Zodiac Page #22

CAPTAIN LEE:

No.

TOSCHI:

On the handwriting?

CAPTAIN LEE:

Ballistics - no match, prints - no

match, writing - no match.

ARMSTRONG:

On both hands, right, we got

writing from both of his hands-

CAPTAIN LEE:

And neither hand matches.

TOSCHI:

Tell Sherwood to try again-

CAPTAIN LEE:

Fellas. He's not your guy.

Silence as this sinks in. Toschi stands and leaves, SLAMMING

THE DOOR. Lee heads after him, leaving Armstrong sitting

there, equally devastated that they were wrong...

174 OMITTED 174

175 INT. HALL OF JUSTICE - STAIRS - NIGHT 175

Toschi stalks outside, fuming. Lee emerges behind him.

CAPTAIN LEE:

What do you want? Time off? A

hug?

Toschi turns.

TOSCHI:

You know what the worst part is?

I can't tell if I wanted it to be

Allen so bad because I thought it

was him, or because I wanted all

of this to be over...

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 129.

175 CONTINUED:
175

CAPTAIN LEE:

Because you thought it was him.

And I did too.

(pause)

Maybe you should take some

vacation. Spend some time with

the wife and kids. Go to

Candlestick.

CAPTAIN LEE (CONT'D)

Take in a movie.

CUT TO:

175A ON A GIANT MOVIE SCREEN - JOHN VERNON (THE MAYOR) reads a 175A

KILLER’S LETTER that’s projected on a screen in his office.

JOHN VERNON (THE MAYOR)

To the city of San Francisco - I

will enjoy killing one person

everyday until you pay me one

hundred thousand dollars...

176 INT. MOVIE THEATER -- NIGHT 176

Hundreds of San Francisco's elite sit in their finery

watching a police screening of Dirty Harry unspool in frontof them. Among them, Toschi and his wife.

JOHN VERNON (O.S.)

If you agree, say so tomorrow

morning in the personal column,

San Francisco Chronicle and I will

set up a meeting...

176A ON THE MOVIE SCREEN - the shot is now a close-up of the 176A

letter (which looks very Zodiacish):

JOHN VERNON:

If I do not hear from you, it will

be my next pleasure to kill a

Catholic Priest or a...

Vernon pauses in distaste - the word is “n*gger”. CUT TO

Close on Vernon as he reads the killer’s signature:

JOHN VERNON (CONT'D)

Scorpio.

176B IN THE AUDIENCE - On Toschi's face. Watching. Numb. 176B

177 INT. MOVIE THEATER -- LATER 177

Late in the movie - Toschi, almost at the end of his rope.

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 129A.

177 CONTINUED:
177

SCORPIO KILLER (O.S.)

I’ve got seven kids from the

Fourth Street School, now listen,

I’ve got the bus

177A ONSCREEN - SCORPIO is holding a WOMAN BUS DRIVER HOSTAGE in 177A

front of a YELLOW SCHOOL BUS filled with KIDS.

(note - from here till the end of the written dialogue Clint

Eastwood does not appear onscreen - in other words CLINTEASTWOOD WILL NOT APPEAR IN THIS MOVIE). A LITTLE GIRL tries

to get off the bus, interrupting his ransom call:

SCORPIO KILLER:

-come on now, honey, that’s a good

girl, back in the bus...

(she goes - into

phone)

And I’ve got the bus driver. Here

she is, just tell him.

177B IN THE AUDIENCE - Toschi leans over, whispering to his wife: 177B

TOSCHI:

You want some popcorn?

TOSCHI'S WIFE

Do you want me to come with you?

He shakes his head. Rises and heads for the exit, scooting

past other audience members, enraptured by the movie. Onlyone other person in the theater notices Toschi go-

GRAYSMITH. Sitting with MELANIE. He watches Toschi leave...

BUS DRIVER (O.S.)

It wasn’t my fault, he had as gun-

SCORPIO KILLER (O.S.)

Just tell him your name...

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 130.

178 EXT. MOVIE THEATER -- NIGHT 178

Toschi stands alone under a banner Dirty Harry. Trying to

light a smoke in the wind.

GRAYSMITH (O.S.)

The good guy shoots him in the

chest. That’s how it ends.

Toschi turns to see Graysmith. He looks shaken by the whole

thing. Our two heroes, standing there. Meeting for the

first time. Toschi stares at him.

TOSCHI:

I know you.

GRAYSMITH:

I work at the Chronicle. Robert

Graysmith - maybe Paul Avery's

mentioned me?

TOSCHI:

No, that's not it...

They shake hands, Graysmith masking his disappointment.

TOSCHI (CONT'D)

Dave Toschi, nice to meet you.

Behind them, the THEATER DOORS OPEN. The invigorated

audience pours out, headed for the afterparty. The POLICE

COMMISSIONER, passes by, in high spirits.

POLICE COMMISSIONER

Dave! That Harry Callahan did a

hell of a job closing your case,

huh?

TOSCHI:

Sure did, Commissioner. Good

thing he didn't let due process

get in the way, huh?

The Commissioner gives him a funny look but chuckles anyway

and moves on. Toschi looks back to Graysmith.

(CONTINUED)

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 131.

178 CONTINUED:
178

TOSCHI (CONT'D)

So what do you do over at the

paper?

GRAYSMITH:

I'm a cartoonist.

TOSCHI:

That's good. That's a good job.

Make people laugh.

His wife appears, taking his arm. Ready to leave.

TOSCHI (CONT'D)

Nice meeting you.

He turns to leave when

GRAYSMITH:

You're gonna catch him. You're

Dave Toschi.

Toschi turns back. Smiles and shakes his head.

TOSCHI:

Pal? They're already making

movies about it.

Graysmith doesn't know what to say. Toschi heads off. We

hold on Graysmith, standing on that cold street corner as we

FADE OUT:

SILENCE:

179 BLACKNESS. 179

Is it over?

Then, - faint music. Of the times. The mid 70's. And news

reports. Something about... Watergate? Bobby Fischer?

Saigon? Squeaky Fromme? And there's rock and roll and funk

and the beginnings of disco and Patty Hearst and Zebra

Murders and "Son of Sam" and it builds and builds until...

FOUR YEARS LATER

APPEARS ON SCREEN AND WE

CUT TO:

FINAL SHOOTING SCRIPT 132.

180 INT. GRAYSMITH APARTMENT -- NIGHT 180

A BABY GIRL - lifted to her parent's shoulder... And it's

GRAYSMITH. Older. Hair closer cropped. An expert at this.

He bounces his daughter MARGOT who coos.

NEWSCASTER (O.S.)

...has confirmed that columnist

Jimmy Breslin of the New York

Daily News has received a letter

penned by the Son of Sam. Dubbed

the .44 Caliber Killer by the

press and later “Son of Sam” by

himself, the killer began his

rampage in 1976, targeting couples

in parked cars, and communicating

with authorities through a series

of handwritten letters.

Interest piqued, Graysmith heads to the LIVING ROOM. More

feminine now that a wife lives here. It's late, everyone

else asleep.

NEWSCASTER (O.S.) (CONT'D)

If any of this sounds familiar to

our viewers, it’s because our own

fair city once had a very similar

brush with the macabre. In lightof the events in New York,

tonight, we look back on what

police call "A Cold Case",

possibly the most famous in

history - The Zodiac.

Graysmith sits. Intrigued. FOOTAGE of Zodiac Letters.

NEWSCASTER (V.O.)(CONT'D)

Shortly after a connection was

established between an unsolved

1966 murder in Riverside and the

Cipher Slayer, Zodiac's letters

became more infrequent, and

finally nil. Many believe he is

dead. But Inspector David Toschi

has different ideas.

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