Greetings my fellow anime totseans,

I am writing detectives with L, the famous death note investigator, as its main character. The detective is set-up in quite a unique manner in that I first present you the entire story with all the information necesary to solve the case. Then I let you ponder on it for a while and let you draw your own conclusions. After a while I post L' conclusion and you will be able to check if you got it right. The story is set-up like the Law&Order series. If you' ve ever watched it you will know what I mean.

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San Francisco, 21st of June 1969 11:40PM
"Come on Lisa, I've been waiting for this all month." A young man in his twenties frustratingly strangled the steering wheel of his Chevrolet. A girl, a few years younger with long red hair, wearing a white costume sat next to him. She pondered the thought of his request for a moment and finally gave in. "Finally! Don’t be scared, I won't hurt you." The girl lay back on the passenger seat and the young man brought his body upon hers. Their lips met in a passionate kiss and he gently massaged her leg. They were both getting in the mood for it now. The girl took the young man into her arms and pressed his chest closely to her body. Suddenly the scene was interrupted by a loud bang. The passenger window scattered into a thousands pieces. Surprised the young man looked up and saw a bright white flash followed by another bang. A bullet hit him in the face and blood spattered the front window of the car. The girl screamed her lunges out at the sight of this scene. An arm holding a pistol entered through the broken window. Astonished and in disbelief the girl stared at the barrel, frightened stiff. The killer fired again, and yet again.

L' Laptop, 5th of July 2004 8:30AM

From: San Francisco Police Department
To: freeproxyserver.atht.ch To CC59638-A @home.amsterdam.nl To CC74573-A Iaccess.kanto.jp

Subject: L

Body:

"We need your help. A friend from the past is back.

Date Sent: 5th of July 2004 8:29AM

Zodiac Investigation Team, San Francisco Police Department, 6th of July 2004 9:32AM
A group of eight men gathered in a large office. They were the special Zodiac Investigation Team assembled in the 60' to investigate the legendary Zodiac killings. Never officially disbanded they continued the investigation since then. However the team was cut short to only one detective hunting down tips. However due to the recent events the team is brought back up to strength to eight investigating officers. Chief McKinnes, Detective Luigiano, Detective Oppenheimer, Detective Goldstrum, Detective Cenna, Detective Marco of the San Francisco Police Department and Agent Hugo and Agent Lucca from the Federal Buro of Investigation.

They were looking at a notebook, placed there by an elderly chap dressed in black, wearing a black hat. A white screen appeared then the big black L sign faded in. A crackling sound, like listening through an old phone started a speech:

"Greetings Detectives of the San Francisco Police Department and Agents from the FBI"

Agent Lucca leaned over towards Hugo and whispered into his ear: "How could he have known that?"

[/i]"This is a very interesting case and I am ready to help you with your investigation. I understand that there are four murders so far that are tied to the Zodiac Killer?" [/i]

Chief McKinnes nodded and affirmed that.

"My first question to you is; Has the killer left any letters?"

Chief McKinnes stood up. "We thought you might ask something like that. I have scanned in all the letters sent by the killer"

"Very good. Send my everything you have and I shall draw my first conclusions."

Not long after that an email arrived at L's computer with a considerable amount of documentation. This would promise to be a long day and night yet again. "Watari! Could you get me some burgers? I'm so hungry" The old man closed his own notebook, stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll bring some ice-cream to for later" he said as he closed the door behind him. L downloaded all the files in the email and ordered them according to their timeframe our crime place.

Police Statements about the shootings:

Subject: Double homicide
Date: 21st of March 2004 11:46PM
Case Number: ZODIAC-01

Police arrived at the scene at 11:46PM after receiving a phone call. Caller said he found two dead people in a car (Buick) in Lomita Park district. Patrol car went to investigate. Two bodies, a young man and that of a young woman were found at the site. Forensics was notified.

Subject: One Homicide, One attempted murder
Date: 20th of April 2004 0:04AM
Case Number: ZODIAC-02

911 Dispatch notified of shots heard on Hillside Boulevard. Patrol cars rushed to the scene. A
car (Dodge) with broken windows was found. Two passengers were inside, a young man and a young woman. Both were rushed to the hospital, the female died en-route.

Subject: Double Homicide
Date: 21st of May 2004 0:31AM
Case Number: ZODIAC-03

Patrol car 2224 reported suspicious vehicle on Sload Boulevard near Harding Park Golf Course. Investigating officers found two people dead in the car (Audi). A young man shot in the head and a young woman shot in the chest twice.

Subject: Double Homicide
Date: 21st of June 2004 1:46AM
Case Number ZODIAC-04

911 Dispatch received a call about a suspicious looking car with broken windows on Bay Street near Fort Mason. Patrol car went to investigate and found a double murder scene inside a Chevrolet. Victims were a man and a woman both shot twice in the chest and once in the head.

Forensics/Autopsy Reports
Case Number ZODIAC-01

Victim One, a young man between eighteen and twenty one. Shot in the head. Bullet passed through the brain and exited the back of the head. Small pieces of glass found inside the victims’ brain matter. Victim Two, a young woman between sixteen and twenty one. Shot in the chest where the bullet ruptured the left lunge and exited through the back, breaking a rib. A second entry wound in the face, bullet penetrated the left eyeball and entered the brain. Bullet exited the back of the head. Brain matter was found on the front windshield and driver seat belonging to the victim. Considerable burn marks are present on the victims face.

Flattened bullets of type .38 or .357 Magnum were found at the scene, however no spent casings were found on the ground.

Case Number ZODIAC-02

Victim One, Carrie Mayflower, nineteen years old. Shot twice to the chest. One bullet penetrated
the left upper lunge and exited through the back. Second bullet penetrated the chest bone, flattening it, bullet then ruptured the left hart valve causing hart paralysis. Victim died of shock. Victim two is John Mason, nineteen years old. Victim was shot once to the head, bullet penetrated the left frontal brain mass and stuck there.

Forensics identified the extracted bullet as a .38 calibre round. No spent casings were found on scene.

Case Number ZODIAC-03

Victim One, young man aged between eighteen and twenty three. Shot in the head, bullet passed through the skull between the eye's and caused massive internal bleeding. Victim died instantly. Victim Two, young woman between sixteen and twenty one. Shot twice in the chest. Both bullets penetrated the heart and then struck the spinal cord. Victim died at once.

Forensics identified both bullets as being of the type .38. No spent casings were found at the scene however blood, not belonging to the victims was found on a shard of glass from the broken window.

Further more a picture drawn with charcoal was found on the floor next to the car. The picture
resembles two identical female figures holding hands.

Case Number ZODIAC-04

Victim One, Zacharia Tannenbaum, 25 years old. Shot twice in the chest and once in the head. Both bullets in the chest penetrated either lunges and passed right through the victim’s body. Shot through the head passed through the victims left cheek causing no further damage.
Victim Two, Teesa Findleman, 24 years old. Shot twice in the chest and once in the head. First bullet penetrated the left lunge and passed trough the body in a downward angle. The second bullet passed trough the liver and exited through the victims lower back. The third bullet penetrated the skull just above the left eyebrow in a downward angle. The bullet exitted at the back of the neck.

The bullets were found imbedded in the car's driver side door. Forensics identified the bullets as being from the type .38 or .357 Mag. No spent casings were found on the ground.

Zodiac Letters
23rd of March Letter. Letter was sent to the San Francisco PD.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/KnightOfBlackness/23rdofMarchLetter.jpg

Threat Letter. 22nd of April 2004. Letter arrived at the San Francisco PD.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/KnightOfBlackness/ThreatLetter.jpg

Puzzle Letter. 27th of May 2004. Letter arrived at San Francisco PD.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/KnightOfBlackness/PuzzleLetter.jpg

23rd of June Letter. Letter arrived at San Francisco PD.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/KnightOfBlackness/23rdofJuneLetter.jpg

Zodiac Investigation Team, San Francisco Police Department, 8th of July 2004 10:12AM

Chief McKinney walked into the officer followed by his detectives. Everyone sat down on chairs around a table. They watched the old man place the notebook on the table again. With mixed feelings about mistrust and hope of a breakthrough they listened to the voice on the computer again.

"Good morning people from the San Francisco Police. This is L. I have studied all the reports and the evidence. I have come to a few conclusions vital to this case...

People, my first conclusions on this matter concern the following critical points:

1. Is this the same killer as the first Zodiac killer?
2. What do the various riddles and codes mean?
3. Where is the killer?

Based upon the evidence collected at the murder scene's and the letters sent to us I must conclude that we are dealing with a copycat. NOT the original Zodiac killer. This I base upon the following facts; first the original killer sent all his letters to various television networks, this zodiac sends them directly to us.

Real Zodiac letter (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/thumb/d/d9/Zodiac-July1969.jpg/450px-Zodiac-July1969.jpg)

Thirdly it is a myth that the Zodiac only targets couples making love. The first Zodiac tried to detonate a bus bomb too.

The circle and cross sign is a typical Zodiac sign. If we check on the dates of the murders we can see they all started at the start of another zodiac sign. The first murder, March the 21st, is the start of the sign Aries or ram. The second murder, 20th of April, is the start of the sign Taurus or bull. Following murders fall into place with the signs Gemini and Cancer. The drawing on the ground of the two identical women holding hands is a common symbol for Gemini.

I must further conclude that the killer has not made his moves on exactly the right moments. He is still learning but is closing on perfection. He will not make more mistakes in his timing. There are twelve zodiac signs, which means he still has to make eight kills. The numbers near the zodiac cross apply to the number of stars in the specific constellation of the dates sign. Aries has four stars, thus the first letter has "=4". Taurus has fifteen stars thus the second letter has "=15" and so on.

The letters are signed with a ridiculously simple code saying: "I am the Zodiac" every time. The really interesting code is that in which he states his own name. The original Zodiac did this too and no one was able to crack his code. I have compared both codes and came to the conclusion that the codes were NOT made the same way. I have studied the original code before and it does not state the Zodiacs name. It is mere gibberish, random signs and letters invented to confuse the police. The copycat Zodiac however did not know this and wanted to imitate the original Zodiac to the best of his knowledge. This means he DID code his own name.

After looking at the code I knew the most important part are the extra information pieces to the right.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/KnightOfBlackness/PuzzleLetter.jpg

Rot IV: B Rot V: A Rot II: W
Plug O = Q Q = O

Lets assume Rot stands for Rotor. We are looking for something with rotors, three in total. Each rotor has the option of at least 5 (I,II,III,IV,V) and the letter of that rotor can be set. (B,A,W). Furthermore there is a plug that can alter letters. In this case the O becomes a Q and the Q becomes an O. This something must have the mechanics to operate three rotors and plugs. It can encode a message into a singular line of capitol letters.

Detective Cenna stood up. "I've seen such a thing before, the other day on discovery channel!"

Very possible. The device we are looking for is an Enigma Coding device. The code we have before us people is an Enigma code.

"But then its unbreakable!" Cenna replied.

Not really. In 1939 Polish agents managed to capture a single rotor and some other parts of an Enigma machine. This enabled British scientists to break the Enigma code. The unbreakable code myth comes from the fact that there are actually two types of Enigma machines. The three rotor type and the four rotor type. The four rotor type is unbreakable as each letter has 156 million million million possibilities. Even modern super computers have only been able to crack partials. The three rotor type however was cracked in the forties and there are many simulators around that can be used to encode and thus too decode any Enigma message. All the operator has to do is set the rotors and plug board into the right setting, enter the encoded message and the original message appears.

http://enigmaco.de/enigma/enigma.swf

This is a very accurate simulator. Set the rotors to IV, V and II. Then set each individual rotor to B,A and W. Then exchange the plugs on the plug board, O to Q.

Then type in the coded message and you will read:

IJOHNNYMASONSAM

Or: I am Johnny Masons.

Now follows the question; where is he? In the whole of San Francisco there are twenty four Johnny or John Masons. However we can rule out a number of them. If we take a look at the map of San Francisco we can discern an ever widening pattern of murder scene's. A serial killer will start in his own neighbourhood, where he is familiar with the surroundings and escape routes. After that he will choose locations ever further from home as he grows more confident. Sometimes this literally means that the first kill he makes is right there next to him, in the immediate area surrounding his residence. The perpetrator is most likely housed somewhere near the Lomita Park district.

http://maps.google.nl/maps?q=San+Francisco,+CA,+USA+Lomita&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title

Furthermore, it is clear that the killer will strike again. He has followed the pattern of the
Zodiac signs until now and there is no evidence he will do otherwise. That is why we have until the next sign change, Leo, to catch him.

I rest my case for now...

The room remained quiet for a few deafening moments. A few whispers immersed. "Unbelievable..." "Can this be true?" Finally Chief McKinnes considered the option of tracking down all the Jonh Masons in San Francisco before they made any other move. "We have DNA material of the shooter, we can use that anyhow." L agreed that this was the best action to take at the moment.


Lawton Street 11th Av., San Fransisco, 9th of July 2004 2:11PM
An FBI patrol van drove up 11th Avenue. The bleu van, disguised as a pool cleaning service van went unnoticed by the local residents. Agent Lucca was wolfing down cheeseburger "Here it is" Detective Hugo said as he parked the van just in front another car. Hugo took binoculars out of its holster and looked through to get a better look. A standard house, typical of the area. A veranda, largely made out of wood. Hugo skimmed over the windows to see if there's someone home. "What in the name of...!" he uttered suddenly. Lucca looked at him with a mouth full of cheeseburger. "What is it? Let me see!" Hugo gave him the binoculars. "Have a look at the first floor window, second to the left. Lucca directed the sight to the window. There it was, hanging behind the glass. A zodiac circle and cross sign. Lucca shouted: "Goddamnit!" and sputtered pieces of meat and cheese on the van's window. "Call the DA!"

San Francisco District Attorney Office, San Francisco, 9th of July 2004 2:21PM
"Agents Lucca and Hugo are at the scene and are requesting back up to arrest Mr. John Masons" Chief McKinney answered to the DA's question. The District Attorney, a woman in her thirties, pondered over the facts for a moment. Only a hangar in the window is a bit weak but they have the name in the letter they cracked. "I want to speak to this L, how can I contact him?" McKinney took out his cell phone, dialled a number and handed it over to the DA. "Hello Madam District Attorney. I am L. I helped the police investigate the serial killings. However I do not think it is in our best interests that we arrest this man right now!" The DA listened to L's plea for a while before she ended the call. She thought about it for some more. "This investigator of yours said that arresting this man would not help solve this case." The Detectives in the room couldn't believe what they were hearing. How could L do something so stupid?


Lawton Street 11th Av., San Francisco, 9th of July 2004 2:35PM
"What’s taking them so long?" Agent Hugo went impatient. "Relax, they're probably sticking it up each others behind! You know how these local bureaucrats are." Hugo joked. Then his cell phone rang. "Hugo here. yes? Oh. Yes. I see." Lucca sat by impatiently looking at him waiting for the go ahead. Hugo closed his cell phone. "Well?" Lucca asked. Disappointed Hugo told him the news: "We are to stay back and observe. Our friend the mystery detective has pulled some strings with the DA." Lucca looked at his colleague for a moment in disbelief. "No way! we have the guy right here! Call the buro, they'll know what to do!"


San Francisco District Attorney Office, San Francisco, 9th of July 2004 2:55PM
The phone rung. "san Francisco District Attorney office, DA Turner speaking. "The DA listened to what the man on the other side had to say for a moment. Then a fax came in with the FBI logo on top.
"Detective McKinnes, I have to tell you I am surpassed. A federal judge has ordered us to give the FBI the assistance it needs to arrest John Masons."

Lawton Street 11th Av., San Francisco, 9th of July 2004 3:31PM
It was dead calm on 11th Avenue. But under the cover of bushes, trees and houses a small army was preparing it self. Agent Lucca was wearing a dark bleu bullet resistant vest with the white markings FBI printed on it. A little while later everybody was ready. Policemen armed with sub machineguns followed the two Agents to the front door. Agent Lucca raised his voice: "John Masons! This is the police! Open the door!" Agent Lucca waited for a moment to listen if anything happened. He looked at the policeman next to him and nodded. The policeman swung at the door with a battering ram. He broke the door open and stepped aside. Police armed to the teeth rushed into the house yelling "Police" "Get down!" Moments later the police came out again. A captain reported to Chief McKinney and the Agents; "Suspect apprehended"

L's notebook, 11th of July 2004 4:50PM
L looked down at his notebook. The interrogation report of John Masons was sitting there.

Interrogation and investigation of suspect John Masons
Case Number ZODIAC-05

Suspect was led into the room. Suspect looked calm. He greeted the officer who greeted the suspect back. Suspect was asked if he wanted something to drink. He wanted water. Listening room ordered Detectives to start bad cop/worse cop method. Detective Marco was replaced by detective Goldstrum. He coerced the suspect with life imprisonment and the needle. Suspect remained calm. Detective Cenna came into the room at 4:21 PM and threw copies of the letters on the table along with the cracked code revealing his name. Suspect answered that his name was a common name. Detective Cenna then asked him about the circle and cross sign and how he got it. Suspect answered he believed in astrological signs and he bought it at the nearest Astro-supply store. Suspect was then asked if he wanted to give up DNA material for cross reference. Suspect hesitated and then asked for legal aid.

Suspect was asked where he was at the nights of the murders. He gave alibis for all four nights. Alibi's were confirmed for the first and the third murders.

Suspects counsellor arrived at 6:34PM. District Attorney decided enough leads were present to keep the suspect in custody. A court order approved by a federal judge allowed DNA material to be extracted from the suspect. The DNA did not match.

No further evidence was found on the scenes to tie the suspect to the murders. None of the letters had any fingerprints. No weapon or munitions were found in the suspect’s house, garage or car.

Suspect had to be released shortly after that. Round the clock surveillance has been set up to monitor the suspect.
----------------

L thought long and deep. "What to think of this?"

A compilation:

I have been investigating a serial killer case in San Francisco. Allegedly this is the same killer as the famous Zodiac killer in the seventies. Comparing the letters he sent to the police department and the letters the original Zodiac killer sent to news networks I have determined these are not one and the same person. I have solved the primary riddle in the puzzle letter sent to the police revealing a name; Johnny Masons. After tracking down all the John Mason(s) and Johnny Mason(s) in San Francisco the FBI thought to have found the killer when they spotted a Zodiac circle and cross sign in the window of mr. Johnny Masons residence. After an extended and rigorous interrogation and searching’s of mr. Masons home and car we have found no evidence linking Masons to the murders. This is a difficult case but I know I am coming close to the truth now.
L out.

San Francisco Police Department, 11th of July 2004 11:00PM
"What do we do now?" Chief McKinnes was staring as a black board filled with photographs and writings. "But we shouldn't just sit here doing nothing should we?" Cenna said frustratingly. " No we should not" a computer voice said. "L, you are back! We have nothing on Masons."

"Nevertheless there is a good chance mr. Masons knows more. You should keep up complete surveillance on his movements, his house, telephone and internet."

"For an unlimited amount of time?"

"No, just until the 24th of July"

San Francisco Forensic Laboratory, 11th of July 2004 13:41PM
"We need you to draw up a DNA profile based on the blood found on Sload Boulevard" A man of Asian decent in a white doctor’s coat fiddles with the papers on his desk for a moment. "We used half of the swabs just to make a single reference card, this is the last thing we can do." He read a form instructing him to his tasks. Finally he looked up again and said: "We'll try, of course"

L' notebook, 15th of July 2004 3:10AM
Report of DNA profiling research. Date of test: 12th - 14th July 2004

Method: Extraction of genetic material from freeze dried blood cells. Five cells were destroyed in order to extract chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA material.

Results:

DNA strain L1:
Skin Tone: undetermined; slightly pigmented 35%
Hair: Black 95%
Eye's: Brown 85%

DNA Strain N1 and 2:
No birth deficiencies were found

mtDNA:
Race: 90% Native American
8% B type European (Anglo-Germanic)
2% Undetermined


Zodiac Investigation Team, San Francisco Police Department, 15th of July 2004 10:10AM

We are looking for a Native American!? Detective Marco, normally a quiet type, couldn't control anger any longer. All the wasted energy and most of all; time. "Its all the FBI's fault and that L guy! They are the reason why we were chasing ghosts!" McKinnes had to stop him there. "Marco! it was L's idea to conduct the DNA profiling, besides if we had done this ourselves we wouldn't have this discussion now in the first place!" Marco calmed and sat down.

"Detective McKinnes, I would like you to track down every native American gun holder that has a permit to own a gun with the specific calibres .357 Magnum and .45."


San Francisco State Hospital; 16th of July 2004 2:14PM

"Good afternoon Mr Henderson, I heard you woke up yesterday." Detective Luigiano said. A nurse standing by closely was inpatient and asked them to leave. "He's kept under close surveillance every hour by doctor Christianson, you should direct your questions to him" Detective Luigiano waved two fingers at Goldstrum signalling they were leaving. At the information desk they sought help at finding doctor Christianson.

The kind doctor led the two detectives into his office. "Good afternoon gentlemen, we have to keep it short, I have many IC patients to check" Luigiano came straight to the point. "We understood it was difficult to extract the bullets.”Yes, but we managed to extract the bullet without causing any bleeding." The doctor opened his draw and took out a tube containing a bullet. "Here it is, a 9mm I think it is." Detective Luigiano accepted the tube with frowned eyes. "9mm?"

L' notebook, 16th of July 2004 3:10PM

ICQ log:

L: John Mason had a 9mm bullet imbedded in his brain?
McKinnes: Yes.
L: You double checked that the other victim in that killing, Ms. Mayflower, had a .38 in her?
McKinnes: Yes, I did, we even found out what brand what do you think? The killer switched weapons?
L: Maybe, I might have to do some research into calibres.
McKinnes: How so?
L: I think if you find the Native American gun holder the bullet markings will not match.
McKinnes: ?


Marine Blv. San Francisco, 17th of July 2004 5:00AM

"Open up, this is the police!" Detective Goldstrum banged on the door. After a while a voice was heard. "Yea, yea, hold your horses. I'm coming." A man of Native American decent opened the door. "What is it?" Detective Goldstrum showed him his badge and then a piece of paper. He read it. "Are you Martin ..." Detective Goldstrum looked again; "Threefinger?" The man confirmed it. "Well then Mr Threefinger, we have a warrant for all your weapons, you will have to come with us."

L' notebook, 17th of July 2004 8:11PM

Here are the test results from ballistics:

Two weapons were confiscated.

First weapon:
Brand: Smith & Wesson
Calibre: .357 Magnum
Type: Revolver

Three shots were fired and compared to bullets found on the crime scene. The bullets were only a 35% match. Further investigation showed that the barrel was recently worked with something similar to steel mesh or a vile. The .38 found on the crime scene was compared too. It yielded a 1% match,

Second weapon:
Brand: Styer Mannlicher
Calibre: 9x23mm
Type: Automatic

Three shots were fired and compared to the single bullet extracted from Mr Mason. The bullets did not match the bullets from the Styer. No tampering was evident.

Interrogation and investigation of suspect Martin Threefinger
Case Number ZODIAC-06

Suspect was lead into the room and asked if he wanted something to drink. Suspect wanted water. Suspect was asked if he knew Mr Masons. He denied knowing him. Suspect was introduced with the names of all the victims and asked if he knew them. Suspect denied knowing them. Suspect was asked why the .357 he owned was a match with the bullets found on the crime scene. Suspect replied that was impossible. Suspect was confronted with a court order for his DNA. Suspect asked for counsel. After counsel arrived the Suspect' DNA was taken and compared to DNA material found on the crime scene. Suspect was released and put under surveillance three hours later.

DNA comparison
DNA profiling revealed that the DNA from the suspect and that found on the crime scene are a 99,9% match.

San Francisco Police Department, 18th of July 2004 9:10AM
"We have found DNA material putting the suspect at the crime scene, there is no doubt about that." Chief McKinnes walked around the room looking up at the wall from time to time. "We have a partial match of one of the murder weapons at best. I think with a good jury, we can put him away." The other detectives agreed.

L interrupted them: "Chief McKinnes, we have still one weapon unaccounted for. The weapon that fired the .38 bullet. A .357 can fire .38's but it was excluded by the test results. Maybe Mr Masons knows more about this then we think."

"You still think Masons did it?" McKinnes asked. The notebook remained silent for a while. "We have until the 24th, which is six days from now. Let’s see what both suspects do in that time. We can always arrest Mr. Threefinger in the night of the 23rdth to the 24th if nothing happens."

McKinnes thought over it for a while. "Lets do it, sir" Luigiano whispered. Finally McKinnes turned around; "Alright, we wait until midnight tomorrow."

San Francisco, Seaside Mall, 19th of July 2004 12:00AM

Chief McKinnes stepped out of his car. "I understand that both suspects are inside the building?" he asked immediately. "They are, sir" an officer replied. Both Masons and Threefinger were placed at the scene and were carefully followed by a dozen undercover agents. The police even managed to patch into the Mall' CCTV system with the help of a friendly employee. "Both suspects have entered the same store!" an officer yelled. McKinnes hasted to the small screens. "Where!?" he demanded. The officer pointed out the two suspects. McKinnes grabbed his portable. "Get ready to secure the suspects and the entire area around them" he ordered. Masons and Threefinger passed by each other and Masons made the slightest move towards Threefinger. "That’s it!" McKinnes yelled through his portable. "Go in!"

Four undercover agents in the store jumped the two unsuspecting men. Uniformed police stormed into the store. "Police! Get down!" The two suspects were quickly overwhelmed and handcuffed.

Chief McKinnes followed immediately after the arrest. He quickly frisked Threefinger and revealed a small revolver. He smiled and said: "You’re going down buddy"

L' notebook, 20th of July 2004 7:30AM

ICQ log:

McKinnes: We have both men in custody. We found a revolver on Threefinger and have footage he got it from Masons. The revolver is a .38.
L: That is good news, however as I said, I don't think any of the bullets will match.
McKinnes: These two better be the guys we're looking for because tonight is the night.
L: Don't worry, I'm sure they are the right persons; we just need to prove it now.

Here are the test results from ballistics:

Brand: Colt special
Calibre: .38 Auto ACP
Type: revolver

Three bullets were fired and tested to the .38 round found on the scene. The rounds match in type. Both were .38 Auto made by Colt. However the markings did not match, the bullet was not fired by this weapon.

Both suspect's fingerprints were found on the weapon.

L closed his notebook. He knew enough. He wasn't sure about this case but all the available information was now in his possession. The only thing that could make it any easier was a full confession. "Watari, could you order pizza and spare ribs?"

Can you crack this case? Provide a logical case of evidence and events assessment that puts these two behind bars and you win a direct ticket to my "L's Crime competition". You have until next Saturday.

Send your case to: y.shinigami@gmail.com

P.S. English is not my first language...don't be a grammar nazi.

This looks awesome, I don't have time at the moment to devote reading everything. Expect a reply definitely within the next couple days.

This looks awesome, I don't have time at the moment to devote reading everything. Expect a reply definitely within the next couple days.

This from me too, but if Zodiac is back there is only one person we can call.

Edward Norton.

-NS

If you really want a challenge; I made it in three parts at first and posted them one a week. So you can read one post then draw conclusions based on that and then continue reading, that was the original set-up.

Hurry up mates, conclusion comes tomorrow!!!