"This is the Zodiac speaking.Zodiac · 2007 — Chapter 7 of 30 · 4'58" · B2
Zodiac Claims the Taxi Murder, Explained: did in
The Zodiac letter arrives with proof of the taxi killing and a new threat against children. The newsroom's first question is whether any of it can be printed — “Is this on the record?” — while police try to keep the school-bus threat quiet before the story breaks anyway.
What happens
A letter claiming to be from the Zodiac confesses to the murder of a taxi driver, includes a blood-stained scrap of the victim's shirt as proof, and threatens to shoot children on a school bus. Detectives compare handwriting and blood, the newsroom debates what it can publish, and the story finally breaks with a police tip line.
Listen for
did inon the recordgo about your businessgo from ... to ...
00:00 / 04:58Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
did in
to kill someone
凶手在信里自报身份，说北湾那些人也是他下的手，用一句轻描淡写把连环命案归到自己头上。
The gang did him in before he could talk to the police.
Also in this scene
- on the record
officially stated and allowed to be published
- go about your business
to continue with your normal routine
- go from ... to ...
to change from one state to another, often dramatically
Everything marked in this scene
44 notes across 69 lines
"I am the murderer ofthe taxi driver "over by Washington Street and Maple Street last night."To prove this, here is a blood-stained piece of his shirt."I am the same man who did in the people in the North BayArea."I am the same man who did in the people in the North BayArea."The S.F. Police could have caught me last nightcould have with past participle
"The S.F. Police could have caught me last night"if they had searched the park properly "instead of holding road races with their motorcicles."past perfect in an if-clause
"if they had searched the park properly "instead of holding road races with their motorcicles."Right there, boss.So he got in the front seat to tear off a piece of the shirt.So he got in the front seat to tear off a piece of the shirt.officially stated and allowed to be published
-Is this on the record? -Well, what do you think?Gets worse.What does he mean, it gets worse?"School children make nice targets."I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning.liaison
"I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning."Just shoot out the front tire "and then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out."liaison
"Just shoot out the front tire "and then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out."I'm gonna need elimination prints from your staff.relative clause with that
Is there anyone here that didn't touch this letter?On my way back to my desk. They have phones, if you want.Dave, just one thing. Is it true they got a print off the cab?-But that is not for publication. -Hey, hey, come on.Hey, it's me.Dude, he wears his gun like Bullitt.Dude, he wears his gun like Bullitt.Jesus Harold Christ on rubber crutches, Bobby.Jesus Harold Christ on rubber crutches, Bobby.contact clause
You're doing that thing, the thing we discussed, the thing that I don't like. Starts with an "L."In cooperation with SFPD, we will run the Zodiac letter without including the threat on school children.We don't want to start a city-wide panic so I'm asking all of you to please keep this confidential.We don't want to start a city-wide panic so I'm asking all of you to please keep this confidential.to continue with your normal routine
Just go about your daily business.Similarities in the lowercase "r's."it is ... doing
It is you waiting in the hall if you speak again."Sorry" counts as speaking.liaison
"Sorry" counts as speaking.We have to release the bus threat.-It'll screw us. -We're already screwed.-It'll screw us. -We're already screwed.to change from one state to another, often dramatically
We just went from "Routine Cabbie Shooting" to "Mass Murderer Targets Kids."the Zodiac has threatened to, "Wipe out a school bus "and pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out."Zodiac Claims the Taxi Murder, explained
What's really going on
The letter is a performance designed to prove the writer is the Zodiac, and the scene is about how institutions handle that performance. The blood-stained cloth is the price of credibility; the school-bus threat is the lever that forces a response. “Is this on the record?” lays out the newsroom's dilemma in one line: the public wants the truth, and publishing the truth may also spread the threat. The compromise — print the letter but cut the school-bus line, then keep the staff quiet — collapses almost immediately. What the scene really dramatizes is the impossible middle: you cannot both calm a city and keep a killer's promise secret.
Theme
PowerA single letter forces the police and a newspaper to negotiate what the public is allowed to know.
SecretsThe newsroom plans to withhold the school-bus threat, and the attempt to keep it quiet falls apart immediately.
What you'll learn
- Hear on the record as quotable
- Use not for publication as a freeze
- Read wipe out as destroy all
- Catch looming as hovering too close
Listen for
- wipe out a school bus — liaison
- pick off the kiddies — liaison
- counts as speaking — liaison
"This is the Zodiac speaking.The letter opens by claiming the name outright, an assertion of identity that everything else in the note is meant to support.
"To prove this, here is a blood-stained piece of his shirt.The enclosed cloth is offered as physical proof, turning the confession into something the police can actually verify.
"School children make nice targets.The letter's escalation: children are described as easy targets, which is why the threat cannot stay internal.
"I think I shall wipe out a school bus some morning.A specific and horrifying plan stated calmly, which is exactly what forces the newsroom to weigh publication against panic.
It is you waiting in the hall if you speak again.A dry threat from someone trying to concentrate: keep interrupting and you'll be sent out of the room.
Questions about this scene
How does the Zodiac prove he killed the taxi driver?
He mails a blood-stained piece of the driver's shirt along with the letter, and claims the details match earlier killings. Police then check whether the blood and fabric actually match the taxi driver.
Why does the newsroom hesitate to publish the letter?
The letter threatens to shoot children on a school bus, and running that detail could set off a city-wide panic. Editors debate printing the confession while cutting the school-bus threat, then quietly drop the plan to hide it.
Why do the police want elimination prints from the staff?
Fingerprints on the letter could belong to the Zodiac, but they could also come from anyone at the paper who handled it. Taking elimination prints lets investigators set those aside and focus on unknown prints.
What does 'on the record' mean here?
It means the information can be officially quoted and printed. When a reporter asks 'Is this on the record?', they are asking whether the source's words can be attributed and published.
Zodiac · 30 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 8skip townPolice Bicker Over the Zodiac Case
Chapter 1creep someone outDarlene Ferrin's Last Drive
Chapter 2I wouldn't kid youThe Zodiac Confession Call
Chapter 3shed light onZodiac's Cipher Reaches the Chronicle
Chapter 4get any ideasZodiac Attacks the Couple at the Lake
Chapter 5a hell of a get-upZodiac's Lake Berryessa Attack
Chapter 6flag a cabThe Presidio Cab Murder
Watching · Chapter 7did inZodiac Claims the Taxi Murder
Chapter 8skip townPolice Bicker Over the Zodiac Case
Chapter 9at a moment's noticeZodiac Calls the TV Talk Show
Chapter 10crack the codeBelli Tries to Catch the Zodiac
Chapter 11What's your angle?Graysmith Cracks the Zodiac Cipher
Chapter 12the more the merrierKathleen Johns Escapes the Zodiac
Chapter 13come out of the woodworkGraysmith Finds the Zodiac's Source
Chapter 14in my gutGraysmith Talks Zodiac on a Date
Chapter 15beat the bushesRiverside Investigators Compare Notes
Chapter 16lost in the shuffleThe Informant Describes Leigh Allen
Chapter 17the whole pointPolice Question Arthur Leigh Allen
Chapter 18greener pasturesPolice Question Leigh Allen's Mother
Chapter 19home turfPolice Build a Case Against Allen
Chapter 20tore out of herePolice Search Allen's Trailer
Chapter 21holding the bagBill Transfers Out of the Chronicle
Chapter 22fade into a footnoteGraysmith Pitches a Zodiac Book
Chapter 23yesterday's newsGraysmith Talks His Way In
Chapter 24more than just a coincidenceGraysmith Follows the Birthday Clue
Chapter 25tread lightlyGraysmith Chases Rick Marshall
Chapter 26blow overThe Letter That Framed Toschi
Chapter 27put yourself out thereGraysmith Chases the Case at Home
Chapter 28get it in your headGraysmith Meets the Theater Owner
Chapter 29the date that didn't endLinda Recalls the Painting Party
Chapter 30cancel each other outRobert Confronts Dave About AllenChapter 7 of 30 · about 116 min to go