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Zodiac · 2007 — Chapter 30 of 30 · 5'05" · B1

Robert Confronts Dave About Allen, Explained: cancel each other out

Graysmith arrives at Toschi's house convinced Arthur Leigh Allen is the Zodiac and refuses to leave until he's heard out. Toschi, exhausted, argues the case is all circumstantial — “All the evidence said no” — and that two handwriting opinions simply cancel each other out. What looks like a fight is really obsession versus burnout.

What happens

Graysmith shows up at Toschi's house in the middle of the night, shouting through the window that he has the name: Arthur Leigh Allen. Toschi refuses to listen and reaches for the phone. Inside, Graysmith lays out a timeline of Allen's life next to the Zodiac's letters, while Toschi answers with the evidence that never added up.

InvestigationAccusationsConfrontingPersuadingFriendsB1fastamericanClean
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Listen for

cancel each other outon the basis ofbe on to someonecome close

00:00 / 05:05
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Phrase of the scene

cancel each other out

to offset each other

格雷史密斯认为两位笔迹专家一正一反的结论互相抵消，但托斯基当场反驳说并非如此。

Their two excuses cancel each other out.

Also in this scene

  • on the basis of

    according to a particular basis

  • be on to someone

    to have started to suspect someone

  • come close

    to almost reach a goal or match someone

Everything marked in this scene

37 notes across 89 lines

Slang · B1gonna kill himI'm gonna kill him.
Phrase · B1where's my somethingI'm calling SFPD. Where's my gun?
Phrase · A2go awayRobert! Go away!
Phrase · A2make a mistakeDave! He made a mistake!
Soundmade a mistake

flap

Dave! He made a mistake!
Phrase · B1get away from something-Get away from the window. -I'll meet you around front.
Phrase · B2give something awayThe one time that he gave something away!
Grammar · B2The one time that he gave something away

relative clause

The one time that he gave something away!
Phrase · B1where did you get somethingWhere did you get that name?
Soundget that name

elision

Where did you get that name?
Phrase · A2get inGet in here.
Phrase · A2here you go-Here you go. -Thanks.
Phrase · B1the only one who ...the only one who everwrote me a letter was Leigh Allen.
Phrase · A2let someone know"Dear Dave, if I can ever be of any help to you, just let me know.
Phrase · B2be of help to someone"Dear Dave, if I can ever be of any help to you, just let me know.
Grammar · B2if I can ever be of any help to you

conditional if-clause

"Dear Dave, if I can ever be of any help to you, just let me know.
Phrase · B2be someone's man"I'm sorry I wasn't your man."
Phrase · B1someone's favorite suspectMulanax said that he was your favorite suspect.
Phrase · B1come close

to almost reach a goal or match someone

That you spent two years on him, and that nobody ever came close.
Phrase · B2on the basis of something

according to a particular basis

but he's a handwriting expert nonetheless, and he's saying, "Do not disqualify this suspect on the basis of handwriting."
Phrase · C1cancel each other out

to offset each other

-So the two cancel each other out. -No, they don't.
Soundeach other out

liaison

-So the two cancel each other out. -No, they don't.
Phrase · B1go to trialIf it went to trial, all the defense would have to do is call Sherwood to the stand.
Grammar · C1If it went to trial

unreal conditional

If it went to trial, all the defense would have to do is call Sherwood to the stand.
Phrase · B1no way of doing somethingAnd there was no way of getting Allen into court in the first place,
Phrase · A2what do you meanWhat do you mean, there's no evidence?
Phrase · B1should have done somethingWe should have found one of those things in that trailer.
Grammar · B1should have found

should have for past expectation

We should have found one of those things in that trailer.
Phrase · B1side by sideOkay. Okay. Look at the stuff side by side, Dave.
Soundside by side

liaison

Okay. Okay. Look at the stuff side by side, Dave.
Phrase · C1be on to someone

to have started to suspect someone

Because he knew that you were on to him.
Grammar · B1he knew that you were on to him

that-clause as object

Because he knew that you were on to him.
Phrase · B2had to have done somethingOkay. Zodiac had to have known Darlene Ferrin, right?
Grammar · B2had to have known

past deduction

Okay. Zodiac had to have known Darlene Ferrin, right?
Phrase · C1all joking asideSo, all coincidence aside, Robert, how can you be sure that Leigh Allen is the Leigh from this file?
Phrase · B2put two things togetherHow do you put the two of them together?
Phrase · A2on the corner of somethingDarlene Ferrin worked at the Vallejo House of Pancakes on the corner of Tennessee and Caroll.

Robert Confronts Dave About Allen, explained

What's really going on

The scene stages the collision of two kinds of certainty. Graysmith has pattern recognition and conviction; Toschi has the case file and the memory of every dead end. Graysmith's timeline is compelling — Allen is fired and exposed, then the letters start; Allen is watched, then the letters stop; Allen is arrested, and they stay stopped — but Toschi keeps landing the counterpunch: “All the evidence said no.” The two handwriting opinions don't settle anything, and no physical evidence was ever found in the trailer. What's really happening is that one man is refusing to accept an open case, and another is refusing to reopen one.

Theme

JusticeGraysmith tries to turn a lifetime of circumstantial evidence into a case, while Toschi explains why evidence that doesn't hold up can't convict.
PhilosophyThe argument contrasts two ways of knowing: conviction built from patterns, and proof that must survive a courtroom.

What you'll learn

  • The birthday was the one slip: he had to kill because it was his birthday.
  • Of 2,500 suspects, only Leigh Allen ever wrote Toschi a letter.
  • Forty-eight hours after the refinery interview he moved to another county.
  • Door to door from Darlene's pancake house to Allen's is less than 50 yards.

Listen for

  • made a mistake — flap
  • get that name — elision
  • each other out — liaison
  • side by side — liaison
He is silent for three years.

Part of Graysmith's timeline: the killer stops writing for years while Allen is out of reach, a gap he treats as meaningful.

We should have found one of those things in that trailer.

Toschi's admission of the case's hole: despite searching Allen's trailer, none of Stine's stolen belongings ever turned up.

Now, Vallejo is a small town, but it's not that small.

Toschi's caution: even a small town holds many people, so two shared names don't prove the Leigh in the file is Leigh Allen.

Using a typewriter is not a crime.

Toschi dismisses a supposed clue: typing an apology letter proves nothing, since anyone is free to use a typewriter.

Questions about this scene

Why does Graysmith think Allen is the Zodiac?

He lines up a timeline: Allen is fired and exposed as a pedophile, then the letters begin; once he's watched, the letters stop; once he's arrested, they stop for years; after his release, a new letter arrives.

Why does Toschi refuse to reopen the case?

Every item is circumstantial, and the physical evidence that should have been in Allen's trailer was never found. He also notes that handwriting experts contradict each other, so the case could not survive a courtroom.

Why do the two handwriting experts matter so much?

One disqualified Allen's handwriting and the other said not to exclude him on that basis. If it went to trial, the defense could put the first expert on the stand, so the two opinions cancel each other out.

What does 'on to someone' mean?

It means having noticed that someone is up to something. When one of them argues that Allen knew 'you were on to him,' he means Allen sensed he was being investigated and went quiet.

Zodiac · 30 chapters

All chapters →
Chapter 1creep someone outDarlene Ferrin's Last DriveChapter 2I wouldn't kid youThe Zodiac Confession CallChapter 3shed light onZodiac's Cipher Reaches the ChronicleChapter 4get any ideasZodiac Attacks the Couple at the LakeChapter 5a hell of a get-upZodiac's Lake Berryessa AttackChapter 6flag a cabThe Presidio Cab MurderChapter 7did inZodiac Claims the Taxi MurderChapter 8skip townPolice Bicker Over the Zodiac CaseChapter 9at a moment's noticeZodiac Calls the TV Talk ShowChapter 10crack the codeBelli Tries to Catch the ZodiacChapter 11What's your angle?Graysmith Cracks the Zodiac CipherChapter 12the more the merrierKathleen Johns Escapes the ZodiacChapter 13come out of the woodworkGraysmith Finds the Zodiac's SourceChapter 14in my gutGraysmith Talks Zodiac on a DateChapter 15beat the bushesRiverside Investigators Compare NotesChapter 16lost in the shuffleThe Informant Describes Leigh AllenChapter 17the whole pointPolice Question Arthur Leigh AllenChapter 18greener pasturesPolice Question Leigh Allen's MotherChapter 19home turfPolice Build a Case Against AllenChapter 20tore out of herePolice Search Allen's TrailerChapter 21holding the bagBill Transfers Out of the ChronicleChapter 22fade into a footnoteGraysmith Pitches a Zodiac BookChapter 23yesterday's newsGraysmith Talks His Way InChapter 24more than just a coincidenceGraysmith Follows the Birthday ClueChapter 25tread lightlyGraysmith Chases Rick MarshallChapter 26blow overThe Letter That Framed ToschiChapter 27put yourself out thereGraysmith Chases the Case at HomeChapter 28get it in your headGraysmith Meets the Theater OwnerChapter 29the date that didn't endLinda Recalls the Painting PartyWatching · Chapter 30cancel each other outRobert Confronts Dave About Allen
That's all 30 chapters of this film