To your health and mine.Zodiac · 2007 — Chapter 22 of 30 · 5'04" · B2
Graysmith Pitches a Zodiac Book, Explained: fade into a footnote
On the surface it is two colleagues drinking and catching up. Underneath, one is still haunted by the case while the other insists it is over: the killer "wrote a few letters, and he faded into a footnote." The conversation becomes a fight about whether the past still matters.
What happens
Graysmith visits Paul Avery for a drink and suggests that someone should write a book about the Zodiac case. Avery, bitter and drinking, says the killer has faded into a footnote and tells him to let it go. Undeterred, Graysmith later approaches Inspector Toschi with his own library research.
Listen for
fade into a footnotemust have been magicaljog something loosedrop by
00:00 / 05:04Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
fade into a footnote
to be remembered only as a minor historical detail
艾弗瑞用近乎文学化的说法总结凶手的一生：写了几封信，然后就慢慢被人遗忘，只配当史书里的一条注脚。
The scandal faded into a footnote within a decade.
Also in this scene
- must have been magical
a dry, ironic remark meaning the opposite
- jog something loose
to help someone suddenly recall something
- drop by
to visit someone casually
Everything marked in this scene
30 notes across 68 lines
liaison
To your health and mine.what's new?Somebody should write a book.Somebody should write a fucking book, that's for sure.to help someone suddenly recall something
I've been thinking that if you put all the information together, maybe you could jog something loose.I've been thinking that if you put all the information together, maybe you could jog something loose.conditional clause with could
I've been thinking that if you put all the information together, maybe you could jog something loose.And then I was thinking that nobody knows the case better than you.comparative with a negative subject
And then I was thinking that nobody knows the case better than you.You know all the players, and you have all the files.You know that we work in the daily business, right?What do you think we were doing back then?He offed a few citizens,to be remembered only as a minor historical detail
he wrote a few letters, and he faded into a footnote.to visit someone casually
Not that I haven't been sitting here idly waiting for you to drop by and reinvigorate my sense of purpose.Not that I haven't been sitting here idly waiting for you to drop by and reinvigorate my sense of purpose.liaison
Not that I haven't been sitting here idly waiting for you to drop by and reinvigorate my sense of purpose.Then, what did you ever do about it?I'm sorry I bothered you.a dry, ironic remark meaning the opposite
It must have been magical.I was wondering if I could buy you lunch.past continuous for polite requests
I was wondering if I could buy you lunch.weak form
I was wondering if I could buy you lunch.Sure, why not?We're actively pursuing all leads.Zodiac hasn't written in three years.present perfect for elapsed time
Zodiac hasn't written in three years.I've been doing research on the first cipher.who's ever checked out these books and that's when I found this.Graysmith Pitches a Zodiac Book, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a study in two ways of living with an unsolved case. One man needs it to matter; the other has decided it doesn't. Avery waves the whole thing off with "he faded into a footnote," and tells his friend to let it go, but the bitterness in his voice says the case still owns him. Graysmith keeps pushing, asking what anyone ever did and proposing a book that might jog something loose. When the police dismiss him too, he doesn't stop—he goes to the library and finds that nearly every book on ciphers was stolen, which turns a dead case back into a lead. The stubbornness that annoys everyone is exactly what keeps the hunt alive.
Theme
MemoryThe case is years old, yet one man can't leave it alone while the other wants to forget.
JusticeFrustrated by the police, Graysmith keeps chasing the unsolved killings on his own.
What you'll learn
- The toast is to his health first, then a casual what's new.
- Graysmith wants a book to jog something loose; Avery tossed the files and moved onto a boat.
- Avery calls Zodiac a footnote and tells him to let it go.
- He needles Graysmith for hovering, stealing from wastebaskets, and going to the library.
Listen for
- To your health — liaison
- drop by — liaison
- wondering if — weak form
he wrote a few letters, and he faded into a footnote.Avery's bleak verdict: the killer barely matters anymore and has become a line in the record.
You're wrong. It was important.Graysmith's flat refusal to accept that the case is over, even when everyone around him has moved on.
Somebody didn't want a record of ever having checked out these books.From the stolen library books he draws a conclusion: the reader hid his tracks on purpose.
Somebody should write a book.The suggestion that starts the scene, and the idea Graysmith keeps pursuing long after it is dismissed.
Questions about this scene
Why does Avery refuse to write the book?
He treats the case as finished, saying the killer wrote a few letters and faded away, and he tells Graysmith to let it go.
Why does Graysmith go to the library?
He thinks the first cipher was built from books an amateur could find, so tracing those books might trace the killer.
What does he find in the library records?
Almost every book on ciphers was missing or stolen from the Presidio and Oakland Army Terminal libraries, as if someone erased the record.
What does Toschi tell Graysmith about the case?
He says Zodiac hasn't written in three years and that the city has plenty of other murders and grieving families to handle.
Zodiac · 30 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 23yesterday's newsGraysmith Talks His Way In
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
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
Watching · 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 22 of 30 · about 40 min to go