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Zodiac · 2007 — Chapter 10 of 30 · 5'06" · C1

Belli Tries to Catch the Zodiac, Explained: crack the code

On the surface it is a sting: a lawyer and the police set up a secret meeting and wait for a call. Underneath, the killer toys with them, complaining of headaches and saying, "I kill, I don't get them," before they rule him out because the voice is too young.

What happens

A lawyer arranges a secret meeting with the police, hoping a caller will give himself up as the Zodiac. On the phone the man complains of headaches and insists he does not want the gas chamber. The police record it, play it back, and decide the voice is too young to be their suspect.

Phone callsInvestigationPromisingConfessingPolice & suspectC1mediumamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

pull off the tracethe rest of the timemake fun of somethingcrack the code

00:00 / 05:06
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  37. ❝ MonologueNew rules, then the blue pigs15 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

crack the code

to figure out a code or a hard problem

节目里主持人追问，到底是谁先破了十二宫那套密码，用一个 cracked the code 直指关键的那次突破。

It took the team three years to crack the code behind the scam.

Also in this scene

  • pull off the trace

    to succeed in carrying out a trace

  • the rest of the time

    at all other times

  • make fun of something

    to laugh at or mock something

Everything marked in this scene

32 notes across 78 lines

Phrase · A2get hurtYou won't get hurt if you talk to me.
Phrase · A2talk to someoneYou won't get hurt if you talk to me.
Grammar · B1won't get hurt if you talk to me

first conditional

You won't get hurt if you talk to me.
Soundtalk to me

weak form

You won't get hurt if you talk to me.
Phrase · B2ask for somethingI wouldn't think they would ask for capital punishment.
Grammar · B2wouldn't think they would ask for capital punishment

would for tentative judgment

I wouldn't think they would ask for capital punishment.
Phrase · B2be in a great deal of painYou sound like you're in a great deal of pain.
Grammar · B2sound like you're in a great deal of pain

sound like with a clause

You sound like you're in a great deal of pain.
Soundgreat deal of pain

liaison

You sound like you're in a great deal of pain.
Phrase · B1meet and talk-Let's meet and talk. Just us. -Okay.
Phrase · B1How about ...How about Old St. Mary's Church in Chinatown?
Phrase · A2take care of yourselfTake care of yourself, Sam.
SoundTake care of yourself

liaison

Take care of yourself, Sam.
Phrase · B2put on somethingYou fellows certainly know how to put on a secret meeting.
Phrase · B2go to the gas chamberI don't want to go to the gas chamber. I have headaches.
Phrase · B2pull off something

to succeed in carrying out a trace

They pulled off the trace.
Phrase · B2a no-showOur Daly City no-show called from a mental institution.
Slang · B2no-showOur Daly City no-show called from a mental institution.
Phrase · B1the rest of the time

at all other times

"The rest of the time I look entirely different.
Grammar · B1The rest of the time I look entirely different

the rest of

"The rest of the time I look entirely different.
Phrase · C1needle someone"I enjoy needling the blue pigs. Hey, blue pig, I was in the park.
Slang · C1blue pigs"I enjoy needling the blue pigs. Hey, blue pig, I was in the park.
Phrase · B2rile someone up"Hey, pig, doesn't it rile you up "to have your nose rubbed in your booboos?
Phrase · B1a science experimentOkay. We gotta call the Army and see if this science experiment could actually work.
Grammar · B1gotta call the Army and see if this science experiment could actually work

gotta for necessity

Okay. We gotta call the Army and see if this science experiment could actually work.
Phrase · B2do something for funWhat do you do for fun?
Phrase · B2go through somethingWhy you been going through my trash?
Phrase · B1make fun of something

to laugh at or mock something

You wouldn't make fun of it if you tried it.
Grammar · B2wouldn't make fun of it if you tried it

second conditional

You wouldn't make fun of it if you tried it.
Soundmake fun of it

liaison

You wouldn't make fun of it if you tried it.
Phrase · B2crack the code

to figure out a code or a hard problem

But who actually cracked the code?
Phrase · B1tell someone about somethingSo what's that tell us about the Zodiac?

Belli Tries to Catch the Zodiac, explained

What's really going on

The scene turns on a question that never gets a clean answer: is this the killer or just a disturbed man? The caller borrows the Zodiac's language—headaches, the gas chamber, the promise that talking keeps him safe—and even offers a chilling trade, "I kill, I don't get them." It is exactly the kind of detail that would fit, and exactly the kind a lonely attention-seeker might invent. The police hedge, noting the voice is too high and too young, and let him go. Around that call sit letters and ciphers, and a quiet bar conversation about who really cracked the code, which keeps the hunt going long after the meeting ends.

Theme

DeceptionA caller borrows the killer's story so convincingly that the police can't tell if it's real.
IdentityThe letters insist the writer looks entirely different the rest of the time, turning identity into a disguise.

What you'll learn

  • Use the rest of for remaining parts
  • Hear blue pigs as a slur for police
  • Catch Fantastic as sarcasm
  • Recognize rubbing a nose in mistakes

Listen for

  • talk to me — weak form
  • great deal of pain — liaison
  • Take care of yourself — liaison
  • make fun of it — liaison
You won't get hurt if you talk to me.

The lawyer's promise to the caller: cooperate and you stay safe, a lure built into the trap.

"The rest of the time I look entirely different.

The letter's claim that the killer's everyday face is a disguise, which makes every witness description unreliable.

You fellows certainly know how to put on a secret meeting.

A dry jab at the police's elaborate setup, spoken as if the trap were merely bad hosting.

You wouldn't make fun of it if you tried it.

A playful defense of an odd drink, and a reminder that mockery often comes from ignorance.

Questions about this scene

Why do the police set up a secret meeting?

They hope the caller who claims to be the Zodiac will show up and identify himself, using the promise of safety to draw him in.

Was the caller actually the Zodiac?

The police don't think so. When they play back the call, they say the voice is too high and too young to match the suspect.

What does the letter say about his disguise?

It claims he looks like the description only while committing a crime, and that the rest of the time his appearance is completely different.

Who cracked the first cipher?

A married couple who enjoy puzzles solved it, which then raised the question of what that actually tells them about the killer.

Zodiac · 30 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11What's your angle?Graysmith Cracks the Zodiac Cipher
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 ShowWatching · Chapter 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 PartyChapter 30cancel each other outRobert Confronts Dave About Allen
Chapter 10 of 30 · about 101 min to go