PsychoKiller

The Hunt for the Zodiac.

Screenplay

by

Charles Proser

BLACKNESS

MUSIC - PSYCHO-KILLER

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

What follows is true. Names have been changed... There is a killer out there. He has killed at least twenty people in twenty years, possibly more. Possibly many more. He has never been caught. He has eluded the police. He is lucky. He is brilliant. And he is insane. He calls himself...

A SLASH RIPS THE DARKNESS, TOP TO BOTTOM. ANOTHER SLASH CROSSES IT, LEFT TO RIGHT. PULL BACK TO REVEAL A CIRCLE SUPERIMPOSED. THE ENDS OF THIS CROSS STICK OUT FROM THE CIRCLE. THIS IS THE SIGN FOR...

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

...Zodiac.

EXT. SAN FRANCISCO SKYLINE - TODAY - STREET NOISE UNDER.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

At one time this city lived in fear. And if we don't fear now, it is not because we are safer, it is simply because we have forgotten...

+MONTAGE - THE CITY - THE PEOPLE

We live in a rational universe, a society of laws...at least we think we do. But every so often that fabric is ripped apart, and from below we glimpse the feral eyes of the beast.

+DEAD EYES - STARE PSYCHOTICALLY OUT AT US

They asked me if I fear him. I do.

I believe I have seen him up close.

+A ROOM - ROBERT GRAYSMITH, THE NARRATOR.

He is thin, with dark circles under sunken eyes. He is sallow, disheveled, obsessed, perhaps, in his own way...mad.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

I believe I have looked into those eyes. I believe I have seen there what his victims have seen. And now I fear weakness. I fear circumstance.

SERIES OF DISSOLVES - LOCKED CAMERA - GRAYSMITH

Sitting on bed, staring out the window, brooding, staring at papers covered with weird symbols tacked on the wall.

I fear the bad luck to find myself at his mercy for he has none. I fear his fear, for his victims are the weak, the isolated, the trusting. He is a coward and a thief of life. I don't want to glamorize this killer, because the fear and pain he has caused others reflects what he has caused himself. He must deny those dark impulses and keep them in check. He must deny himself those pleasures. He must contain the beast. He must hide. We are looking for him.

THE SKYLINE AGAIN - DISSOLVE TO:

+MATCH ANGLE - 1969 - STOCK - THE MODERN BUILDINGS FADE AWAY

MUSIC SEGUES to something from era: Sympathy for the Devil.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

We have not heard from him for some time. But that means nothing...

PAN OUT OVER THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE AS NIGHT FALLS.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

There are unsolved murders in every city, in every state. And no one knows... It could be him, it could be others like him. Nobody knows.

+SERIES OF SHOTS ENDING ON THE ROLLING HILLS OVER VALLEJO

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

If you know anything about him...if anything you see now could possibly help...please ...contact the police.

EXT. LAKE HERMAN ROAD - NIGHT - A COUNTRY LOVER'S LANE.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

It started...we think it started twenty years ago..on a lonely lover's lane...

VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA

DECEMBER 1968

A car's headlights illuminate the trees as it moves slowly down the lane. It crests a hill. In the distance a Rambler stationwagon is parked near a fence.

RAMBLER

David and Betty Lou neck. David is a high-school student, Betty Lou is a pretty, sixteen year-old. Headlights bounce off the mirror and into their faces. They break and come up for air. Betty giggles and straightens her dress. She kisses him. He puts his hands on the wheel and waits for the car to pass. But the car moves slowly. David is impatient.

DAVID

Come on, come on. We haven't got all night

She laughs.

PARKING LOT

The car doesn't pass. It pulls up next to them on the right, ten feet away. The dark figure hunched over the wheel is stocky. He turns his head... a glint of light off glasses.

RAMBLER

Betty Lou turns in alarm.

BETTY LOU

What is it?

DAVID

I don't know.

BETTY LOU

A cop.

DAVID

I don't know.

BETTY LOU

What's he want?

A car passes, lights sweeping over the scene. The figure turns, avoiding the light. He doesn't look like a cop.

DAVID

Uh oh..!

David locks all doors. Now Betty Lou is scared.

BETTY LOU

David...Let's go.

David fumbles with keys. SQUEAK. Man rolls his window down.

MAN

Please?

DAVID

What?

MAN

Get out of the car.

Betty Lou is frozen with fear.

DAVID

Roll up your window.

BETTY LOU

What? Oh.

Her window, nearest the stranger is open, but she is too terrified to move. David tries to start the car. It grinds.

DAVID

Darn...come on..come on!

The man opens his door. As he gets out, something catches the light. A gun. The man glares at Betty Lou. She's rigid. The man stalks towards David. He pauses, takes aim.

INSIDE CAR

They cower. Window implodes, showering glass. They scream.

OUTSIDE CAR

The man fires into the left rear wheel housing. Both teenagers scramble to the passenger side. He races around to meet them. Betty Lou is out, David sliding across the seat. The man reaches through the open window, puts the gun to David's head and fires. Betty Lou screams and runs up the road. The man races after her, gun extended. On the run, he fires five times. The bullets hit in a tight pattern and drive her forward into the dirt, dead.

INT. ARLENE'S HOUSE - VALLEJO February 26, 1969

KAREN, 14, goes to front window, looks out on the street.

HER POV

A white sedan sits at the curb. A glow flickers as a man lights a cigarette. He is heavyset, with curly dark brown hair; possibly middle aged. He starts the car, pulls away.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

His next victim may have

known him.

BATHROOM - DARLENE

She is twenty-two but looks seventeen. She has a cute, kewpie-doll look, braces, short light brown hair. She's a dead ringer for Betty Lou. She is putting on makeup, listening to loud Rock music. KAREN has just said something. DARLENE pauses, turns to her, concerned.

DARLENE

What did the car look like?

KAREN

Light colored, maybe white... A sedan. I couldn't see the license plate. It was too dark.

DARLENE

He's checking up on me again. I heard he was back. He doesn't want anyone to know what I saw him do.

Karen is confused. Darlene turns back to the mirror, mutters something... one syllable ...a name. We can't hear it.

KAREN

Who?

Darlene turns back to her makeup, doesn't answer.

INT. FERRIS HOUSE - NEXT DAY - FEBRUARY 27, 1969

Darlene's younger sister, PAM, hears something at the door. She puts down a magazine, crosses and opens it. A stocky man, curly haired, with glasses is putting a package on the step. He sees her and straightens up. His face is obscured by daylight on the screen.

MAN

...For Darlene...

PAM

Who are you? Did you leave the other packages too?

MAN

This is for Darlene. Under no circumstances are you to open this. Understand?

He stares at her, his manner menacing. She closes door, puts package down, returns to window. He is sitting in his car.

OUTSIDE HOUSE - LATER

Darlene pulls up. The white car is gone. She goes inside.

INSIDE HOUSE

DARLENE walks in.

DARLENE

Anything come for me?

Pam gives her the package, waits for her to open it.

PAM

I saw him. Same guy.

Darlene takes the package into the back room. Pam follows.

PAM

What is it?

Darlene doesn't answer. She grabs the phone, closes the door on Pam. Pam listens at door, worried, mystified. Phone is dialed. A low murmur. The door slams open, startling Pam.

DARLENE

Come on, get your things!

PAM

Where we going?

DARLENE

I'm taking you home.

EXT. HOUSE - WEEKS LATER

Another sister, LINDA, arrives with bags of beer and chips.

INSIDE HOUSE - A FEW GUYS, PAM, KAREN AND ANOTHER WOMAN.

A painting party is going on. Karen is leaving in a hurry.

LINDA

Where are you going?

KAREN

Away from here!

LINDA

What's the matter.

KAREN

Some of these guys are weird.

They give me the creeps.

Karen leaves. Linda turns. Guys paint and screw around in spattered clothes. But over on the couch, three guys sit who are strange. Linda looks them over. One is heavyset, older, with dark-rimmed glasses. Linda pushes through.

+BEDROOM

Darlene sits on bed, sipping beer, looking haggard. She sees Linda, gets up and hugs her hard. She's near tears.

LINDA

Hey Sis. How are you?

DARLENE

(distractedly)

Oh...fine.

LINDA

What's the matter?

DARLENE

Just go, Linda. Just go.

LINDA

What is it?

DARLENE

That guy out there.

LINDA

What guy?

DARLENE

The one in the chair. He's got no business being here. Stay away from him.

She goes to the door, stands to the side, looks through. He sits Sphinx-like. She turns back. Darlene sits, shaking.

LINDA

Darlene, what's wrong?

Linda turns away. Darlene jumps up, holding her back.

DARLENE

Linda, don't go near him. Just don't talk to him.

LINDA

Why? Who is he?

DARLENE

Don't talk to him! Leave. Now!

LIVING ROOM

Darlene appears, sees Pam with the man. She pulls Pam away.

DARLENE

Why are you talking to him?

PAM

Why not?

DARLENE

You're telling him too much.

PAM

I thought you were dating

the guy, the way he talks.

A guy says something inaudible. Darlene answers him.

DARLENE

Don't worry about it, nobody's going to hurt me. Nobody's going to do anything.

She pushes Pam out the door. Darlene is stopped by the man. Pam can't hear the conversation but feels the tension.

HOUSE

Darlene joins her outside.

DARLENE

There's gonna be some big things happening in the next few days. It's really something.

PAM

What?

DARLENE

I can't tell you, but you'll read about it in the paper.

EXT. NIGHT - MIKE MAGEAU'S HOUSE

She honks, Mike appears. He is 20, 6'2', thin. He runs out leaving the door open, lights on, TV blasting. Darlene gestures impatiently for him to get in. They pull away.... From the shadows, a light sedan pulls out behind them.

INT. CORVAIR

MIKE

We're being followed.

Darlene guns it. Second car speeds up too. She turns, roars down side streets. The pursuer blasts closer and faster.

MIKE

Oh, no, no, no, go straight!

But the car cuts them off.

DARLENE

I can't. He won't let me.

DARK ROAD - A SIGN: BLUE ROCK SPRINGS GOLF COURSE

Darlene swings into a parking lot. WHOOMPH! She hits a log, grinds to a stop. The engine stalls. The couple sits in darkness, breathing hard. The pursuer pulls up to them. Headlights go out. Mike looks at the car.

MIKE

Do you know who it is?

Darlene sits, facing front, silent. Finally she speaks.

DARLENE

Never mind. Don't worry

about it.

Suddenly, the car roars off. Mike sighs relief. Just as suddenly, a car roars back, parks on the left rear, in the cut-off technique cops use. Suddenly, a powerful light is beamed at them. A man emerges, advances toward them.

MIKE

Here come the cops, you

better get your ID out.

The man strides to the passenger side. The blinding light explodes in Mike's eyes. Clink of metal against the window frame. A muzzle flash, A ROAR! The gun fires again, again.

Sudden silence. Darlene is still. The killer turns and walks away. Mike moves. He cries out. The gunman stops, turns slowly and looks over the shoulder of his Navy windbreaker in Mike's direction. He is 26-30, has crew-cut curly brown hair. He is heavyset, 195-200 pounds; about 5'8. A slight pot-belly hangs over pleated pants. He slowly moves in again. He leans in through the window, fires two shots. Mike kicks spasmodically, drives himself into the back seat. The man fires twice at Darlene, gets in his car and peels away.

INT. VALLEJO POLICE STATION - SWITCHBOARD - 12:38 A.M

It lights, operator answers, hears breathing, a soft voice.

MAN

I.want.to.report.a.double. murder.

OPERATOR

What is your...

MAN

...If.you.will. go.one .mile. east. on.Columbus. Parkway.to. the. public. park,you.will. find. kids.in. a.brown. car.

The voice is even, as if he is reading the statement. It is soft but forceful. Cop tries to interrupt but he continues..

MAN

They. were. shot. with. a.9. Millimeter. Luger.I. also.killed. those.kids. last. year.

(The voice deepens, taunting)

Good bye.

EXT. PHONEBOOTH

The killer hangs up. Suddenly, the phone rings. A passer-by glances over. The killer steps out of the booth, turns his head away. He unhooks the phone, lets it hang. He walks off. The booth is right in front of the Vallejo Police Dept.

INT. DAY - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

AVERY walks fast through the city room. He bumps into people, murmurs excuses. He rushes to the door to the editorial room, knocks quickly and bursts through.

+EDITORIAL ROOM

PUBLISHER, EDITOR and a CARTOONIST look up, startled.

AVERY

Excuse me. I...We just got this.

He offers a letter. He holds it gingerly by the corner. The cartoonist, GRAYSMITH, takes it. Recognize him as NARRATOR, but he is younger, fit. As he reads, his smile fades.

GRAYSMITH

Dear Editor

This is the murderer of the 2 teenagers

last Christmass at Lake Herman & the

girl on the 4th of July near the golf

course in Vallejo To prove I killed them

I shall state some facts which only I

and the police know....Christmass..

+FLASHBACK GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

KILLER'S the boy was on his back feet to the car

POV the girl was on her right side feet to the west

4th July - girl was wearing patterned slaksd s

lacks.The boy was also shotin the knee.

GRAYSMITH - thin, intense, with deepset eyes.

+ INSERT - CU - PAPER FALLS OUT OF ENVELOPE - STRANGE WRITING...

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

I want you to print this cipher on

the front page of your paper. In

this cipher is my identity.

ANGLE - GRAYSMITH

GRAYSMITH

If you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Fry. 1st of Aug 69, I will go on a kill rampage Fry. night. I will cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, untill I end up with a dozen people over the weekend.

+ INSERT - CU CIPHER

NAVAL OFFICER (V.O.)

...Eight lines, seventeen symbols each. Greek symbols, Morse code, weather symbols, alphabet characters, navy semaphore, and astrological symbols...

INT. OFFICE - NAVAL INTELLIGENCE LAB

A naval officer hands a copy of the cipher to ENNIS, a cop.

NAVAL OFFICER

...I'm sorry. It's a complex cipher and it's not long enough.

ENNIS

You can't crack it?

NAVAL OFFICER

Not from this. I've sent it to the National Security Agency and the CIA.....They've drawn a blank too.

+ INSERT - CU CHRONICLE HEADLINE

"CODED CLUE IN MURDERS"

"This code may conceal Vallejo killer's identity."

+ INSERT - ECU FRONT PAGE - CRYPTOGRAM

SALINAS - DAWN

SMALL TOWN south of San Francisco. Harden, a forty year-old history teacher picks his Chronicle off the lawn, is transfixed by the headline.

INT. HARDEN HOUSE - BOOKSHELF -

Hand takes book, Secret and Urgent, by Pratt.

SUNNY ROOM

Harden lays out pencils, paper. His wife Bettye enters, watches, curious.

HARDEN

A cipher...systematically rearranges letters, or substitutes other symbols for the alphabet.

(She leans over)

Assume that it's in English. E is the most common letter in English. Then T, A, O, N, I, R, and S. The most commonly doubled letters are L, E, and S.

ANGLE - MUCH LATER

She brings tea. He works... crumpled paper all over.

HARDEN

It's a substitution cipher. But he used so many different symbols.. You have to..search for patterns...

ANGLE - LATER

The house is dark. He hasn't noticed. He stands and stretches, exhausted.

HARDEN

Well, in theory, anything encoded can be decoded... In theory...

MORNING LIGHT

She enters with coffee, Harden is tired, beaten. He throws the pencil across the room in frustration.

HARDEN

He's a maniac!!!

She picks the pencil up. A sudden thought! She gets interested, sits.

BETTYE

He's an egomaniac. He probably started with I. ...and he would speak of killing. How about.. "I like killing.."

HARDEN

There's a double L in kill. And he probably used kill more than once.

+ INSERT - CU CIPHER -

His pencil moves across it. He counts off spaces. Where the LL would be, he finds triangle, half semaphore... He looks down the cipher. He finds it again. And again.

MATCH DISSOLVE - CIPHER DECODED

I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN.

HARDEN ON THE PHONE

HARDEN

Hello, Night Editor?!!

INT. CHRONICLE - NIGHT EDITOR

He slumps over desk, both bored and exhausted.

NIGHT ED.

Yeah, sure. Well, just

send it in.

INT. CHRONICLE - DAYS LATER - GRAYSMITH, ED. PUB. enters.

PUBLISHER

Another letter?

EDITOR

More detail. He wants us to know how he shot her, how clever he is.

GRAYSMITH

(reading from letter)

...THE POLICE WERE WONDERING AS TO HOW I

COULD SHOOT & HIT MY VICTIMS IN THE DARK.

+FLASHBACK - WHAT i DID WAS TAPE A SMALL PENCEL

KILLER'S FLASHLIGHT TO THE BARREL OF MY GUN.

POV ALL I HAD TO DO WAS SPRAY THEM... NO ADDRESS.

PUBLISHER

Nice guy.

Avery knocks and enters with piece of paper.

EDITOR

What's that?

AVERY

The cipher. Somebody broke it.

PUBLISHER

Naval Intelligence?

AVERY

No. Some amateur. A history professor.

+ INSERT - CU CIPHER

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO

MUCH FUN. IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING

WILD GAME IN THE FOREST BECAUSE

MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME OF ALL.

MOVE IN ON GRAYSMITH - repulsed but fascinated.

GRAYSMITH

TO KILL GIVES ME MOST THRILLING EXPERIENCE IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN GETTING ROCKS OFF WITH A GIRL THE BEST PART IS THAE WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE AND THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY NAME BECAUSE YOU WILL TRY TO SLOI DOWN OR ATOP MY COLLECTIOG OF SLAVES FOR AFTERLIFE

+ INSERT - CU CIPHER EBEORIETMEMETHHPITI

EDITOR (V.O.)

What's that last word?

MCU - GRAYSMITH SHRUGS

GRAYSMITH

An anagram for his name?

PUBLISHER

Print it. Maybe some amateur will figure it out.

INT. RESEARCH LIBRARY - GRAYSMITH STUDYING

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

Fifty five different characters, a very complicated cipher. Experts couldn't break it, so they thought Zodiac was an expert. An amateur broke it. Maybe the killer was an amateur too! We now knew which letter of the alphabet each symbol stood for, but... how did the killer arrive at his choice of symbols.

+ INSERT - CU BOOK - The Codebreakers

Inside, is an alphabet. Zodiac's alphabet is put alongside it. A pencil underlines... Twenty six characters match.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

...strange symbols, almost religious ...triangles, circles, squares, crosses. I remembered hearing of the cipher used during the Middle Ages. It was a picture alphabet designed to appear mystical, an alphabet described as "vastly impressive and sinister."

+ INSERT - CU BOOK - Codes and Ciphers - The symbols match.

PAN UP - TO CHAPTER TITLE - ZODIAC ALPHABET

+ INSERT - CU CIPHER

...WHEN I DIE I WILL BE REBORN IN PARADICE

AND THEI HAVE KILLED WILL BECOME MY SLAVES...

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

Odd mixture...Christian and ancient cult beliefs... Southeast Asia... Some... Satan- worshipping cults...He feels his fellow man looks down on him. The belief that his victims would be his slaves in an afterlife reflects a paranoid delusion of grandeur ... expressed through a belief common among primitive peoples throughout history.

+DESERT ISLAND - BLACK AND WHITE NIGHT. (STOCK)

Count Zaroff, a tall, mad Russian with a jagged scar on his forehead looms over his prisoners.

ZAROFF

My life has been one glorious hunt. It would be impossible for me to tell you how many animals I have killed. One night as I lay in my tent with this... this head of mine, a terrible thought crept like a snake into my brain: hunting was beginning to bore me... When I lost my love for hunting, I lost my love of life, of love. Here on my island I hunt the most dangerous game...

ANGLE - HIS HUMAN CAPTIVES, TERRIFIED

ZAROFF

Only after the kill does man know the true ecstasy of love. It is the natural instinct. Kill, then love! When you have known that, you have known ecstasy!

A CHILLING HOWL - With his pack of black mastiffs, the Count, dressed in black, his costume's folds gathered and cinched at wrists and ankles, a foot-long knife in a sheath on his left side, a rifle in his right hand, races through the fog in pursuit of a young couple.

EXT. THEATRE - SF STREET - NIGHT -

Graysmith and a girl walk out of theatre and into the wet, foggy streets. She has chills and snuggles against him.

GRAYSMITH

...because it's a classic!..

MICHELLE

It's sick...who watches this stuff?

GRAYSMITH

I'd sure like to know.

MICHELLE

It gives me the creeps. I hate it. Robert don't get involved in this. You're a cartoonist. This won't make a good cartoon. Why don't you leave this to the police reporters?

GRAYSMITH

You know what else... About the killer? He broods about being cut off from his fellow man...Compares the thrill of killing to the satisfaction of sex. Probaby can't get it up. The taunting notes, phone calls... that's a plea to be found out, exposed. If he's cornered, a grandiose paranoid might kill himself, as a grand gesture, to punish the world for its neglect.

MICHELLE

Jesus!

They EXIT FRAME REVEALING marquee: THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

She was right. I never expected

to get involved. But...

+LAKE BERRYESSA - NORTHEAST OF THE BAY AREA - SEPT. 20, 1969

Three girls pull into a parking spot. Another car, driven by a lone man pulls in beside them and backs up. He sits, head down as though reading. The car is a light colored Chevy.

GIRL 1

What's this guy want?

GIRL 2

What'dya think!

GIRL 1

Pervert!...

THE LAKE - LATER - SAME GIRLS SUNBATHING.

One looks up, sees same man watching them.

GIRL 1

Oh, great!

GIRL 2

What?

GIRL 1

Nothing. Just the weirdo again.

GIRL 2

Ignore him. Maybe he'll go away.

A FINGER OF LAND, A LOW PENINSULA JUTS INTO THE LAKE - LATER

Bryan Hartnell, tall, good-looking; and Cecilia Ann Shepard, small light-haired; both college students, lie on a blanket at the tip of the peninsula talking. Cecilia looks up, notices something. A man, stocky and powerful, stands watching them. She can't make out his face, it's too far away. He vanishes into a grove of trees.

BRYAN

What is it?

CECILIA

Nothing...just a man.

She stops and stares off...

CECILIA

Uh oh... we've got company.

Bryan is on his back, his head toward the advancing man. She is on her stomach facing him, her head on Bryan's shoulder. The man is suddenly very close. He is menacing; walking slowly, heavily. Dust blows into Cecilia's eye. When she raises her head again, the man is gone. Bryan doesn't turn around, but Cecilia is alarmed. Sudden rustling of leaves!

BRYAN

You have your specs on? What's the deal over there?

CECILIA

It's that man.

BRYAN

Is he alone?

CECILIA

He just stepped behind a tree.

He turns over.

BRYAN

Well, keep looking, tell

me what happens.

CECILIA

My God, he's got a gun!

They turn, the man steps out from behind a tree, walks toward them. He wears a black hood, square on top. It hangs down to his waist.On his chest is a cross over a circle - the Zodiac. Slits are cut for mouth and eyes, with dark snap-on sunglasses over them. Dark sleeves are clamped tightly over his wrists, trousers tucked into boots. On his left side hangs a knife, a foot long, in a sheath. On his right side is an empty holster. White plastic, hollow core clothes-line hangs from beneath his jacket. He is big, and solid. His right hand extends toward them. It holds a blue semiautomatic pistol.

Bryan and Cecilia freeze in the twilight. The man resembles a Medieval Executioner. The voice is a calm monotone.

MAN

I want your money and your

car keys. I want your car

to go to Mexico.

BRYAN'S POV - ECU

Beneath slits in hood, sweaty brown hair...a glint; Glasses?

BRYAN - fumbles in his pocket.

BRYAN

I've only got a little...

He hands over the money and keys. The Man pockets the change, throws keys on the blanket and puts the gun away.

BRYAN

There's no strings attached. I don't have any money right now, but if you need help that badly I can help you out in another way maybe.

MAN

No. Time's running short. I'm an escaped convict from Deer Lodge, Montana. I've killed a prison guard there. I have a stolen car and nothing to lose. I'm flat broke.

BRYAN

Well, man, wouldn't you rather be stuck on a stealing charge than a threat of homicide?

MAN

Just don't start playing hero on me. Don't try to grab the gun.

BRYAN

You're wasting time with me.

I got a billfold and this much change and that's it.

The man detaches clothesline. His KNIFE...is a copy of Zaroff's.

MAN

Lie face down on the ground. I'm gonna have to tie you up.

Bryan, annoyed and defiant, stands up...

BRYAN

Hey, wait a minute.

MAN

Get down. Get back down.

Bryan is forced down next to Cecilia...He whispers to her.

BRYAN

You know, I think I can get

that gun. Do you mind?

CECILIA

No, Bryan. Be careful.

I'm scared.

The man turns to Cecilia.

MAN

You tie the boy up.

Cecilia ties him, loosely. She throws his wallet to the man. The man ties Cecilia tightly. His hands... When he touches Cecilia, they begin to shake... He tightens the knots on Bryan. He leans up...something weird!

MAN

I'm getting nervous.

BRYAN

(trying to appear calm)

Okay, now that this is over,

will you show me if the gun

was loaded?

The man opens the gun and pulls out a .45 cartridge. Bryan turns away to look at Cecilia. The man stands above them.

MAN

I'm going to have to stab you people.

Bryan and Cecilia are terrified as the knife comes out.

BRYAN

Please stab me first. I'm chicken.

I couldn't stand to see her stabbed.

MAN

I'll do just that.

The man drops to his knees. He stabs the boy again and again. Blood spurts over Cecilia's face. She screams for him to stop. Bryan moans and collapses. The man turns toward the girl, she tries to wriggle away. THE HOOD sucks in and out with his heavy breathing. He gives a ghastly, frenzied sound...a long, low exhalation. He begins stabbing the girl. She rolls on her back.

CECILIA

Stop. Stop. Stop...

She twists and writhes. Madly the figure stabs. Again. Again. At her chest, her back, her side...It's like sex. Bryan watches helplessly. He turns away, fakes death.

SATED AT LAST, the man stands, tosses the money and keys on the blanket and walks into the twilight.

PARKING LOT - BRYAN'S VW KARMAN GHIA

The man kneels by the door.

THE CRIME SCENE - LATER

Bryan opens his eyes, yells for help. He slithers to Cecilia chews through her clothesline. Weakly, she unties his hands.

EXT/INT. NAPA POLICE DEPT. 7:40 P.M.

The phone rings. Officer Slaight answers.

MAN (V.O.)

(calm...monotone)

I.want.to.report.a.murder-- no.a.double murder They. are.two. miles. north .of. Park Headquarters. They. were. in.a. white. Karmann. Ghia.

Long pause

SLAIGHT

Where are you?

MAN (V.O.)

(barely audible)

I'm.the.one.that.did.it.

(HANGS UP)

SLAIGHT

Is anyone there?... anyone there?

He listens closely: SFX passing cars, voices in B. G.

EXT. PHONEBOOTH - MAIN STREET - NAPA - SHORT TIME LATER

Police dry the phone with a blower and lift a palm print.

CRIME SCENE - LATER

DETECTIVE KENNETH NARLOW IS ANGRY.

NARLOW

What's this?

TECH

Park Rangers gathered the

evidence and put it in a

box for you.

NARLOW

(disgusted)

Great!

He leans down, looks at the VW's Door. -- in felt-tip pen...

Vallejo

12-20-68, 7-4-69

Sept 27-69-6:30

by knife

ANGLES - CRIME SCENE

HEAVY COP walks along the killer's tracks. A TECH measures the impressions, makes a cast of a footprint.

TECH

From the compaction of the sand, figure he weighs...about 220. Was walking, not running. Look here, between the heel and sole...

ECU - IMPRESSION OF THE BOOT - A CIRCLE WITH PRINTING

DISSOLVE:

+INSERT - THE IMPRESSION

becomes a high-contrast print.

NARLOW (V.O.)

Wing walkers.. 103,700 pairs were distributed to Air Force and Navy installations on the west coast.

EXT. NIGHT - VALLEJO STREETS - DESERTED

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

Nine days later, Cecilia Shepard died. Napa residents were told to say out of remote areas. The town of Vallejo became a wasteland at night.

+INSERT - MATCH DISSOLVES - COMPOSITE SKETCH IN PROGRESS.

V.O. The college girls direct a police sketch artist.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

He attacked in areas of confused police jurisdiction. The victims were young couples. He attacked on weekends; near holidays... at dusk or night. He had more hatred for women. Twice, the man survived.

Robbery was not a motive. He used a different weapon each time. Plunging a knife into someone is almost sexual. It's the most intimate contact you can have with a victim. It's where the Zodiac got his thrills. He had a compulsion to brag about the murders. He killed in remote lover's lanes... around or in cars... near water. And...the killings were coming closer and closer together.

+SAN FRANCISCO - THEATRE DISTRICT - NIGHT - OCTOBER 11, 1969

A cab pulls up near the Curran Theatre. Crowds exit the musical, HAIR. Cab driver, PAUL STINE, edges forward. A figure steps up, looks down at Stine.

STINE'S POV

Man is silhouetted, showing skull through crew-cut hair.

MAN

Maple and Washington.

+PRESIDIO HEIGHTS - NIGHT AND FOG.

- EXPENSIVE OLD HOMES. The cab pulls up at Washington and Cherry.

INT. CAB - FROM BACK SEAT.

Abruptly, the stranger presses a gun to Stine's head. With his left arm, he seizes Stine's throat. Stine struggles.

EXT. CAB

A FLASH lights interior, a muffled report. Rear door opens, the stranger gets out, gets in the passenger side, front.

EXT. SECOND FLOOR WINDOW ACROSS STREET

A young girl appears.

INT. A TEEN PARTY

She is drawn to the window, by something outside.

HER POV - CAB

A stocky man, holds the head of the driver in his lap. He is doing something to the driver. Then he wipes down the cab.

INT. PARTY

Others crowd around her, looking out at the cab.

THEIR POV

The man is struggling with or searching the driver.

SFX - PHONE DIALS, RINGS, IS PICKED UP.

POL.OPERATOR (V.O.)

Police Department.

YOUNG GIRL (V.O.)

(panicked, hysterical)

...Yes..I want to report...I don't know...a crime...a hold up... a shooting...I think....

+SFPD SWITCHBOARD

An officer starts filling out Crime Report Card.

POL.OPERATOR

Your address?

EXT. STREET - THEIR POV - CAB

MAN GETS OUT

YOUNG GIRL (V.O.)

Washington and Cherry. Hurry..he's..

He comes around cab, wipes down the driver's door, mirror.

The stranger opens the driver's door and wipes down the dashboard again. To steady himself he leans his right hand on the rail separating the front and rear windows. The fragment of cloth is still in his right hand.

POL.OPERATOR (V.O.)

Describe the assailant...

YOUNG GIRL (V.O.)

His description???....

THE KIDS

...crowd around the phone. They all shout at once...

POLICE OPERATOR

POL.OPERATOR

What? What? Speak slowly...A what, a big man...a black man...?

+ INSERT - ECU - CRIME REPORT CARD - AS HE MAKES IT OUT.

...NEGRO MALE ADULT

SFPD SWITCHBOARD

Officer jots answers, turns, hands the card to a dispatcher.

EXT. STREETS - PATROL CAR RACES - STOCK

INT. PATROL CAR - OFFICERS FOUKES AND ZELMS.

DISPATCHER (V.O.)

Attention all Units. All Points Bulletin. Possible homocide. Washington and Cherry. Subject Negro Male Adult, Armed and Dangerous. Caution Urged.

THEIR POV

As they swing by Jackson and Cherry, they see a stocky man lumbering along in the fog toward the Presidio park.

ZELMS

Nah... He's white.

EXT. STREET - THE STRANGER SHUFFLES ALONG

Patrol car swings up on him and stops. A cop leans out.

ZELMS

Hey, you seen anything unusual in the last

minute or so?

THEIR POV - THE STRANGER

He stops and turns to them. He is standing under a tree, in shadow, shaded from the street lamp. His hands hang down to his side. A glint of metal flashes from his right hand. A pause... Then the voice is a calm monotone.

MAN

..Saw a man. He was waving a gun. He ran

east on Washington.

The patrol car speeds off in that direction.

THE STRANGER

Blood drips slowly from sodden clothes. It makes a puddle at his feet. He puts the big 9mm automatic back in his belt and walks slowly toward the dark, wooded park in the distance.

CRIME SCENE - SHORT TIME LATER - FLOODLIGHTS AND POLICE.

Lab guys measure, mark latent prints. A rumpled, sleepy cop pulls up, gets out, yawning and rubbing his face. DET.CHERKA

CHERKA

Jesus! Four homocides in four days.

What the hell's going on?

He reaches for pad, takes notes, gives usual instructions.

GRAYSMITH (V.O.)

Frank Cherka was the pride of homicide, San Francisco's SuperCop, the real-life model for Steve McQueen in Bullit.

CHERKA

Preserve the scene. Keep people away from the cab. Nobody touches the vehicle.

CHERKA sketches the scene as his partner, TIM ENNIS - tall, silver hair, forties, goes over waybill.

CHERKA

Bled profusely. Robbery..?

ENNIS

Took his wallet. Twenty, twenty-five dollars, tops. Left his keys, change. Left the scene dripping blood. Clumsy.

CHERKA

Yeah. Fucking amateur!

FLASHES

as photogs take angles of Scene. The body is pulled out and bagged. Cherka leans into the cab; blood all over the place. He leans down and finds a single 9 mm shell. He turns as Ennis walks up, pointing toward the Presidio.

ENNIS

Headed that way..

CHERKA

He's in the park...

+PRESIDIO - NIGHT AND FOG

Police cars, motorcycles blast through, headlights throwing grotesque shadows. The beams wash over a figure barely discerned. He freezes. The beams wash back. He's gone. Or was it just a shadow?

POV RUNNING

FLASHERS and SIRENS, SPOTLIGHTS through the TREES THROW WIERD PSYCHEDELIC ACID FLASHES...IMAGES BURNED into the retina. MURDER...MADNESS!!! A WEIRD SING-SONG, BREATH COMING HARD, HEART THUMPING and a strange GIGGLING of enjoyment.

A MOTORCYCLE

CRASHES through the clearing ahead... Dive to the ground...Rushing through bushes...

POV MOTORCYCLE COP - TRAVELING

High speed chase at shadows. RADIO CALL and SIRENS, FLASHING LIGHTS... SOMETHING FAST from the side. A cruiser blasts from the lane, swerves, brakes.. THUMP. We bounce off, nearly go down. Up ahead, a figure disapears into the brush...we ROAR IN after him.

LOW ANGLE

The cycle BLASTS PAST.. PAN ACROSS ...in silhouette A MASSIVE HEAD, hulking shoulders...a glint from gunmetal...

Then the cycle is gone...flashers retreating in the distance...Silence descends...The figure is no longer there... the silhouette...is just the crook of a tree.

EXT. PRESIDIO - CLEARING - IN FOG

Parked patrol cars, FLASHERS rotating RED and BLUE.

Cherka and Ennis, hands thrust deep into their trenchcoats.

Police cars, motorcycles blast through, headlights throwing grotesque shadows. Cyclist stops at Cherka, shakes head, no.

INT. SFPD - POLICE ARTIST, CHERKA WITH TEENAGERS

CHERKA

How's that?

He shows them a sketch, they nod approval.

+ INSERT - CU COMPOSITE SKETCH OF THE KILLER

INT. SFPD - CHERKA'S OFFICE - CHERKA, TECH; DAGITZ.

DAGITZ

When he leaned forward to wipe the dash, he held onto the beam. Middle

+ INSERT - CU PRINT finger, third finger, right hand. 8 points on two fingers. In blood.

INT. CHRONICLE - AVERY - OCTOBER 14, 1969;

Going through a pile of letters to Editor... He stops.

+ INSERT - CU LETTER

S.F. Chronicle, San Fran, Calif,

Please Rush to Editor

Please Rush to Editor

INT. SFPD - CHERKA, ENNIS'S OFFICE

A knock, door bursts open. Cherka looks up; Graysmith.

GRAYSMITH

Frank, I don't know if this has any merits. We got this. It's kind of dirty. There's a bloody piece of cloth.

He drops it on the blotter in front of the cops.

CHERKA

Jesus Christ! This looks like Stine's shirt! How many people touched this letter?

GRAYSMITH

I don't know?

CHERKA

Find out.

He opens EVIDENCE BAG marked 'STINE MURDER.'

CHERKA

I think we're involved in a heavy case

...with a mass murderer. I think San Francisco is involved.

+ INSERT - CU STINE'S SHIRT - THE BLOODY PIECE - A MATCH

INT. OFFICE - MORRILL - HEAD OF QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS.

Morrill leans over letter.

MORRILL

Bizarre mixture of cursive

letters and printing.

CHERKA

A match.

MORRILL

Oh, yeah.

+ INSERT - CU NEW LETTER - OLD ZODIAC LETTERS - A MATCH.

ZODIAC (V.O.)

+FLASHBACK THIS IS THE ZODIAC SPEEKINGAK

MONTAGE I AM THE MURDERER OF THE TAXI DRIVER

OF OVER BY WASHINGTON & MAPLE ST LAST NIGHT.

ACTION IING. AM THE SAME MAN WHO DID IN THE PEOPLE IN

THE NORTH BAY AREA. THE POLICE COULD

HAVECAUGHT ME LAST NIGHT IF THEY HAD SEARCHED

HIDING THE PARK PROPERLY INSTEAD OF HOLDING ROAD

FIGURE RACES WITH THEIR MOTORCICLES. THE DRIVERS

IN SHOULD HAVE JUST PARKED THEIR CARS & SAT THERE

PARK QUIETLY WAITING FOR ME TO COME OUT OF COVER.

INT. MORRELL'S OFFICE - CHERKA LOOKS UP.

MORRILL

An ego-nut! He'll probably concentrate on writing to your department.

CHERKA

San Francisco, Why?

MORRILL

Larger circulation newspapers.

CHERKA

Great. Well, how do we handle this?

+THE LETTER - DETAIL

ZODIAC (V.O.)

SCHOOL CHILDREN MAKE NICE TARGETS, I THINK

I SHALL WIPE OUT A SCHOOL BUS SOME MORNING.

JUST SHOOT OUT THE FRONT TIRES & THEN PICK

OFF THE KIDDIES AS THEY COME BOUNCING OUT.

+MONTAGE - HEADLINES, WIRE SERVICE BULLETINS. ETC.

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)

TO ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES: A San Francisco cabbie was murdered by an unknown psychotic, who has threatened to attack a school bus.

+MONTAGE - AERIAL - BUSSES ALONG LONELY NAPA ROADS.

ANNOUNCER (V.O)

TO ALL DRIVERS, IN CASE OF ATTACK:

Continue driving the bus on a flat tire. DO NOT STOP!

ARMED POLICE RIDE ON BUSSES.

Tell the children to get below the windows and lie on the floor.

POLICE TRAILING BUSSES.

The driver will continue driving, turn on all lights, sound the horn.

TERRIFIED CHILDREN LOOK OUT THE WINDOWS.

The bus shall not be stopped until arriving in a well populated area.

INT. CHERKA'S OFFICE - PATROLMEN FOUKES AND ZELMS

Distraught, on the brink of tears, they look up at CHERKA.

ZELMS

...the call said a Negro Male...

CHERKA

It's not your fault.

ZELMS

We could 'a had him.

ENNIS

Or he could have had you.

Come on, the artist is here..

+ INSERT - CU - NEW COMPOSITE BEING DRAWN

35-40, thicker jaw. Barrel chested, 200 pounds, 5'8"; reddish-brown crew cut hair, dark-framed glasses.

INT. CHRONICLE - COPYBOYS, AVERY, EDITOR, GRAYSMITH.

They go through mail. Cherka walks in...to fanfare.

AVERY

Hey, Inspector Cherka!

CHERKA

Hey, guys, I want to talk to you about these letters. The important thing is not to open them, not to handle them in any way. Look for double postage, inverted stamps. Please Rush to Editor on the front and back, three or four times...The lettering slants off toward the end. It looks like this.

He pulls out a xerox, and shows it around.

CHERKA

This is my number. Call me immediately, if you get anything.

He pins it up on the corkboard. He notices Graysmith over to the side and moves to him. Points at him, miming a gun.

CHERKA

Robert Graysmith!

GRAYSMITH

Hiya Frank...

CHERKA

Saw your cartoon on the Chief. Boy is he pissed. Be careful where you park your car. Don't jaywalk.

He takes G by the arm, leads him back into the Art Dept. In Graysmith's cubicle, he notices Zodiac clippings tacked up.

CHERKA

Zodiac eh...What's your fascination?