
You and Armstrong never wouId have found her.
This might not be Zodiac. That matter to you?
That Riverside may not be abIe to make a case against their suspect?
I'm out here, beating the bushes, trying to draw him out.
- We're in this together. - We're not in anything together.
- I don't want to up my circuIation. - Boy. He wrote me. He threatened my Iife.
Hey, BuIIitt. Been a year and a haIf, you gonna catch this fucking guy or not?
- Go fuck yourseIf. - HappiIy.
You shouId have caIIed me, PauI.
Thank you.
- Did you see this? - UnfortunateIy.
Here comes every Iunatic in CaIifornia.
- I'm the Zodiac. - And how did you kiII your victims?
With a gun. No, with a hammer.
AII I'm authorized to say is he's under government empIoyment.
- And who authorized you? - That's aII I'm authorized to say.
OnIy a IittIe rat bastard Iike Andre...
...couId have cut off aII the victims' hands.
Zodiac didn't cut off any of the victims' hands.
- Are you sure? - Yes, sir.
Travis and I work here side by side for 1 0 years.
His foot gets crushed in an accident and the kiIIings begin.
Coincidence?
- I don't know. - You're a cop, man. Do the math.
Have you considered the kiIIer might be PauI Avery?
FrequentIy.
He was drinking Coors, getting a Ioad on.
Starts taIking about hunting peopIe. Like that book.
Says how you can put a Iight at the end of a gun to use as a sight in the dark.
- He said that? - Yeah.
So I asked, ''How wouId you get away with it?''
And he said, ''It wouId be easy because there'd be no reaI motive to the thing.''
He said he'd write Ietters to the poIice, caII himseIf Zodiac to mess with them.
- Leigh Iiked messing with peopIe. - You're positive he said, ''Zodiac''?
Yeah. I thought it was a stupid name. So I toId him.
He got up aII upset and said, ''I don't care what you think.
I've thought about it a Iong time. That's the name I'm gonna use.''
Did you feeI Iike he'd been thinking about it a Iong time?
He was raw about Iosing his job at the schooI.
He taIked about shooting out the tires of a schooI bus...
...and picking off the ''IittIe darIings.''
- He actuaIIy used those words? - That's what made me remember.
Afterwards, I toId my wife I didn't wanna see him again. And I haven't since.
Other thing is, Leigh's into skin diving.
He's been up to that Iake a bunch of times.
Lake Berryessa? Did you ever go with him?
CoupIe times. We went fishing by Putah Creek near there.
- TeII him when you put it together. - About a year ago, in the paper...
...there was a story about the Zodiac.
And it aII comes back. I tried to caII the IocaI cops- -
- BIew him off. Thought he was a nut. - And you're sure...
...the conversation you had about Zodiac...
...took pIace on January 1 st, 1 968?
It couIdn't have been any Iater.
I started a new job in L.A. on January 20th. I had to move.
- This is my problem. This guy.... - Arthur Leigh Allen?
This guy just Iays out his entire eviI pIan to a fishing buddy on New Year's Day?
I don't know. He's angry. He's been drinking.
Been thinking about it for a whiIe. I can buy that.
So why didn't Cheney contact us sooner?
I checked. He did.
First recorded contact with the poIice department about AIIen...
...was in Pomona, January 1 0th, 1 970. He just got Iost in the shuffIe.
Did Cheney have anything against AIIen? Did AIIen screw his wife?
We're gonna do a fuII background check. But I gotta teII you, I Iike this guy.
So Iet's puII some handwriting sampIes.
Hi. I taIked to Sherwood. He got the sampIes.
- What are you having? - BLT.
The check stubs are a wash. There's not enough handwriting.
The appIication's got more, but he can't ruIe him in.
But he can't ruIe him out, either.
- WeII, that's vague. - He needs more sampIes.
AIso, our guy is a pervert. When MeI got the appIication from VaIIey Springs...
...they toId him AIIen had been fired for touching kids.
- ''Touching''? - PoIite euphemism.
- So, what do you wanna do? - Make some phone caIIs.
- Are you done with the fries? - Go ahead.
Did you have a chance to look at the copies of the Zodiac letters we sent?
Yeah. Some of this stuff is pretty creepy.
- Yeah, we know. - I mean creepy Iike Leigh.
He misspeIIs words Iike that. He thinks it's funny.
What about the handwriting?
I don't know. Don't you have experts for that stuff?
Our man at Questioned Documents says it's inconcIusive.
Maybe he did it with his other hand.
The letters are too neat for someone to have written with the wrong hand.
- But not for Leigh, right? - What do you mean?
He's ambidextrous. He can write with either hand. Didn't you guys know that?
In everyday Iife, AIIen uses his Ieft hand.
Job appIications, Ietters to friends, et cetera.
But he writes the Zodiac Ietters with his right hand...
...producing a different handwriting that he can't be Iinked to.
- We gotta see this guy, chief. - Where is he?
VaIIejo. He works at Union OiI in PinoIe. His brother's up there too.
See them both. Make sure you caII MuIanax. It is his backyard.
Oh, right, because that worked so weII for us in Riverside.
Cooperation, that's us, at aII costs.
You can taIk to him in here.
Coke machine's busted, by the way.
I'II go get him for you.
So how do you guys wanna do this?
WeII, BiII taIked to the informants. He Ieads, we foIIow?
It's okay by me.
Mr. AIIen, I'm Inspector BiII Armstrong. This is Inspector Dave Toschi...
...and Sergeant Jack MuIanax.
We're investigating the Zodiac murders in San Francisco and VaIIejo.
PIease sit down.
The informant notified us you made certain statements...
...eIeven months prior to the first Zodiac murder.
If they're true, they're quite incriminating.
- You recaII having any such conversation? - No.
Have you ever read or heard anything about the Zodiac?
When it was first in the paper, but I didn't foIIow it after.
Why not?
Too morbid.
I toId aII this to the other officer.
- Which other officer? - From VaIIejo.
Do you remember his name?
No, but it was right after the murder at the Iake.
And what did you teII this officer?
I toId him that I'd gone to SaIt Point that weekend to skin dive...
...that I was aIone but I met a coupIe there.
I have their names at home if you want them.
- That wouId be great, Arthur. - Leigh.
- What? - Leigh. Nobody caIIs me Arthur.
AIso, that day when I came home, my neighbor saw me.
It was around 4. But I forgot to teII the other officer that.
- Neighbor's name? - BiII White.
He died a week or so afterwards.
Heart attack. So I didn't think to caII to foIIow up.
The knives I had in my car with the bIood on them...
...that bIood came from a chicken that I kiIIed for dinner.
- What? - I had knives in my car that weekend.
Maybe BiII saw them and caIIed the other officer on me.
WeII, we'II be checking in on that.
WeII, Iet me ask you something eIse.
Were you ever in Southern CaIifornia at any time in 1 966?
Is this about the Riverside kiIIing?
Yes.
WeII, I guess I was there around that time. I used to go down there a Iot.
I Iike the auto races.
Informant says that you're ambidextrous?
No, that's untrue.
You can't write with both hands?
My teachers tried to make me when I was a kid...
...but I couIdn't. I'm Ieft- handed.
He aIso said that you made statements about kiIIing schooI chiIdren.
That is- - That is horribIe.
That is- - That's a horribIe thing to say.
So you weren't angry about being fired from VaIIey Springs...
...for touching your students?
I'm not the Zodiac.
And if I was, I certainIy wouIdn't teII you.
That's a nice watch.
- Thank you. - May I see it?
May I see it?
Where'd you get it?
A Christmas gift from my mother two years ago.
That's very sweet.
So teII me something, Arthur. You don't remember anyone...
...you might have had a conversation with regarding Zodiac?
Maybe Ted Kidder or PhiI Tucker at VaIIejo Recreation.
But I couIdn't be positive. I used to work there- -
The Most Dangerous Game.
- What? - The Most Dangerous Game.
That's why you're here, isn't it? It was my favorite book in high schooI.
It's about this man who waits for peopIe to get shipwrecked on his isIand.
He was tired of hunting animaIs, he hunted peopIe for the chaIIenge.
And ''Man is the most dangerous animaI of aII''?
That's the whoIe point of the story.
Great book.
Or at Ieast that's what I toId PhiI.
May I go?
Sure.
- Thanks for your time. - I'm wiIIing to heIp in any way possibIe.
I Iook forward to the day...
...when poIice officers are no Ionger referred to as ''pigs.''
Thanks.
We'II be in touch.
So does anyone think this suspect warrants further investigation?
These are copies of some of the Zodiac Ietters that were sent.
We'd Iike you to take a Iook at them.
You think my brother's the Zodiac.
- WeII, we're Iooking at him. - Are you going to arrest him?
Mrs. AIIen, we don't arrest peopIe just because we're interested in them.
- WeII, Leigh's aIways been troubIed. - Is it true about the chiIdren?
UnfortunateIy. We don't see him much anymore since we found out.
What are your feeIings about Don Cheney?
Don Cheney? My oId roommate? Was he the one who contacted you?
- That's confidentiaI. - WeII, Don's a very reIiabIe guy.
If he were to teII you something, I'd beIieve it to be true.
- This one. - What about it?
Here, he speIIs Christmas with two S's.
We got a Christmas card from Leigh years ago. He speIIed it the same way.
- ''Christ- mass.'' - WouId you stiII have that?
- I can Iook for it. - Thank you. That'd be great.
Is there anything eIse we can do to heIp?
Brother said he'd search Leigh's apartment next time he went.
- Gets you around the warrant. - For the time being.
If we do find something...
...MuIanax wiII go to the DA and we couId search the pIace properIy.
I taIked to the cop who interviewed AIIen two days after the Berryessa murders.
Doesn't remember how he got onto him, but didn't think he Iooked Iike a kiIIer...
- ...so he didn't Iike him for Z. - But you do?
- I wish I couId've taken the guy in there. - Take it sIow, Dave.
Find more stuff for Sherwood. A match wiII get us farther on the warrants.
- Avery's on 2. - TeII him to screw.
You want me to communicate that verbatim or can I spice it up a IittIe?
Christ, kid.
Yeah.
- Paul, I've been thinking... - Oh, God save us all.
The letter to Melvin Belli
was sent exactly one year after the Lake Herman Road murder.
And the one to Cheri Jo Bates' father
was sent exactly six months after her death.
- She was killed a day before Halloween. - Yeah.
And you received a Halloween card...
You know, these are all fascinating pieces of news, Robert,
it's a bit early in the day.
Paul, it's 11:00 and we missed Editorial.
- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. - No, no, no.
- I just thought that... - No, no, no.
This suspect is not your Zodiac.
This sampIe matches the canceIed checks and the appIication?
- PerfectIy. - So we've retested the Ieft hand.
- We know he's ambidextrous. - In 38 years...
...I've never seen anyone that ambidextrous.
Both hands wouId have commonaIities.
I'm sorry. Just not gonna work.
- Homicide, Toschi. - Dave, it's Jack MuIanax.
Right, MuIanax. Yeah?
We struck out with the judge. He won't sign off on a warrant.
- Why not? - Said it wasn't enough.
UnIess we bring him a handwriting match or some evidence- -
WeII, how are we gonna get evidence?
I don't know.
- I truIy am sorry. - No, I know. I thank you, Jack.
- What do you wanna do? - Don't know what I can do.
We need AIIen's right hand. We can't get it without a warrant.
Are there other guys you shouId be Iooking at?
- OnIy, what...? - Twenty- three hundred?
Okay, then.
PauI, you wrote the Justice Department...
...asking to be put in charge of the Zodiac investigation?
- I mereIy suggested- - - On our Ietterhead?
- - that those with knowIedge of the case create an information cIearinghouse...
...to promote an exchange and free fIow of ideas.
- And that you run it. - WeII, who better than me?
The marked man.
PauI, if you wanna work here, I need three things: One, stop boozing.
Two, stop doing whatever eIse it is you're doing.
And three, cut this nonsense out.
Sweetest of TempIetons, if at any time...
...you feeI my exceIIent work is no Ionger in step with this trashy provinciaI rag...
...I'II more than happiIy- -
More than happiIy decamp for greener pastures.
PauI, I mean it.
- PauI? - Yep?
What was that?
An editoriaI tete- a- tete.
- Wanna grab a drink? - It's 1 0 in the morning.
- Late breakfast? EarIy Iunch, or.... - PauI.
Are you okay?
No.
Thank you for asking.
- Shorty! - Yes?
- Let's go out for one. - PauI, where are you going?
So you moved off my brother- in- law?
We couIdn't get a warrant.
Last year we arranged for Leigh to get heIp from a sociaI worker.
He onIy went twice. We saw him recentIy for the first time in nine months.
My mother- in- Iaw brought him by to see the new baby.
After he Ieft, I went to see that sociaI worker.
He couIdn't taIk about a former patient, so I just asked him...
...if he thought Leigh was capabIe of kiIIing peopIe.
- Because of patient confidentiaIity- - - The man said yes.
Why hadn't you seen him in nine months? He's going to schooI in Santa Rosa.
- Santa Rosa? Where is he Iiving? - In his traiIer.
- In Santa Rosa? - Sonoma County.
We wouIdn't have to go through the VaIIejo DA.
It's been 1 1 months and now you wanna search his traiIer?
If we find something, great.
If not, we get his prints and handwriting sampIes from both hands.
I thought Sherwood shut you down.
What if I can get a second opinion?
I don't wanna step on Sherwood's toes. He trained me.
AII I need to know is if the suspect is ambidextrous...
...couId he possibIy have written those Ietters with his other hand?
Between you and me?
Because there are differing schooIs of thought on this....
Get the sampIes of his other hand. If he's the Zodiac, you'II get a match.
That's the current thinking, according to Terry Pascoe.
I spoke to a psychoIogist who'd be wiIIing to testify...
...that someone who undergoes a personaIity change Iike Zodiac...
...wouId manifest it physicaIIy, aItering his handwriting.
Which is why Sherwood couIdn't get a match from AIIen's sampIes.
We got Terry Pascoe, this psychoIogy guy...
...coupIed with Cheney, it couId be enough for a warrant.
Get Cheney on the record.
"And that he would call himself Zodiac."
Yes.And you're willing to swear to this,
under oath, in Superior Court?
Without any hesitation.
Thank you very much, Mr. Cheney. Thank you very much for your time.
Thank you.
Suspect is Arthur Leigh Allen.
Lives in Sunset Trailer Court in Santa Rosa, California.
Physical description.
Allen is similar in height, weight and build
to a man seen at Lake Berryessa on the day of the stabbings.
I understand he doesn't look much like the San Francisco composite.
True. Height and weight are sketchy,
but lumbering Caucasian with a crew cut is right on.
We never had much confidence in the composite from the kids.
The patrolman who say Zodiac that night
said he didn't look much like the sketch.
Military boot prints.
Allen was in the Navy. Wears a size 10- and- a- half.
Same size as the prints found at Berryessa.
What about gun?
Cheney says Allen owns several firearms. We'll list them in the warrant.
- And the ciphers. - Could be code training in the Navy,
and people have seen Allen with ciphers in the past.
Really? Who?
That would be his sister- in- law and a man named Phil Tucker
that he worked with at a public pool in Vallejo.
And Phil Tucker told us about a conversation that he had with Allen
about how to attach a flashlight to the barrel of a gun.
That gives us two sources on the ciphers and two on the flashlight.
What about his threats on children?
Suspect worked for elementary schools
and was fired for molestation in March, April '68.
- Could give him motive. - At the very least, it's home turf.
He'd have knowledge of bus routes,
which the two major threats centered around.
What about the bomb?
Allen works as a chemist.
Take him through the geography.
Vallejo murders.
Allen lives in Vallejo with his mother in her basement.
Berryessa murder. On the day that the two kids were stabbed
his neighbor saw bloody knives in his truck
which he claimed were used to kill a chicken.
Does he have any alibis?
He claimed he did, but he's been unable to produce the names
of the couple he supposedly met on the day of Berryessa.
The bottom line is that Allen can't alibi up on anything.
Riverside, Vallejo, the lake or us.
- You want to tell me about the name? - What name?
Zodiac.
Allen wears a watch that bears both the word and crosshair symbol.
And he mentioned Zodiac to Cheney
a year and a half before it appeared in any letter.
- John... - That's pretty good, guys.
- We think so, too. - Let's take it to a judge.
Mr. AIIen?
This is the Santa Rosa PoIice Department.We have a warrant to search your residence.
HeIIo?
I'II check with the neighbors.
- CIose the door. - CIose the door.
There's rodents running around.
Neighbor said he tore out of here about haIf- hour ago.
- You think somebody tipped him? - We're not Ieaving tiII he comes back.
I'II check the back.
- Jesus. - What?
SquirreIs.
Piece of work, this guy.
Not one, but two bIue windbreakers.
- Like the Stine scene? - We'II have those checked for bIood.
And a pair of bIack gIoves.
Men's 7, just Iike the ones we found in the cab.
WeII, he's got the same size shoes and gIoves as Z.
ProbabIy just a coincidence.
Dave, I got a gun. Check that. Two guns.
Both .22s. One automatic, one revoIver.
WeII, that's interesting.
Because he happens to have an M- 1 rifIe here in the cIoset.
For IittIe darIings bouncing off buses.
Someone's here.
HeIIo, Arthur. Remember us?
- No. - On the handwriting?
BaIIistics, no match. Prints, no match. Writing, no match.
On both hands, right? Because we got handwriting from both his hands.
And neither hand matches.
- Forget Sherwood. Get another opinion. - FeIIas, he's not your guy.
Damn it.
Hey.
What do you want?
Time off?
A hug?
Do you know what the worst part of this is?
I can't teII if I wanted it to be AIIen so bad because I thought it was him...
...or I want this to be over.
It's because you thought it was him. And I did too.
You know what? Take some time off.
Spend some time with your wife and the kids.
Go to CandIestick. See a movie.
''To the city of San Francisco, I will enjoy killing one person every day...
...until you pay me $ 1 00,000.
If you agree, say so tomorrow morning...
...in the personal column San Francisco ChronicIe...
...and I will set up meeting.
If I do not hear from you...
...it will be my next pleasure to kill a Catholic priest or a.... ''
''Scorpio. ''
Who's out of their minds?
I've gotta get out of here.
Where the hell does he expect me to find $ 1 00,000?
You're not thinking of paying him, are you, Mr. Mayor?
The city of San Francisco does not pay criminals not to commit crime.
- Chief, who's in charge of this? - Inspector Callahan. Waiting outside.
The kiIIer gets shot in the chest.
- That's how the- - That's how it ends. - Do I know you?
I'm Robert Graysmith. I work at the Chronicle with PauI Avery.
Dave Toschi. Nice to meet you.
That CaIIahan did a heII of a job with your case.
Yeah. No need for due process, right?
- What do you do? - I'm a cartoonist.
- That's nice. - You're gonna catch him.
PaI, they're aIready making movies about it.
We today have concluded an agreement
to end the war and bring peace with honor in Vietnam.
...Charles Manson for the Tate- La Bianca mass murders...
Guilty in the Chowchilla kidnapping case.
In the murder trial of one...
Chairman Mao died today...
...an absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon...
...has now led to the death of 50,000 Americans
and several hundred thousand Vietnamese...
Patricia Hearst is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army...
All of us should stand up together and say, "No more."
Your Declaration of Independence spreads that...
Americans admire the United Kingdom...
Mr. Hoffa has disappeared.
If we despise our own government...
...that the police have captured a man
whom they believe to be the "Son of Sam..."
Hi. We haven't met. I'm Robert Graysmith.
I'm Duffy Jennings.
- Nice to meet you. - Good to meet you, man.
You got a great desk. Guy who used to work here was a great reporter.
Oh, yeah. Oh, I'm sure he was. I mean, it's a honor to Ieave the Chronicle...
...and go work for the Sacramento Bee.
Dare to dream, right, Robert?
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you too.
I'm just right down there at the Art Department...
...if you need anything, Duffy.
- You sure you don't want the car, BiII? - It's your turn.
You couId just drop me off at my pIace and take the car.
You shouId keep the car.
Yeah?
I'm not coming in tomorrow.
Why? What's up?
I'm done.
I put in for a transfer.
- Where? - Looking at Fraud.
I can't be on caII anymore.
I wanna see these kids grow up.
Hey, good for you, BiII.
- You'II be okay. - Yeah. I'II be fine.
Hey...
...I'm not Ieaving you hoIding the bag on anything, am I?
No.
Okay.
Hey, you know what?
Maybe you'II have a chance to try your Japanese food, the raw stuff.
Yeah.
''I'm not PauI Avery.''
The boys need to be tucked in and the baby needs changing.
- I'II fIip you for it. - You wish.
Nobody has more Zodiac crap than you do.
- Are you kidding me? - Hi, PauI.
Permission to come aboard.
Right there. You got shoes on. This is perfect right here.
- That's the one. - Okay.
See that? Mesmerizing.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. My own kids wouId kiII me for one of those.
- How are you? - Fantastic.
I mean, admittedIy, the Bee ain't exactIy the Chron, but fuck it, right?
Do you want a drink? I don't have anything bIue, but I got....
Don't worry about that. Don't worry about it.
It's no bother at aII. Nobody comes by from the oId days.
Cheers.
To your heaIth and mine.
MostIy mine.
So, what's new?
I've been thinking. Somebody shouId write a book.
Somebody shouId write a fucking book, that's for sure.
- About what? - About Zodiac.
It's not new.
I've been thinking that if you put aII the information together...
...maybe you couId jog something Ioose. And I was thinking...
- ...you know the case best. - Yeah. That's true.
And you know aII the pIayers and you have aII the fiIes.
- Lost them. - You Iost them?
Or I tossed them. I don't know. I moved onto a boat.
You know that we work in the daiIy business, right? As in, today?
What do you think we were doing back then?
More peopIe die in the East Bay commute every three months...
...than that idiot ever kiIIed.
He offed a few citizens and he wrote a few Ietters and he faded into a footnote.
Not that I haven't been sitting here idIy waiting for you to drop by...
...and reinvigorate my sense of purpose.
It was four years ago. Let it fucking go.
You're wrong. It was important.
Then what did you ever do about it...
...if it was so important? What did you ever do?
You hovered over my desk, you stoIe from wastebaskets.
Am I being unkind?
Oh, that's right, I forgot. You went to the Iibrary.
I'm sorry I bothered you.
- Hey, hi. - Hi.
- Where you been? - The Iibrary.
Thank you.
- Inspector Toschi? - Yeah? One moment, pIease.
- Hi. - Hi.
We met at the movies once.
- It must have been magicaI. - I'm Robert Graysmith.
I work at the Chronicle. I was wondering if I couId buy you Iunch.
Sure, why not?
So you're a friend of PauI Avery's?
He's actuaIIy the reason I'm here.
I wanted to ask you about Zodiac.
WeII, I appreciate the interest, but we don't discuss open cases.
Oh, weII, what's going on with it, day- to- day?
We're activeIy pursuing aII Ieads.
And you're the onIy one on it, right?
Mr. Graysmith...
...Zodiac hasn't written in three years.
You know how many murders we've had in San Francisco since?
- No. - Over 200.
That's a Iot of dead peopIe and grieving famiIies that need heIp.
So nobody cares.
Excuse me? I care.
Okay. Can I show you something?
I've been doing research on the first cipher.
Everything an amateur wouId need to create it can be found in these books.
Now, I started thinking that if you can track these books...
...then maybe you couId track the man.
So I remember you thought that Zodiac was miIitary...
...so I went to every base Iibrary and I got a Iist of every person...
...who's ever checked out these books and that's when I found this.
- Missing. - It means they were stoIen.
So aImost every book on ciphers was stoIen from the Presidio Library?
And the OakIand Army TerminaI Library.
Somebody didn't want a record of ever having checked out these books.
Who are you again?
I just wanna heIp.
I can't aIIow you to heIp.
I can't discuss the case with you. I can't give you information...
...and I certainIy couIdn't teII you to go see Ken NarIow in Napa.
N- A- R- L- O- W.
I'm sorry, Mr. Graysmith, but we don't cooperate with writers.
WeII, I'm not a writer, I'm a cartoonist.
- And Dave Toschi sent you? - Yes.
- Why? - Maybe he- -
Maybe he thought that I couId do some good.
- What are you, some kind of boy scout? - EagIe Scout, actuaIIy. First cIass.
WeII, if you wanna do this, don't Iet me stop you.
Better start with VaIIejo, Jack MuIanax.
I understand what you're trying to do...
...but this is an open poIice investigation.
I'm a friend of Dave Toschi's.
And he said that you might be abIe to heIp.
I mean, the case is dead. Zodiac's Iong gone.
He's yesterday's news, right?
That's what they say.
So, what's the harm?
No pens, no paper.
Anything that's reIevant, you better remember in your head.
Okay.
- Okay, here we go. - Which one?
AII of them. There's more in the next room. They're aII marked with these numbers.
- ''243- 1 46.'' - You don't smoke, do you?
Once. In high schooI.
Let me see this.
Thank you.
Man, you really creeped us out.
''Nine millimeter. ''
''Said nothing and began firing. ''
''Darlene's sister, Linda. It was all just deep breathing. George. ''
''It was a strange man. George. ''
Thank you so much.
Oh, briefcase. Thanks.
- Hey, Jack. - Hey, Bawart.
- Who's that? - That's Graysmith.
Some cartoonist. Thinks he's gonna soIve the Zodiac.
WeII, good for him.
Traffic troubles won't be affecting very many commuters.
Highway 37, blocked between Navarro and Vallejo.
A gasoline tanker truck overturned tonight....
- Thank you for meeting me. - No. We're not meeting.
We're just two guys sitting on the same bench.
I've got five minutes. I've gotta get back to the HaII.
As far as you know, did anyone ever get in touch with Mageau...
...during your investigation and show him suspect photos?
Why?
He's the onIy surviving victim who saw Zodiac without a mask.
No, why are you asking me? That's VaIIejo's case.
PauI Stine is mine. You've got four minutes now.
Look, DarIene Ferrin was being foIIowed.
MuIanax says they found this guy, a George Waters?
He aIso said a Iot of admirers wouId come to the restaurant where she worked.
- She was popuIar. - Very.
Yeah, so she and her husband, they move into their new house.
And one night, they throw this painting party.
- What's a painting party? - A party where peopIe heIp you paint.
- Sounds Iike a terribIe party. - WeII, supposedIy...
...somebody who's not Waters shows up.
And DarIene is terrified of him.
So you think that DarIene knew Zodiac?
And if Zodiac knew DarIene, then maybe Mageau knows Zodiac.
Maybe. But Mageau's gone.
If you wanna connect DarIene to Zodiac, you'II have to find another way.
I have another way. Phone caIIs the night of DarIene's murder.
- Yeah, Zodiac caIIed the poIice. - No, there were four other caIIs.
Two to DarIene's house, DarIene's brother- in- Iaw and father- in- Iaw.
Just heavy breathing. They started around 1 :30 a.m.
And this was before anyone in the famiIy knew that DarIene had been shot.
- This was in the VaIIejo fiIes? - Yeah.
- Goddamn it. - It's more than just coincidence.
Somebody doesn't just randomIy prank phone caII a victim's entire famiIy...
...90 minutes after they were shot.
So either Zodiac shoots a random coupIe, then he recognizes DarIene....
Or DarIene was shot on purpose.
Either way, Zodiac had to have known DarIene.
That's good, Robert.
So I can't find Mageau, maybe I can find DarIene's sister.
Maybe she can teII me who this mystery man is.
Try that. I've got to go. She's very cute.
You know, it's interesting that you shouId mention Zodiac caIIing peopIe at home.
- He did that in San Francisco once. - What? Who did he caII?
I can't teII you. That's priviIeged information.
But maybe MeIvin BeIIi couId.
MeIvin BeIIi. How do I get to MeIvin BeIIi?
- He shouId be aIong soon. - Oh, that's aII right.
I've reaIIy onIy been waiting two hours.... He's usuaIIy not this Iate.
Oh, cookies. Thank you. These Iook great.
You are here on business?
I'm writing a book about the Zodiac.
I remember that. I spoke to him.
- You mean to Mr. BeIIi about the case? - No, to the Zodiac when he caIIed.
He said he had to kiII because it was his birthday.
He said it.... Wait, he said it was his birthday?
Yes. You want something to drink?
When was this?
So many years ago.
Mr. BeIIi was away for Christmas. Gone for a week.
The Zodiac caIIed, wanting to taIk to him.
I said, ''He is not here.''
He said, ''I have to kiII. Today is my birthday.''
And then he hangs up.
Then the Ietter arrived.
So the caII came before the Ietter of December 20th.
Mr. BeIIi was gone for a week?
He came back on Christmas. Not a good day to work.
So he Ieft on the 1 8th.
- Is that heIpfuI? - She said it was his birthday.
Well, you have to confirm that, now wouldn't you?
How? How?
Well, I never spoke to her, but maybe my partner did.
- How do I get ahoId of him? - You don't. Bill wanted out of this.
As far as I'm concerned, he should stay out.
How do I confirm it?
Well, if my partner did talk to someone from Justice...
...they would've had to put that in a report. That's standard procedure.
- Okay. - Mel Nicolai.
- Thank you. - Goodbye.
- I just need to confirm a date. - Mr. Graysmith.
I've narrowed it down between the 1 8th and the 20th of December- -
Okay, I'II pIay. Let's say this phone caII did take pIace.
Let's say it reaIIy was Zodiac. Why wouId he voIunteer the day he was born?
PIus, nobody died on December 1 8th...
...Iike nobody died over the weekend he was gonna kiII a dozen peopIe...
...or when he was gonna shoot schooI kids.
- He's a Iiar, Mr. Graysmith. - What if he made a mistake?
What if he wasn't Iying, if it was him? He didn't expect a nice person to pick up.
What if, what if, what if?
Look, off the record, BiII Armstrong checked this out.
We took this very seriousIy.
None of the suspects had the same birthday as this phantom caIIer.
BiII Armstrong.
Can I give you a piece of advice? You're Iooking in the wrong pIace.
Handwriting, fingerprints, that's what this thing's about.
Stick to the evidence.
Hey.
Hey. How was your day?
Long.
Who's Sherwood MorriII?
He's a handwriting expert in Sacramento.
He caIIed. He said he couId meet you tomorrow morning at 7.
Oh, great.
So you're taking off work?
Just an hour.
Sacramento's two hours away.
- ReaIIy? - Yes.
What's this?
Oh, that's the- - That articIe.
''Robert Graysmith has quietIy been shopping his book about the Zodiac.''
Yeah.
- It taIks aII about you researching Zodiac. - WeII, that's what the articIe's about.
I'm not sure we want peopIe to know that.
Why, are you embarrassed?
Robert, what's the one thing we know about Zodiac?
He reads the Chronicle?
Yeah, but he's never gonna read Herb Caen.
- HeIIo. - Mr. Graysmith?
The Robert Graysmith mentioned in the paper today?
Yeah?
I can tell you who the Zodiac is.
Who is this? The Zodiac Killer is obsessed with movies.
He recorded his murders on film.
I tried to tell the police, but they wouldn't follow through on it.
There's a man you need to find. His name is Bob Vaughn.
- Pen, pen. - V- A- U- G- H- N.
He's a friend of the Zodiac's.
Mr. Vaughn does not know his friend is a killer...
...and he's storing some film canisters for him.
In these canisters is the evidence.
Okay, yeah, friend? Who's his friend?
- You have quite enough to get started. - Oh, pIease.
The Zodiac's name is Rick Marshall.
Your toast is burning.
We choose at some point in our Iives how to physicaIIy construct each Ietter.
Once we Iock that into our brains...
...our handwriting may change over the years...
...but the moves themseIves remain unaItered. Understand?
Yes.
Except Zodiac's doesn't.
SpecificaIIy with his K.
In his first Ietters, he executed the K with two strokes.
- Later Ietters, he did them with three. - Why?
We don't know. Excuse me, I gotta spray this.
How many suspects were cIeared through handwriting?
AII of them. AIso the print in the cab. No match was ever found.
Is there any way that someone couId beat a handwriting test?
No. Whoever the Zodiac is, he's not someone I cIeared.
About a month ago, a man showed up on my doorstep very distraught.
Name was WaIIace Penny.
He said he knew who the Zodiac was. Gave me a name.
- Rick, Rick somebody. - Rick MarshaII?
- Yeah. - The man you taIked to caIIed me too.
After he Ieft, then I checked my fiIes. I never cIeared a Rick MarshaII.
HeIIo?
HeIIo. Who is this?
It's a wrong number.
Does the name Rick MarshaII mean anything to you?
- What are you after? - What do you got?
HypotheticaIIy, you just named my favorite suspect in the whoIe case.
This is off the record. CoupIe years back, I was trying to get MarshaII's prints.
I handed him a photo. He Iooks at it.
He's about to give it back and he says:
''My goodness, I got fingerprints aII over this.''
And he wipes them off.
Why didn't you test him for handwriting?
Because when they finaIIy did run his prints...
...they cIeared him against the one in Stine's cab.
- So it's not him. - Maybe yes, maybe no.
No. What do you mean?
Zodiac Ieft gIoves behind at the scene.
If he had the foresight to bring gIoves...
...how's he gonna accidentaIIy Ieave a print behind?
But it was in the victim's bIood.
CouId have been one of the bystanders or a cop just reaches out...faIse print.
But that print disquaIified 2500 suspects.
- Which is why we used handwriting. - But not for MarshaII.
S.F.P.D. saw a handwritten sign in the window of his house...
...decided it Iooked nothing Iike the Z Ietters, so they moved on.
How do they know that Rick MarshaII wrote the sign?
My thoughts exactIy.
Rick MarshaII was a Navy man.
He received code training. He was aIso a projectionist at a siIent- fiIm theater.
How do I get copies of MarshaII's handwriting?
Three ways. One, get a warrant, which you can't. Two, get him to voIunteer...
- ...which he won't. - Yeah, and three?
Get creative.
I don't know what to tell you. You get it, I'll analyze it.
- Beyond that, you're on your own. - What about the guy who saw you?
The one who caIIed me?
You mean Wallace Penny?
Yeah. Did he Ieave a number?
- Hello? - Hi, this is Robert Graysmith.
- How did you find me? - I need a sampIe of MarshaII's writing.
I told you. Vaughn is who- -
Mr. Penny, if Rick MarshaII is the Zodiac...
...I need a sampIe of his handwriting to confirm it.
Can you heIp me or not?
Rick used to draw movie posters for the theater Vaughn worked at.
- I'll send one down. - Thank you.
I'II need more sampIes.
- Yeah, but is it- - ? - It's as cIose as I've ever seen.
Tread IightIy here. We're taIking about impIicating this man as the Zodiac.
I can get more. I'II just find Vaughn and I'II track down Linda.
I mean, Linda is DarIene's sister. I've been to the DMV...
...and I taIked to her parents, but stiII, nobody knows where to find her.
Mr. Graysmith, most of the writing matches the exempIar.
Though it's the part that doesn't match that scares me the most.
- What do you mean? - WeII, on the poster...
...the one Ietter that absoIuteIy, positiveIy does not match...
...is the Ietter K.
You wouIdn't happen to have any AnimaI Crackers in there, wouId you?
Unit 5, Toschi needs to call in on a landline.
- Dispatch. - Hey. Dave Toschi.
I'll connect you.
- Dave? - Yeah. What's up?
Jennings here from the Chronicle.
It came in this morning. You need to see it.
See what?
The new Zodiac letter. And it mentions you.
Okay, okay.
Shit. AII right, come on. HaII of Justice.
Now. Come on, come on, come on.
Dave.
Do you have it with you?
''This is the Zodiac speaking. I'm back with you.
TeII Herb Caen I am here, I have aIways been here.
That city pig Toschi is good, but I am smarter and better.
He wiII get tired, then Ieave me aIone.
I'm waiting for a good movie about me. Who wiII pIay me?
I'm now in controI of aII things.''
These guys are from InternaI Affairs.
We need to taIk.
Good evening. Our top story:
The San Francisco Police Department has confirmed...
...that the man who calls himself Zodiac and terrorized the Bay Area...
...has broken his silence of 5 1 months.
In a letter claiming, ''I am back with you''...
...the Zodiac makes no overt threats against the citizenry...
...and muses that his life would make the best movie yet.
These carrots are perfect.
- Just go. - This message also mentions...
...San Francisco ChronicIe columnist Herb Caen...
...and the department's own David Toschi by name.
May I be excused?
You have to come back and finish what's on that pIate.
Our team's coverage on the cipher slayer's return...
...begins as Alan Freeman has more.
Thank you, Eric. ChronicIe columnist Armistead Maupin said...
...that he thinks not only is this new letter a forgery...
...but it was written by the very man trusted to hunt down this killer...
...David Toschi. Maupin, a very well- respected author...
...has gone on record saying that he believes Toschi wrote the letter...
...to drum up publicity for himself.
Maupin used David as a character in his coIumn.
David got a kick out of it and wrote a coupIe of anonymous Ietters...
...asking for the character to be brought back.
It was like writing fan mail to himself. That's all.
But David did not write that letter.
No, I'm sure that he didn't. I'm sure this wiII aII bIow over.
''Blow over''?
They kicked him out of Homicide.
They made him give his handwriting Iike some common criminaI.
- May I taIk to him? - No.
Can you just ask him if he ever investigated a man named Rick MarshaII?
Is that aII you can think about?
Mr. Graysmith, Maupin works at your paper. We trust- -
- This girI, she wants music Iessons? - Dave. Dave.
- Okay, see you Iater. - I'II catch up to you.
You stop caIIing my house. Do you understand me?
I need your heIp to find Linda.
- Jesus. - Look, two seconds.
Look, we've been running handwriting sampIes.
- Who's we? - Sherwood and I.
Sherwood? Sherwood who was fired from Questioned Documents?
- Sherwood who drinks Iike PauI Avery? - He retired.
Is that what he toId you?
- What, are you saying he's wrong? - I'm saying stop caIIing my house.
- We ran them on MarshaII. - No, Robert.
- No, I know you don't think it's him. - I am not having this conversation.
And I can't taIk to Mageau or Linda, so I'm- -
- Robert, stop it. - What? What?
The Rick MarshaIIs of this worId wiII suck you dry. They're bIind aIIeys.
But he said he wasn't gonna announce his murders anymore, Dave.
Do you know what the chances of us arresting someone are now?
Too much time has gone by, okay? Too much of the evidence is Iost.
PeopIe get oId, Robert. They forget.
Now, I have been a cop for 25 years. Murder poIice for 1 2.
- What do you do? - You know what I do.
- You're a cartoonist. - So, what are you saying?
I am saying Zodiac was my job. It is not yours.
- He's stiII out there. - No, I am through with this.
I am through with you.
What about September 26, 1 970?
- Okay, which one was that? - ''Lake Tahoe Nurse Goes Missing.''
- One day before the vernaI equinox. Dad? - Yeah. Mark that.
Oh, got another one. June 1 9th, 1 97 1 .
That's gotta be near the summer soIstice.
Oh, guys. Don't teII Mom about our speciaI project, okay?
How come you and Mom don't sIeep in the same bed anymore?
- HeIIo? - Mr. Graysmith, Ken Narlow from Napa.
Oh, Captain NarIow. Thank you for caIIing me back.
Yeah. How can I help?
I caIIed because we've been cross- referencing Iunar cycIes...
...with the Zodiac's timeIine.
More often than not, each cycIe since '69 corresponds with an attack...
...or with one of the Ietters or an unsoIved homicide.
- Who's working with you on this? - Some coIIeagues.
Dad?
- Ken, can you hoId on one second? - Dad?
- What is it? - What's this?
In the decade since the Zodiac's last cipher was received...
...every federal agency has taken a crack at decoding it.
But today, where those agencies had failed, a cartoonist has succeeded.
How did you do it?
Just a lot of books from the library...
...and I love puzzles, so I just....
Yeah. The fucking Iibrary.
I believe you can accomplish anything that you put your mind- -
That's a J? Okay. Honor Camp?
Thank you so much.
Hey, we found Linda. She's in jaiI. Isn't that great?
- Why'd you do it? - She'II identify Rick- -
- What are you taIking about? - You went on TV.
You put yourseIf out there for him to see. You're being paranoid.
Then who's been caIIing our house in the middIe of the night?
Nobody, I- -
- What's it gonna take for you to be done? - I can't taIk about this.
I have to go see Bob Vaughn.
WeII, that's too bad, because we're gonna taIk about this.
When is it gonna be finished? When you catch him, when you arrest him?
- Be serious. - I am serious.
I need to know who he is.
I need to stand there. I need to Iook him in the eye...
...and I need to know that it's him.
Is that more important than your famiIy's safety?
Of course not.
Why? Why do you need to do this?
Why?
Because nobody eIse wiII.
That's not good enough.
Are you done? Can I go?
- Mr. Vaughn? - Mr. Graysmith?
- Yes. - Hi. You needed to speak to me?
Yes. There's a coffee shop right on the corner.
- Why don't we just go to my home? - Oh, I don't wanna put you out.
It's no troubIe at aII. Where are you parked?
Just right there.
You can foIIow me?
Okay.
Watch your step.
- Very nice house. - Oh, thank you.
It's very rustic.
- Can I take your jacket? - No, thank you, I'm fine.
Okay. This way, pIease.
- Have a seat. - Thank you.
- How about some tea? - Oh, no, I'm aII right.
- You sure? - Yes.
I wanted to ask you about a fiIm that the Avenue may have pIayed...
...whiIe you were the organist there, The Most Dangerous Game?
It's a cIassic. RKO. 1 932.
Fay Wray, JoeI McCrea, LesIie Banks. We've run that picture many times.
In '68, '69?
I'd have to check my records. Why?
Do you remember the Zodiac?
This is about Rick MarshaII, isn't it?
- He was a projectionist there, right? - For a time, yes.
But I have no occasion to correspond with him these days.
Okay, weII, there is a connection...
...between one of the Zodiac attacks and that fiIm.
You mean the symboI?
HoId on.
The Zodiac symboI on fiIm. It's on the countdown.
It's trimmed off each reeI before it's shown...
...but it aIways arrives with it.
Right there.
The first time I saw it in the papers, I thought about that.
We got a tip...
...that Rick Ieft a fiIm canister here that he toId you never to open.
Tip about a mysterious fiIm canister?
Is it true?
Yes.
- Did you open it? - No.
- May I see it? - Rick took it back in 1 972.
This tip is how you got it in your head that Rick is the Zodiac?
That and the poster.
The poster?
The poster that Rick drew.
The handwriting is the cIosest that we have ever come to a match.
Rick didn't draw any posters.
No, he drew this one.
Mr. Graysmith, I do the posters myseIf.
That's my handwriting.
I won't take any more of your time.
Why don't I just go and find out when we pIayed that fiIm?
Oh, that's aII right.
It's not a probIem. They're just down in the basement.
Not many peopIe have basements in CaIifornia.
I do.
Coming, Mr. Graysmith?
The originaI studio one- sheets I aIways kept for myseIf.
The cheapo knockoffs Iike you brought today...
...I end up tossing into the back aIIey.
'69.
You Iive aIone?
Most Dangerous Game ran in May '69.
So that wouId be about nine weeks before the first Zodiac Ietter, correct?
Yeah.
Do you think he saw the fiIm in our theater and was inspired?
Are you sure there's nobody eIse in the house?
WouId you Iike to go upstairs and check?
No.
Thank you. Thanks for everything.
You're weIcome.
It's Iocked.
Thank you.
Good night, Mr. Graysmith.
Gotta be two kiIIers. One has the map, the other one kiIIs....
Guys?
You've got five minutes.
Linda?
Hi, I'm Robert.
Did you get my note?
- What's this about? - Zodiac.
Figures.
- You got the Iook. - What Iook?
I didn't mean anything.
TeII me about this painting party.
I toId the cops about that so Iong ago.
DarIene aIways had a Iot of boys around, even though she was married.
And this one guy was weird, though.
He used to bring her presents from Tijuana and....
I don't know why she was friends with him.
But she once toId me he'd kiIIed somebody.
ReaIIy?
Yeah, I think maybe when he was in the service.
- Navy? - I think so.
Was he into movies? Was he a movie buff?
I can teII you that he was not into peopIe.
The party DarIene threw, peopIe were supposed to just show up...
...and drink beer, heIp paint.
But this guy showed up in a suit...
...and just sat in a chair aII by himseIf aII night Iong.
Didn't taIk to anyone.
And DarIene toId me to stay away from him. She was scared of him.
CoupIe weeks Iater, she was dead.
I'm sorry. Do you remember his name?
I mean, it was short, Iike a nickname. Like Stan.
- Rick? - No, I don't think so.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
How can you be sure? It was Iong ago. Think hard.
I am thinking hard.
It was Rick.
- No, it wasn't. - It was Rick. It was Rick MarshaII.
- No. - Just say it.
It wasn't Rick.
It was Leigh.
- Leigh? - Yeah, Leigh.
Sounds right.
Officer!
- I need you to Iet me in. - Is this an emergency?
No, I just need to see one fiIe.
You need to come back tomorrow morning, 8 a.m., when we're open.
Sergeant! Sergeant MuIanax!
Sergeant, I just need to see one fiIe! Just give me five minutes.
I know exactIy where it is.
PIease.
I shouIdn't be taIking to you.
- You got five minutes. - Okay.
Here. Here.
Linda states that some of DarIene's cIosest friends are Leigh...
...who used to bring DarIene presents from Tijuana.
- So what? - He knew her.
Linda said Leigh. This is Leigh.
No. That's just one name in a fiIe that contains hundreds. It's nothing.
- Dave Toschi- - - Agrees with me.
Our investigation into this subject is over.
I'm sorry.
HeIIo.
Who's there?
- You didn't return my caIIs. - I've been kind of busy.
Yeah. I can see that.
How's the book coming?
I tried to send you these.
I caIIed the Chron.
WeII, I'm not a cartoonist anymore, so....
Yeah, I heard.
When's the Iast time you ate something?
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Did it ever?
Yeah, it did.
Robert, it was just the date that didn't end.
You don't mean that.
A IittIe.
The kids miss you.
I can't have them see me Iike this.
Neither can I. So do whatever you have to...
...but finish this.
Dave.
Dave. It's Robert.
- Dave! - Is he actuaIIy here?
I'm gonna kiII him.
- Dave. - I'm caIIing S.F.P.D. Where's my gun?
- Dave. - Robert, go away.
- Dave, he made a mistake. - Get away from the window.
- I'II meet you around front. - No, you won't.
- You have to hear this. - No, I don't, Robert.
The birthday was the one time that he was weak.
- The one time he gave something away. - I'm caIIing the poIice.
It's Arthur Leigh AIIen!
Where did you get that name?
He caIIed the BeIIis' house. December '69.''I need to kiII. Today's my birthday.''
It was his birthday.
Arthur Leigh AIIen was born on December 1 8th.
Get in here.
- Here you go. - Thanks.
He wrote me, you know?
2500 suspects, the onIy one who ever wrote me a Ietter was Leigh AIIen.
- They Iike to heIp, you know, sometimes. - Yes, Robert, I know.
He was arrested January 1 975 for moIestation.
He sent me that when he got out.
''If I can ever be of any heIp to you, just Iet me know.
I'm sorry I wasn't your man.'' And it's typewritten.
Using a typewriter is not a crime.
And he knew DarIene.
It's in the VaIIejo fiIes.
MuIanax said that he was your favorite suspect...
...that you spent two years on him, and that nobody ever came cIose.
AII the evidence said no.
Sherwood disquaIified his handwriting.
The same Sherwood that drinks Iike PauI Avery now?
Yes, you have MorriII saying this won't work, but you aIso have Terry Pascoe- -
- His protege. - Yeah, his protege.
But a handwriting expert nonetheIess.
And he's saying, ''Do not disquaIify this suspect.''
So the two canceI each other out.
They don't. It was Sherwood's case. He was the head of Questioned Documents.
If it went to triaI, aII the defense wouId have to do is caII Sherwood to the stand.
There was no way of getting AIIen into court, because there was no evidence.
What do you mean? You have him with the ciphers.
The miIitary boot prints. The same size gIoves.
The Most Dangerous Game. The watch. The background with schooI chiIdren.
The misspeIIings of ''Christ- mass.'' Knives. AII circumstantiaI.
PauI Stine's shirt, his waIIet, his keys.
We shouId have found one of those things in that traiIer. We didn't.
Catherine AIIen states that Leigh cIeaned out his traiIer on Friday after work...
...and moved it to Santa Rosa on Saturday, August 7th, 1 97 1 .
You interviewed him on August 4th. So he's cIeaning out his traiIer...
...he's moving into a different county 48 hours after you interviewed him?
Okay. Okay.
- Look at the stuff side by side, Dave. - AII right.
Okay, Arthur Leigh AIIen and the Zodiac, their timeIines.
- When was the first murder in VaIIejo? - Christmas, 1 968.
Eight months before, AIIen is fired for moIesting students.
His famiIy discovers he's a pedophiIe.
- When do the Ietters begin? - JuIy '69.
After the murder of DarIene Ferrin.
And they continue untiI you go to see him at work.
After that, do any of the Ietters contain swatches of Stine's shirt?
No, he dumped them. He got scared. He knew you were onto him.
So when's the next Ietter from Zodiac?
Not untiI January of 1 974.
He is siIent for three years. In '74, he feeIs comfortabIe again.
Everybody's moved off AIIen as a suspect.
What do we get? Three new Ietters from Zodiac in January, May and JuIy in '74.
- But then the Ietters stop. - What happens to AIIen?
He's arrested.
January, 1 975, they send him to Atascadero.
We don't get another Ietter the entire time he's there.
- When is he reIeased? - August '77.
AIIen gets out. He types you an apoIogy, and then what?
We get our first new Zodiac Ietter in four years.
Okay, Zodiac had to have known DarIene Ferrin, right?
Yes, the phone caIIs on the night of her murder.
Because of the VaIIejo fiIe, we know that DarIene knew a man named Leigh?
- Yes. - So aII coincidence aside, Robert...
...how can you be sure that Leigh is the Leigh from this fiIe?
VaIIejo is smaII, but it's not that smaII. How do you put the two together?
A case that's covered Northern and Southern CaIifornia...
...with victims and suspects spread over hundreds of miIes...
- ...wouId you agree? - Yes.
DarIene worked at the VaIIejo House of Pancakes...
...on the corner of Tennessee and CaroII.
Arthur Leigh AIIen Iived in his mother's basement on Fresno Street.
Door to door, that is Iess than 50 yards.
Is that true?
I've waIked it.
Jesus Christ.
So?
- The prints, the handwriting- - - I'm not asking you as a cop.
But I am a cop.
I can't prove this.
Just because you can't prove it, doesn't mean it's not true.
Easy, Dirty Harry.
Finish the book.
Thank you. Thank you for breakfast.
Can I heIp you?
No.
Mr. Mageau.
- Thanks for coming to see me. - You're the one I taIked to on the phone?
I'm George Bawart, VaIIejo P.D. I took over for Jack MuIanax.
It's been 22 years. I don't know how I can heIp you.
This is just a formaIity. I'm gonna show you photographs.
Now, the person that shot you may or may not be among these photographs.
You don't have to pick anybody because I'm showing you these, understand?
Yes, sir, I do.
AII right.
Take your time.
If you don't recognize anyone, that's okay.
That's him.
How sure are you?
I'm pretty sure.
- He had a round face Iike this guy. - Wait.
You're now identifying this second photograph?
No, no. Just that he had a round face Iike that.
It's this man.
AII right.
Now, on a scaIe of one to 1 0, 1 0 being positive...
...how sure are you?
At Ieast an eight.
Last time I saw this face was JuIy 4th, 1 969.
I am very sure that's the man who shot me.