◆ SpookStack

ae foster dee sos —From Page 1 a piece of bloodstained blue and white cloth: “This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver . last night, to prove this here is a ces bloodstained. piece,at his shirt. ““T am the same man wifo did in "the people in the North Bay Area. eres The SF police could have caught * Me if they had searched the park Properly. instead of holding road *-Faces with. their motorcycle (sic) seeing who could make the most : noise. The car drivers should have j arked their cars and sat there quiet \7 Waiting for me to come out ’ Ofrcover.”. That night was Detective Tos- chi’s first night on the trail of Zodiac, and’ his“ closest’ brush with the killer. Eight years later, he still j is waiting for Zodiac to come out of _ cover, - It's a lonely wait, and each date 4 of.a Zodiac killing or communica- ".{ tion rubs his frustration. Today is the fourth anniversary of Zodiac’s last direct communication, a letter Toschi carries at all times to remind himself that he has failed to catch - one of the most notorious and mysterious criminals in history. “I think he is alive,” the detective said in an interview. “It’s almost a gut feeling. But, if he had been killed in an accident or ‘ committed suicide or been mur- dered, I. believe someone would have gone into his room. And I think he could leave something for - us to find.” . . It would seem uncharacteristic for an egotistical killer who taunted police with ghoulish and sometimes coded accounts of his deeds to depart this earth without a parting shot. And Zodiac has yet to explain most of the 37 murders he claims. we “we're certain he killed at least s six and wounded two in the late q i 1960s,” Toschi said. “There are many unsolved homicides, but - * Ht t there is no reason to attribute any $ to Zodiac.” The days are gone when two dozen law. enforcement officers parleyed over the Zodiac menace, when newspapers implored the __ _ killer to surrender, when men a matching Zodiac’s description were stopped and questioned. ~~. Now Toschi works the case he has carried on his paper chase of a nameless man who took pleasure .in killing strangers on weekends for no rational reason. He has run down and filed ' ~away-3,000-leads,-many: provided by feliow officers and phone calls and letters from private citizens. He has alphabetized 2,000 possible suspects, and has taken a close look at a half dozen “good suspects,” none with fingerprints matching those found — at Zodiac murder scenes. As the result of wire service ” stories, tips have come in from all over the world, including Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Austral- ia. The cranks have to be weeded out from persons who believe they know Zodiac and it’s a time-con- suming task. bene EEE A Heme . ere He has had to contend with a self-appointed helper who called ~ himself “The Valiant Crusader,” an alcoholic named “Old Tom” who claimed to be Zodiac and jilted — women who tried to finger their ’ former spouses or boyfriends out of revenge... .- Tips continue to pour in at a. - rate of roughly one every three ‘ days, and Toschi runs down each -: “until satisfied that it will not lead 1 to... ase the Jongsilent killer. “8 alone, as he has for two years... 4g. Feo: Tee Spare re “Y have no idea what. Zodiac ae In eight filing cabinet drawers, looks like now,” he said. “That's the probiem.” - Eyewitness descriptions of Zo- — diac can be considercd shaky at -. - best, especially since eight years ‘have passed since the last known __-- sighting. The witnesses at the slay- | - ing of cab driver Stine wére right- ened. The police officers who saw te, Zodiac got only a fle¢ting view. And = ~ the only time Zodiac killed during « . ye. o > ae OR DO wrk aa tae en meng