Zodiac Page #19

ARMSTRONG:

These are copies of the letters

Zodiac sent us. Would you mindtaking a look at them?

JOHN ALLEN:

You think my brother's the Zodiac.

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 110.

156 CONTINUED:
156

TOSCHI:

He's someone we're looking at.

CATHERINE ALLEN:

Are you going to arrest him?

ARMSTRONG:

It doesn't work that way, Mrs.

Allen. We don't go around

arresting people because we're

interested in them as suspects.

Catherine begins examining the letters.

JOHN ALLEN:

Leigh's always been troubled.

MULANAX:

Is it true about the children?

JOHN ALLEN:

Unfortunately. We don't see him

much anymore. Since we found out.

Toschi notes the TODDLER TOYS on the floor.

ARMSTRONG:

What's your feeling about Don

Cheney?

JOHN ALLEN:

Don Cheney, my old roommate? Is

he the one who contacted you?

ARMSTRONG:

That's confidential, sir.

John considers this.

JOHN ALLEN:

Don's a very reliable guy. If he

were to tell you something, I'd

believe it to be true.

Catherine suddenly stabs a finger down at a letter.

CATHERINE ALLEN:

This one.

TOSCHI:

What about it?

CATHERINE ALLEN:

Here, where he spells Christmas

with two s's.

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 111.

156 CONTINUED:
(2) 156

They look at the Belli letter - This is the Zodiac speaking.

I wish you a happy Christmass...

CATHERINE ALLEN (CONT'D)

We got a Christmas card from Leigh

a couple years ago. He spelled itthe exact same way, "Christ-mass".

Silence. John Allen looks up to the cops:

JOHN ALLEN:

What can we do to help?

157 INT. HALL OF JUSTICE -- CAPTAIN LEE'S OFFICE -- DAY 157

Toschi, briefing their Captain.

TOSCHI:

The brother's gonna search Leigh's

bedroom next time he goes out of

town.

CAPTAIN LEE:

Gets you around a search warrant.

TOSCHI:

For now. If we get something,

Mulanax will take it to the Vallejo

DA to search the house properly. We

also talked to the cop who

interviewed Allen before. Doesn't

remember how he got onto him but

said he didn't look like a killer,

so he didn't like him for Z.

CAPTAIN LEE:

But you do.

TOSCHI:

I wish we could've taken him in

right there.

CAPTAIN LEE:

Take it slow. Try and get more

stuff to Sherwood, a match'll get

you a lot farther with the

warrants-

Armstrong pokes his head in from the SQUAD ROOM:

ARMSTRONG:

Dave, you got Avery on two.

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 112.

157 CONTINUED:
157

TOSCHI:

Tell him to screw.

ARMSTRONG:

Should I communicate that verbatim

or can I spice it up a bit?

158 EXT. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- MORNING 158

Avery, asleep in his car. Parked across from Morti's. A

RAPPING on the window. Avery awakes with a JOLT. GRAYSMITH.

Avery gets out, hungover. Begins walking to the Chronicle.

GRAYSMITH:

I've been thinking-

AVERY:

God save us all.

GRAYSMITH:

The letter to Melvin Belli. It was

sent exactly one year after the

Lake Herman Road murder. And the

one to Cheri Bates' father and the

Riverside paper was sent exactly

six months after her death. She

was killed a day before Halloween,

you received a Halloween card-

AVERY:

All fascinating pieces of minutiae,

Roberto, but it's a little early in

the day-

GRAYSMITH:

It's eleven. You missed

Editorial.

AVERY:

Spectacular.

159 OMITTED 159

159A INT. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE THIRD FLOOR -- DAY 159A

Graysmith and Avery exit the elevator. Passing SHORTY, who

raises his hands in mock surrender:

SHORTY:

Don't shoot, Avery! Take what you

want, but leave me my life!

He breaks up, cackling. Avery, not breaking stride:

(CONTINUED)

159A CONTINUED:

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 113.

159A

AVERY:

Suck my nuts, Short Man.

SHORTY:

(good naturedly)

F*** you and the retard!

GRAYSMITH:

Why does he keep calling me that?

They reach Graysmith's desk.

GRAYSMITH (CONT'D)

Do you think I should call Toschi

about the pattern of the letters?

AVERY:

And alert his little banana

republic? They're holding back.

He hasn't called in weeks.

GRAYSMITH:

You think they have a suspect?

AVERY:

Haven't the foggiest. But do I

have a surprise for him...

160 INT. HALL OF JUSTICE -- DAY 160

Armstrong walks over to Toschi's desk.

ARMSTRONG:

Hiccup with Cheney - Allen made

"improper advances" toward his

daughter.

When?

TOSCHI:

ARMSTRONG:

In '67. Could give Cheney a

motive against Allen.

TOSCHI:

Okay, but why would Cheney go see

him after that? If someone was

messing with your daughter would

you go spilt a six-pack with him?

DETECTIVE (O.S.)

Armstrong, Catherine Allen on one!

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 114.

160 CONTINUED:
160

ARMSTRONG:

Here goes nothing...

Armstrong picks up. Toschi listens in.

ARMSTRONG (CONT'D)

Thanks for getting back to us.

CATHERINE ALLEN (O.S.)

I haven't been able to find the

Christmas card I told you about.

ARMSTRONG:

That's okay, just keep looking.

CATHERINE ALLEN:

Leigh moved his trailer up to Santa

Rosa this weekend for school, so John

searched his bedroom at my mother's

house. He didn't find any codes or

knives...

ARMSTRONG:

What about something we can test

for handwriting?

161 INT. QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS -- AFTERNOON 161

Toschi and Armstrong, standing next to Morrill as he checks

the handwriting exemplars for Allen. This time, Toschi is

silent. Morrill lowers the magnifying glass and sighs.

MORRILL:

This suspect is not your Zodiac.

TOSCHI:

Did these samples match his checks

stubs and application?

MORRILL:

Perfectly.

ARMSTRONG:

Then we just retested his left

hand! We already know he's

ambidextrous-

MORRILL:

In my thirty-eight years of

experience, I've never seen anyone

that ambidextrous. Both hands

would have commonalities. I'm

sorry, but this just won't work.

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 115.

162 OMITTED 162

163 OMITTED 163

164 INT. HALL OF JUSTICE -- HOMICIDE UNIT -- DAY 164

Toschi scoops up his ringing phone. INTERCUT:

TOSCHI:

Homicide, Toschi.

MULANAX:

Dave, Jack Mulanax. We struck out

with the judge. He won't sign off

on a warrant for Allen's house.

TOSCHI:

Why not?

MULANAX:

He said it's not enough. Unless

we bring him a handwriting match

or some evidence-

TOSCHI:

How are we gonna get evidence if

we can't even toss his house?

MULANAX:

I don't know. I'm sorry.

164A INT. CAPTAIN LEE'S OFFICE -- DAY 164A

Toschi and Armstrong with Captain Lee.

CAPTAIN LEE:

What do you want to do?

TOSCHI:

Don't know what we can do without

Vallejo. We need Allen's other

hand, and we can't get it without

a warrant.

CAPTAIN LEE:

Are there other guys you should be

looking at?

Toschi and Armstrong exchange a look.

TOSCHI:

About twenty-three hundred.

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 116.

164A CONTINUED:
164A

Okay then.

CAPTAIN LEE:

A beat. They turn and leave.

165 INT. SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE -- PECK'S OFFICE -- DAY 165

Avery. Circles under his eyes.

couch across from Peck.

Underweight. Lounging on a

PECK:

You can't go on like this.

Like what?

AVERY:

Happy and horny?

He lights a smoke and grins. Peck holds up a LETTER.

PECK:

You wrote the Department of

Justice and asked to be put in

charge of the Zodiac

investigation?

AVERY:

I merely suggested that those with

intimate knowledge of the case

create an information clearing

house to promote an exchange and

freeflow of ideas.

PECK:

And that you run it.

AVERY:

Who better than me?

man".

The "marked

Peck leans forward, unamused.

PECK:

If you want to work here I need

three things - One, stop boozing -

two, stop whatever else you're

doing - and three, cut this kind

of nonsense out.

Avery rises. Unsteady on his feet.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote