There is no definitive evidence to totally negate the idea that the 340 cipher contains a viable solution - with the mystery and allure of the Zodiac Killer code the driving force behind people wishing it were genuine. This, of course, exempts the 500+ people who have already solved the 340 cipher, in solutions now extending longer than the Bayeux Tapestry. Obviously, Zodiac researchers who specialize in the ciphers rather than the crimes themselves, have a vested interest in wishing the cipher to be a hidden message. This is the belief that keeps the dream alive. But did the Zodiac Killer really have the ability to create a more difficult cipher than the 408, with a reasonable expectation of a solution? Placing 29 unique characters into a 32 symbol cipher, and creating a 13 symbol code would suggest not.

The October 22nd 1969 Examiner newspaper article by Will Stevens laid down a challenge to the Zodiac Killer from the president of the American Cryptogram Association (ACA), Professor D.C.B. Marsh, to reveal his name. This may be the article that inspired the 340 cipher, and by association, the 'Halloween' card mailed approximately one year later. Dr Marsh told the Examiner today: "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in the cipher to established cryptogram experts. He knows, to quote Edgar Allen Poe, that any cipher created by man can be solved by man. Zodiac has not told the truth in his cipher messages to the Examiner, the Chronicle and the Vallejo Times-Herald. Zodiac has not done this, because to tell the complete truth in relation to his name-in cipher code-would lead to his capture. I invite Zodiac to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code, which will truly and honestly include his name".

This contention is probably true - that the Zodiac Killer wouldn't reveal his name in any cipher (other than his pseudonym), and additionally, he likely used the fact "that any cipher created by man can be solved by man" as a springboard to create something extra special, other than a cipher. If we contend that the Zodiac Killer wrote his final letters in 1974, then is it likely that a killer touted as an attention seeker, could resist dropping us clues to the 340 cipher in his subsequent letters, spanning in excess of four years? Each and every one of his final three communications in late 1970 and early 1971 effectively told us he was crackproof. The upside down text on the October 5th 1970 'Pace' card stated "Fk I'm crackproof". The October 27th 1970 'Halloween' card proclaimed "sorry no cipher". The March 13th 1971 'Los Angeles' letter boasted "Like I have allways said, I am crack proof". But the Zodiac Killer hadn't always said he was crackproof- only in the two communications either side of the 'Halloween' card announcing "sorry no cipher". The suggestion he was crackproof, thereby not arising from his perceived ability to evade police, but from his smugness in knowing he created three ciphers he knew would never be solved. 

The Tim Holt comic find by Tahoe27 in 2013, and the recent assertion of a close alliance, not only with the 'Halloween' card, but the 340 cipher, has been covered here to reject the 340 cipher as containing a viable and coherent message.

In view of the "by knife" attribution on Bryan Hartnell's car door, it is arguable that the Zodiac Killer had the Tim Holt comic book or Rota Fortunae (Wheel of Death) in mind as he wrote on the car door. In other words, the concept predated the September 27th 1969 Lake Berryessa stabbings, rather than just the 'Halloween' card. The Lake Berryessa "by knife" attribution becoming the part inspiration for the complex puzzle of the 340 cipher. The "by knife" method of death (on the right) is clearly the only one falling within its quadrant, as opposed to the others, which are all connecting with the central column.

This method of death was certainly prioritized by the Zodiac Killer, having placed it on Bryan Hartnell's vehicle (despite the fact the crime was obviously committed with a knife). The feasible presence of "by knife" within the 340 cipher. The possibility of a crude 'Halloween' card design in the December 16th 1969 'Fairfield' letter featuring "death by knife", along with the "Bleeding Knife of Zodiac" drawing. And finally, the 'October 27th 1970 'Halloween' card design and comic book, both containing "by knife" and mirroring the 340 cipher and 'Fairfield' letter.

Below are the speculative beginnings, attempting to interweave the '13 Hole' postcard into the emerging design. 

At 4.20 pm on September 28th 1969 'Dean' from Pacific Union College contacted the Napa County Sheriff's Office and informed police that three young women from the college had been sunbathing by Lake Berryessa the day of the stabbings, outlining the girls recollections of a suspicious man in the vicinity who appeared to be watching them for a prolonged period. One of the women recalled a man watching them from the edge of the trees for approximately 30 minutes, before the subject came down by the beach and passed within 20 feet.
 
Sergeant Kenneth Narlow dispatched Deputy Sheriff Raymond Land to interview the girls that evening. The following morning (September 29th) he reported his findings to his superiors. At 2.45 pm that day, the three young girls came to the police department and were interviewed by Sergeant Lonergan, Sergeant Snook and Captain Donald Townsend. A sketch of the suspicious man was ultimately created from the three girls recollections. To this day, nobody knows for sure if this was the Zodiac Killer preparing for an attack on the young girls, before abandoning his plans and switching his attention to Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard some two hours later.

'Dean' contacted police at 4.20 pm, about 22 hours after the double stabbing by the lake. Had Deputy Sheriff Raymond Land and/or his superiors acted immediately after he interviewed the girls, and had took them back to the location where they saw the suspicious man standing/walking, then they could have compared the many boot prints leading from Bryan Hartnell's vehicle to the crime scene and back, with the boot prints of the suspicious man. This may have given us a definitive answer on whether the murderer of Cecelia Shepard and the suspicious man were one and the same. It would also have given much more credence to the Lake Berryessa sketch over the Presidio Heights sketch, bearing in mind the length of time they viewed the man in daylight hours. 
 
The police report stated "When they left their car they noticed a subject driving a late model silver blue Chevrolet, 2-door sedan, pull up behind them. What appeared to be a white male adult was sitting in the vehicle. They did not observe this subject leave the vehicle. The girls proceeded to the beach area and were sunbathing in their bikinis. After approximately one-half hour had passed, they observed what appeared to be the same subject standing within 40 or 50 feet of them, apparently observing them." They described him to be 28-30 years of age during their interview at the police station. However, the day before, according to 'Dean', they had "described the subject as approximately 40 years old." If this were truly their initial recollections, it would place the subjects age bang in the center of the revised descriptions given by the eyewitnesses at Presidio Heights. The uncertainty in both crimes may represent the difficulty in pinning an accurate age on this subject, if of course, the subject at Lake Berryessa described by the three women, was in fact the Zodiac Killer.  

In the October 1st 1969 San Francisco Chronicle article, police stated "there were a couple of things we're still holding back so we'll be able to identify the man if he wants to call us again." This may be a subtle reference to the two words "by knife" written on the car door, which they withheld from the newspapers. Had a caller contacted the police and answered the question of what the full message contained, it would be an easy and quick way of ruling out the crank calls. 

The October 1st 1969 Vallejo Evening News Chronicle, contained three paragraphs of great interest. It stated "Vallejo police were investigating a Vallejo man who was previously convicted of accosting "lovers lane" couples - and wore a hood while doing so. While his molestations did not involve shooting or stabbing his victims, he has a streak of violence in him, police said. And his criminal activities resembled those of the slayer of four young persons.  
This man is much older than descriptions of the killer. However, it was pointed out that fat-faced people often look much younger than their years. His general physical description tallied with that of the hunted man, officers said."
​
We must also remember that the Paul Stine murder was just 10 days in the making, in which eyewitnesses would ultimately settle on a man described as 35-45 years of age, older than currently believed. One can't help thinking that a great opportunity was missed at Lake Berryessa. Had the boot prints of the subject viewed by the three girls matched the boot prints from the Lake Berryessa crime scene, it would have cast a very different light on the Presidio Heights sketch of the Zodiac Killer and changed our perceptions to this day.

Marc H. Spinelli courted much controversy during his 15-year reign as San Francisco columnist Count Marco, offering advice to his women readers on a range of subjects. Some liked his columns, while others believed he offended 'public sensibilities' to which they expressed their 'consternation'. If the 1974 letters were mailed by the Zodiac Killer, it certainly appeared he had become upset by the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper for running advertisements featuring the 1973 Badlands movie, as well as publishing advice for women under the anonymous pseudonym of Count Marco, stating in a July 8th 1974 letter "Editor: Put Marco back in the hell-hole from whence it came- he has a serious psychological disorder- always needs to feel superior. I suggest you refer him to a shrink. Meanwhile, cancel the Count Marco column. Since the count can write anonymously, so can I----the Red Phantom (red with rage)".

This was likely a response to one or many of Count Marco's articles in the preceding days or weeks, several of which are shown on Michael Cole's Zodiac Revisited site. The July 3rd 1974 newspaper article appears the likely contender in drawing a response from the Zodiac Killer. It is entitled Your Mirror Can Also See Inside You and opens with the lines "When I wrote that psychiatrists and psychologists ruined more marriages than they saved, I wasn't surprised by the angry reaction. I had contended that shrinks look at ordinary marriage problems as "cases", to be dissected, rearranged and deranged, leaving the "patient" totally disoriented".

The Zodiac Killer often sourced his previous material for running themes, such as Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, often rehashing words repetitively in his later communications - so it wouldn't have been unusual to find the inspiration for the pseudonym "Red Phantom (red with rage)" in a previous correspondence.
 
On December 30th 2013, Tahoe27 discovered the likely inspiration behind the October 27th 1970 Halloween card, in the form of a Tim Holt Western comic entitled Redmask Meets Lady Doom and the Death Wheel. The links between Red Ryder, a form of cattle branding and the Zodiac Killer have been comprehensively discussed in the above forum thread.

"Red Ryder was a Western comic strip created by Stephen Slesinger and artist Fred Harman which served as the basis for a wide array of character merchandising. Syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, the strip ran from Sunday, November 6, 1938, through 1965. The first Red Ryder comic book was published by Slesinger's Hawley Publications, Inc. in September 1940, followed by Hi-Spot comics for one issue. Dell Comics launched its Red Ryder in August 1941, changing its title to Red Ryder Ranch Magazine with #145, and then to Red Ryder Ranch Comics with #149. Red Ryder Comics consisted of reprints of the newspaper strip until issue #47 (June 1947), when it began producing original material. Altogether, Red Ryder Comics enjoyed a first run, for a total of 151 issues, ending in 1957, one of the longest continuous newsstand runs in the U.S., for any Western comic." Wikipedia.

Red Ryder and Red Phantom have been explored with regards to the word "red" being present in both, however, the source of "Red Phantom (red with rage)" may lie in one person, who starred in two western films featuring an anonymous "Phantom" and "Red Ryder", both released within one year of each other, in 1940 and 1941.   

Donald "Red" Barry was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 1940 film Adventures of Red Ryder (view on IMDB); the character was played in later films by "Wild Bill" Elliott and Allan Lane. Barry went on to bigger budget films following Red Ryder, but none reached his previous level of success. He played Red Doyle in the 1964 Perry Mason episode 'The Case of the Simple Simon'. Wikipedia. Donald "Red" Barry went from the stage to the screen. After four years of playing villains and henchmen at various studios, Barry got the role that changed his image: Red Ryder in the Republic Pictures serial Adventures of Red Ryder (1940). Although he had appeared in westerns for two years or so, this was the one that kept him there. He acquired the nickname "Red" from his association with the Red Ryder character. After the success of "Red Ryder" Barry starred in a string of westerns for Republic." IMDB.

Don "Red" Barry also featured in the 1941 western movie 'The Phantom Cowboy" in which "Stan Borden (Milburn Stone) is an amoral businessman who has set his sights on the Toreno family's ranch. With the local sheriff (Rex Lease) in his pocket, Borden begins a bullying campaign to claim the place as his own. After an attempt to marry Elanita Toreno (Virginia Carroll) fails, Borden's devious designs lead to murder. Now, ranch hand Jim Lawrence (Don "Red" Barry) and his friend Miguel (Neyle Marx) unite to create El Lobo, a masked avenger who will make Borden pay for his crimes". IMDB.

Did the Zodiac Killer attempt to right the wrongs of Count Marco, drawing on the "Red" Phantom as his pseudonym - and Donald "Red" Barry - who was "red" with rage. This western hero featured prominently in both the Red Ryder syndicate and the 'Phantom' of the American frontier.

In addition to these two movies, in the film 'Phantom of the Plains' (1945), "Red Ryder and Little Beaver return to Blue Springs and learn that the Duchess, Red's aunt, is going to sell her stagecoach line and marry a snooty Englishman Talbot Champneys, who is really Fancy Charlie, who has the nasty habit of marrying rich women and then killing them for their fortune. The concerned Red thinks everything is okay until he sees Champneys mistreating Red's horse, Thunder, and he then decides to investigate Champneys because, as he tells Little Beaver, no true Englishman would mistreat a horse. Realizing that he doesn't have much time with Red snooping around, the western Bluebeard persuades the Duchess to return to England with him, meet him at the railroad station to be married and, oh yes, bring her money with her." IMDB.

The Red Ryder connection, in tandem with the Tim Holt Redmask Meets Lady Doom and the Death Wheel comic strip, both had western influences. So, did the Zodiac Killer ride into town one more time on July 8th 1974 - this time as the avenging "Red" Phantom, on a mission to reprimand the irrepressible and anonymous Marc H. Spinelli.

THE 340 CIPHER WAS CRACKED ON DECEMBER 3RD 2020 BY DAVE ORANCHAK, SAM BLAKE AND JARL VAN EYCKE, SO THIS EARLIER ARTICLE SHOULD BE VIEWED IN RESPECT TO RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.

This is the last time this subject will be tackled for the foreseeable future, unless something magical sticks its head above the parapet - but before that happens - there is just one more addition to the idea of an extremely close alliance between the 'Halloween' card and 340 cipher, and the suggestion that the 340 cipher is not a meaningful and coherent message by the Zodiac Killer. Just about every feature of the October 27th 1970 'Halloween' card, including the envelope and stamp, can be shown to exist within the 340 cipher, making the December 2013 discovery by Tahoe27, of a Tim Holt comic book connection, all the more compelling. Her discovery may have opened the door to finally end the debate on the validity of the 340 masterpiece, and place the pseudonym 'Zodiac' front and center to the 'Death Wheel' featured on the comic book cover.

At what juncture the Zodiac first stumbled across his pseudonym is of little importance, however, it could be argued that when he found it, he would likely research the name 'Zodiac' and use elements of his research to incorporate into his future correspondence. If he had happened upon the Tim Holt 'Death Wheel' comic prior to November 8th 1969, then the light bulb may have switched on - and his design of a crackproof cipher began in earnest. And possibly, a 340 cipher designed in tandem with the Tim Holt comic and cipher three, which he mailed just over five months later on April 20th 1970. His opening line of "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is....", he may have already known the answer to when he manufactured the illusion of a 340 character message.        

The 'Halloween' card stamp contained 17 letters "In the beginning God" that slotted nicely onto the first line of the 340 cipher, with characters 15, 16 and 17 awkwardly similar - including the half-earth image present on the stamp. Paradice and Slaves can be shown as a distinct possibility, bisecting the 340 cipher horizontally and vertically, just like the 'Halloween' card arrangement. Seventeen characters horizontally and vertically in either direction to create the perfect crosshairs of Zodiac. The word "by" can be found in all four quadrants of the 340 cipher, mirroring the 'Halloween' card arrangement. At least seven, possibly eight characters on the 14th line of the 340 cipher can be formed into the design of the 'Halloween' card inner. Explanation here. "Sorry no cipher" written on the envelope inner and designed in similar fashion to the Paradice and Slaves arrangement on both the 'Halloween' card and 340 cipher, explicitly instructed us that no cipher existed on November 8th 1969.

One has to presume that all these fell here by accident (including the inference to Zodiac on the 20th line) - because to believe otherwise - would pour huge doubt on a Zodiac Killer who was able to simultaneously create a uniform message within the 340 cipher in conjunction with a 'bag of puzzles'. However, the Tim Holt 'Death Wheel' comic is not only interesting because it contains By Fire, By Gun, By Rope and By Knife found in the 'Halloween' card, or because of "Redmask" or "Lady Doom," but because of the origin of the 'Death Wheel' or 'Wheel of Fortune' itself. Had the Zodiac Killer read anything about the pseudonym 'Zodiac' when he first appropriated it, then he may have known the relevance of the 'Wheel of Fortune' or 'Rota Fortunae,'. thereby triggering the inspiration for the 340 cipher, and the eventual 'Halloween' card explanation or solution to his devilish trick and treat.          

We could just assume that when the Zodiac Killer spotted the Tim Holt 'Death Wheel' comic book, he liked the fact it represented some or all of his killing methods, and simply chose it because of its menacing touch. However, he may have chosen it because of the pseudonym he had grown so attached to - a pseudonym he would seemingly place at the foot of the 340 cipher.

The 'Wheel of Fortune' or 'Rota Fortunae' has a long and rich history, crossing many cultures and eras. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia: "In medieval and ancient philosophy the Wheel of Fortune, or Rota Fortunae, is a symbol of the capricious nature of Fate. The wheel belongs to the goddess Fortuna (Greek equivalent Tyche) who spins it at random, changing the positions of those on the wheel: some suffer great misfortune, others gain windfalls. Fortune appears on all paintings as a woman, sometimes blindfolded, "puppeteering" a wheel". The great windfall may be the promise of paradise, but the downside is the servile nature expected by the one who summoned you. But here is the interesting part - again taken from Wikipedia.
 
"The origin of the word is from the "wheel of fortune" - the zodiac, referring to the Celestial spheres of which the 8th holds the stars, and the 9th is where the signs of the zodiac are placed. The concept was first invented in Babylon and later developed by the ancient Greeks. The concept somewhat resembles the Bhavacakra, or Wheel of Becoming, depicted throughout Ancient Indian art and literature, except that the earliest conceptions in the Roman and Greek world involve not a two-dimensional wheel but a three-dimensional sphere, a metaphor for the world. It was widely used in the Ptolemaic perception of the universe as the zodiac being a wheel with its "signs" constantly turning throughout the year and having effect on the world's fate (or fortune)". link.

The zodiac is an area of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and visible planets are also within the belt of the zodiac. The Zodiac is divided into 12 signs beginning with Aries and Taurus. The Zodiac wheels have multiple cultural adaptations, shown here in a Wordpress blog: "These zodiac/time wheels are not common in Eastern Orthodox iconography, but they are found in one variation or another occasionally — usually, as here — in the form of wall paintings in churches. When seeing such a “Wheel of Time” — also called a Wheel of Life — one cannot help thinking of those Tibetan images that also represent a wheel of life as the “Wheel of Becoming” — in this case a wheel of rebirth:"

Here is one final extract from the book 'Deep Value': "Plutarch says that Servius knew "fortune is of great moment, or rather, she is everything in human affairs" because it was through good fortune that he had ascended from slave to king. In Roman mythology Fortuna was the goddess of fate, and the personification of chance. She turned the Rota Fortunae- the Wheel of Fortune- which dictated the destiny of man". Therefore, did Zodiac dictate the destiny of his victims -  By Fire, By Gun, By Rope and By Knife - and the very reason the 'Wheel of Death' portrayed on the Tim Holt comic was so very appealing.

The discovery by Tahoe27 linking the Tim Holt comic was fascinating in so many ways, yet it may not have been the inspiration behind the 'Halloween' card, but the inspiration behind the 340 cipher and its accompaniment - the '13 Symbol' cipher.
If the Zodiac Killer had done his research and discovered the 'Wheel of Fortune' or 'Rota Fortunae', and its connection to the word 'Zodiac', then the Tim Holt comic may have been a gift from heaven - an offering he just couldn't resist. 

Five weeks after the November 8th 1969 340 cipher, the December 16th 1969 'Fairfield' letter may have shown the early machinations of the Zodiac design, appearing in rudimentary code - the full explanation of which would have to wait until October 27th 1970.. The interconnectivity between the 'Halloween' card, Tim Holt 'Death Wheel' comic, the pseudonym 'Zodiac' and the 340 cipher is an intriguing and perplexing blend of mystery. One that came together by deliberate intent, or came together from the mind of somebody wishing it were true.

There are many ways to interpret the Dripping Pen card mailed to the San Francisco Chronicle by the Zodiac Killer on November 8th 1969 and here is another. ​Some people use the 'evidence of absence' argument to suggest the Lake Berryessa attacker was not the Zodiac Killer - articulating that his lack of mailed correspondence after the double stabbing was evidence for his absence from the crime scene. ​His communication on the car door just six minutes after the attack, probably to him, seemed like unassailable proof he was placing himself at the crime scene, just like inserting a piece of Paul Stine's shirt in his October 13th 1969 letter.

​At Lake Berryessa he took his handwriting to the crime scene, while at Presidio Heights he took the crime scene to his handwriting. A reverse signature one might say. However, not many people question Zodiac's involvement in the murder of taxicab driver Paul Stine. The idea that the Zodiac Killer never communicated his involvement in the Lake Berryessa crime is patently false, despite our need for a more comprehensive attribution to the events of September 27th 1969. Yet, his correspondences on October 13th 1969 and November 8th 1969 may very well have both referenced the Lake Berryessa attack, but in different ways.

The author of the October 13th 1969 Paul Stine letter opened with the words "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St 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 bay area". The Zodiac Killer on the car door of Bryan Hartnell's white Karmann Ghia clearly attributes both of his first two attacks under the banner of Vallejo, despite the fact David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen were murdered in Benicia. In fact, the Zodiac Killer never referenced Benicia in any of his communications, while he mentioned Vallejo several times. If the Zodiac Killer played no part in the Lake Berryessa attack, then his above introduction could have read "This is the Zodiac speaking. I am the murderer of the taxi driver over by Washington St + Maple St 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 Vallejo area". However, he chose to use the "north bay area" for the first time, which incorporates the Napa and Sanoma wine regions. ​

Despite the claims that an impostor could have faked the Lake Berryessa phone call to mimic Zodiac's rhetoric of the Blue Rock Springs call, by reading the transcripts widely publicized in the newspapers, it appears the copycat would then fail to read the newspapers of the Benicia attack, and bundled both attacks under the banner of Vallejo on the car door, in complete harmony with a Zodiac Killer who always failed to document the simplest of facts - that his first crime was perpetrated in Benicia. The implication being, they are one and the same person.
​
The divergence from Vallejo in the October 13th 1969 Stine letter confession, therefore proof of his admission to the Lake Berryessa attack. The Zodiac Killer would then further indicate his involvement in the attack by the lake, in the cryptic November 8th 1969 Dripping Pen card communication, not only by the addition of "Sept"  in his running victim count, but possibly through the image he chose on the card and the wording contained within it. The style of the card may have been purposely chosen in reference to the Lake Berryessa attack, and mailed in unison with the 'November 9th 1969 Bus Bomb letter which elaborated upon his recent murder.

On October 18th 1969, Attorney General Thomas C. Lynch implored Zodiac to turn himself in, stating "We will see that he gets help and all his rights are protected. He is obviously an intelligent individual. He knows that eventually he will be taken into custody, so it would be best that he give himself up, before tragedy is written in blood". Three weeks later, the Zodiac Killer mailed a greeting card, depicting a fountain pen having been washed by its owner. The card itself read "Sorry I haven't written, but I just washed my pen...and I can't do a thing with it." Zodiac then added the words "This is the Zodiac speaking. I though you would nead a good laugh before you hear the bad news. You won't get the news for a while yet. Could you print this new cipher in your frunt page? I get aufully lonely when I am ignored, so lonely I could do my Thing".

It is clear the Zodiac has simply parroted the word "thing" from the prewritten wording on the card, and began to write the letter 'T' in lower case. It is equally probable the Zodiac wrote the entire word "thing" in normal writing, before emphasizing it in bold fashion, to highlight its importance. ​The phrase "and I can't do a thing with it" is referring to a pen that now cannot be used, having been damaged by water. This is often taken as a pen accidentally left in clothing and washed, but it may very well have a more sinister implication. 

The threat of "I could do my Thing," is obviously referencing murder - but by parroting the word "thing" from the card, which is explicitly referencing the pen, the Zodiac Killer may be associating the pen with murder. More specifically, the murder of Cecelia Shepard. The Zodiac Killer's dominant hand would certainly have been covered in blood after the Lake Berryessa double stabbing, so any pen subsequently used to write on the car door would equally have been smothered in blood, thereby making the November 8th 1969 Dripping Pen card depicting a washed pen, not an unusual choice by the killer. The killer may have worn gloves and removed them before writing on the car door, but the implication of the card remains. 
​
The six exclamation marks after the word "Thing" are as notable, as they are excessively repetitive. The Zodiac Killer has also deliberately or accidentally underlined the word "Thing" exactly six times. These two characteristics may be purely unintentional on behalf of the author, but considering the Zodiac Killer is claiming 7 victims at this juncture, it would be remiss of me not to mention that the Lake Berryessa murder of Cecelia Shepard would have been the Zodiac Killer's sixth victim. One theory behind the origin of the exclamation mark, is that it is derived from a Latin exclamation of joy, which may not have been lost on a killer bereft of empathy. 

We know the Zodiac Killer mailed his first three letters simultaneously on July 31st 1969, but what inspired him to design a trinity of cryptograms that when combined formed an almost complete and uniform message. It is likely he split the cipher into three parts for maximum newspaper coverage, however, we know little of what inspired him to design the codes in the first place.

The 'Zodiac Killer' pseudonym may never have existed had it not been for the skepticism of Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz, who insisted the three-time-murderer send more details to prove he was the 'cipher killer'. It was reasoned that something Zodiac read in the Sunday August 3rd 1969 San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle inspired him to repackage himself from "the murderer" to "the Zodiac". So, what drove the killer of David Faraday, Betty Lou Jensen and Darlene Ferrin to include a cryptogram alongside his deadly deeds and threats. The short answer is, nobody knows for sure - but we do know it took the Lake Herman Road double murderer just over seven months to finally begin his letter writing campaign. Was the killer always planning to kill again and write to the newspapers, or was it the extensive press coverage that inspired him to rise to the picture being painted of him?

It seemed Detective Sergeant Leslie Lunblad beat a lone furrow in the pursuit of the murderer, but he was ably assisted throughout by many agencies, including the Criminal Investigation Bureau in Sacramento, Vallejo Police Department, Napa and Sanoma County sheriff's departments and Sergeant Jack Richard Oller, an investigator in the Fairfield office of the sheriff's department.  Jack Oller moved to Oakland, California in 1929 and served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer in Europe. In 1978, he retired from the Solano County Sheriff Department with the rank of lieutenant.

Along with the Zodiac murder of Paul Stine on October 11th 1969 and the November 21st 1969 San Jose letter and cryptogram, we effectively had the entire shopping list of threats tabled in the 'Fairfield' letter, mailed on December 16th 1969. His threat of 'this state is in trouble..I will go for the Goverment life' may be traced back to a Sunday Times-Herald article on March 30th 1969, in which these law enforcement agencies were pivotal in the search for the Lake Herman Road murderer, including Sergeant Jack Oller. The Zodiac Killer's threat on police in the 'Fairfield' letter centered around Fairfield, Sacramento and Oakland. The inspiration behind the July 31st 1969 letters and cryptogram is difficult to ascertain, but often with the Zodiac Killer throughout it was something he read that triggered a response, such as the 'Debut of Zodiac' and 'Bus Bomb' letters. The Sunday Times-Herald article on March 30th 1969 may or may not hold the answers, however, it was published four months prior to the July 31st trinity and did contain some noteworthy passages. Whether these were the trigger for the murderer to begin his letter writing campaign is pure speculation, but in the absence of alternatives it was worth considering. Here is the newspaper article in full:     

The youth, a scalor at Vallejo High, planned to make teaching his career. He was extremely active in Scouting, and was a member of the Interact Club at the high school. "Last summer, he discovered girls" Mrs Faraday reminisced "but he hadn't done much dating- for one thing he could use the car only when I didn't need it to go to work." She is employed in the passenger reservations department at Travis Air Force Base. She said that when he did take the car for a date "he was good about observing curfews" (12.30 on Friday nights). "So I didn't think a thing about it that night. I was asleep when the phone rang at 3 am".

Mrs Faraday conversed with total composure, although the wounds haven't healed and won't. The same was true of the Jensens. Nothing in his 21 years as an army officer had prepared Lt Col. Verne Jensen for the shock of his younger daughter's death, however. He retired in 1963, decided to remain in Vallejo and now is employed as supply officer for the General Services Administration in San Francisco. The Jensens, with their elder daughter, Melodie, live at 123 Ridgewood Ct. " I don't feel vindictive" he mused "but I am apprehensive. I feel some nut is on the loose".

His words could have been uttered by Mrs Faraday, who said her principal concern that the killer be found was not based on vengeance but on her fears there may be further victims. "And, he'll find it easier the next time". She said the other three Faraday children Debra, Robert and Steven "have handled the situation very well, I think. Presumably they have long and happy lives ahead of them, and they've got to live them".

The Jensens' lives remain clouded by the tragedy. "We'd like to have her back" Mrs Jensen said wistfully. "It took a lot to bring her this far". At Hogan High Betty was an excellent student, a junior, she was hopeful of winning an art scholarship and she worked extremely well in several forms, some of which were displayed as I talked to the family. All three shook their heads negatively when asked if they had any ideas to the perpetrator. "We know he's a nut, but what kind of nut" Mrs Jensen replied. She added she was dubious about anything worthwhile could be gained in once again turning the spotlight on the murder case. "But we'll do anything we can to help" she declared.

As for the investigation's progress, Lunblad said there has been considerably more than might be gleaned from news accounts of it. "If I talk to a suspect, I'll know positively whether he was there that night" he said cryptically. Beyond that, he would not comment. ​​

It is not difficult to cherry-pick certain phrases and words to fit ones agenda, however, we must consider that the murderer of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen likely read this article, and was buoyed by the description of his exploits as a "horrifying crime that may very well be the most celebrated murder mystery currently under investigation in California".

David Faraday's mother summed up her fears: "who said her principal concern was that the killer be found, not based on vengeance but on her fears there may be further victims. "And, he'll find it easier the next time". She wouldn't have to wait long for the killer to live up to her fears, promising he would "cruse around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend".

Detective Sergeant Les Lunblad's support may too have not gone unrecognized, with his assistance from a "score of law enforcement agencies in the state," including Sergeant Jack Richard Oller and the Fairfield Office. If this newspaper article was the last major feature regarding the Lake Herman Road slayings, before the killer began his July 4th 1969 attack on Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin at Blue Rock Springs, then it is rather unusual that the ​Sunday Times-Herald article on March 30th 1969 would finish with the thoughts of Detective Sergeant Les Lunblad:in such a manner: "If I talk to a suspect, I'll know positively whether he was there that night" he said cryptically.

Four months later, the murderer stated "I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for my afterlife", and he too said it cryptically.    

This is a continuation of the article The Illusion of the 340 Cipher, attempting to show Zodiac's second code was nothing more than a collection of puzzles, interconnected to his other mailed correspondences. 
 
The Halloween card mailed by the Zodiac Killer on October 27th 1970 featured heavily within the 340 cipher, in that, Paradice and Slaves was able to be shown bisecting the cipher horizontally and vertically across its mid-section, along with the word 'by' being found in all four quadrants. The text of the stamp In the Beginning God fitted nicely on the first line of the cipher, with the word 'God' aligning nicely with characters 15, 16 and 17. In addition, the half-earth image on the stamp exactly mirrored character 16.

The idea that all these connections to the Halloween card, 13-Symbol cipher and Exorcist letter could be forged within the 340 cipher by chance, was presented as so unlikely, they must have been created by design.

The darkened section of the Halloween card inner reads like an instruction manual. The skeleton's finger of 4-TEEN directing us downwards 14 lines, to find the word BOO. The 14th line containing four shaded circles, three of which can be formed into the word BOO, complete with exclamation mark (I + black circle). The next feature on the Halloween card is the strange symbol at its foot.  ​  

The following two characters on the 14th line of the 340 cipher can easily be rearranged, by reversing the letter F and attaching its adjacent character, to mimic the strange symbol on the Halloween card. ​The next feature on both the 14th line and Halloween card is the letter N and the letter Z. Rotating the N ninety degrees clockwise forms the completed sequence of BOO!, strange symbol and letter Z on the 340 cipher.

This is achieved using 8 characters on the 340 cipher, all in close proximity to each other. Just like In the Beginning God and Paradice and Slaves, is this another stroke of luck, or has this been deliberately fashioned by the Zodiac Killer as part of a game. It is further apparent that the word 'BOO' (in reverse) bisects the word Paradice running vertically down the cipher, separating the letters I and C.

On the Halloween card in this approximate area, the Zodiac Killer has mirrored the letter N, which may or may not hold some significance. This could be a case of simply looking for patterns and finding them, but with so many having now been unearthed, is this compelling evidence to reliably dismiss the 340 cipher as harboring a coherent and uniform message, as demonstrated by the 408?

The Zodiac Killer may have dropped several clues in his later communications, resisting the temptation of giving us the final solution: "But, then why spoil the game."    

It would be befitting that the Zodiac Killer's last correspondence may possibly be the 'Eureka' card mailed in the December of 1990, considering the last major work of Edgar Allan Poe was the non-fiction offering Eureka: A Prose Poem. "Adapted from a lecture he had presented, Eureka describes Poe's intuitive conception of the nature of the universe with no antecedent scientific work done to reach his conclusions. He also discusses man's relationship with God, whom he compares to an author. Similar to his theories on a good short story, Poe believes the universe is a self-contained, closed system. In coming to his conclusions, Poe uses ratiocination as a literary device, through his character C. Auguste Dupin, as if Poe himself were a detective solving the mystery of the universe. Eureka, then, is the culmination of Poe's interest in capturing truth through language, an extension of his interest in cryptography. Some modern critics believe Eureka is the key to deciphering meaning in all Poe's fiction, that all his works involve similar theories". Wikipedia. Strange therefore, that the Christmas card possibly engineered by Zodiac should contain a cryptic message in the form of photocopied keys mailed from Eureka, California.

This is not the only time that Edgar Allan Poe may have played a part in a cryptic message mailed by the Zodiac Killer. It could have been the essay A Few Words on Secret Writing that inspired the creation of the 13-Symbol cipher mailed on April 20th 1970 by the Bay Area murderer. A cipher that could have been devised sometime between October 22nd 1969 and November 8th 1969, and belatedly mailed by the killer some 6 months later, with the accompanying text about the murder of San Francisco police officer Brian McDonnell on February 16th 1970.

Michael Cole wrote an excellent article entitled "My Name Is" Cipher Motivation that suggested the Zodiac Killer likely drew his inspiration for the 13 -Symbol cipher from an October 22nd 1969 newspaper article by Will Stevens, which laid down a challenge to the Zodiac Killer from the president of the American Cryptogram Association (ACA), Professor D.C.B. Marsh, to reveal his name. Apparently, several months later the killer duly obliged by opening his correspondence with the line "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you. My name is...." He followed this by placing 13 characters underneath, widely considered to be the Zodiac Killer offering us his name. 

It could be argued that this cipher was not only created because of the newspaper article, but designed based on what was contained within the article - in particular the works of Edgar Allan Poe. This would be right up Zodiac's alley, devising a cipher based in the text of the newspaper article. Here is an excerpt: Dr Marsh told the Examiner today: "The killer wouldn't dare, as he claimed in letters to the newspapers, to reveal his name in the cipher to established cryptogram experts. He knows, to quote Edgar Allen Poe, that any cipher created by man can be solved by man. Zodiac has not told the truth in his cipher messages to the Examiner, the Chronicle and the Vallejo Times-Herald. Zodiac has not done this, because to tell the complete truth in relation to his name-in cipher code-would lead to his capture. I invite Zodiac to send The American Cryptogram Association a cipher code, which will truly and honestly include his name". We can see in the Edgar Allan Poe offering of  A Few Words on Secret Writing, that the very beginning of the essay shows the alphabet being split into two halves of thirteen letters:

"Were two individuals, totally unpractised in cryptography, desirous of holding by letter a correspondence which should be unintelligible to all but themselves, it is most probable that they would at once think of a peculiar alphabet, to which each should have a key. At first it would, perhaps, be arranged that a should stand for z, b for y, c for x, d for w, &c. &c.; that is to say, the order of the letters would be reversed. Upon second thoughts, this arrangement appearing too obvious, a more complex mode would be adopted. The first thirteen letters might be written beneath the last thirteen, thus:
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
a b c d e f g h i j k I m; and, so placed, a might stand for n and n for a, o for b and b for a, &c. &c. This, again, having an air of regularity which might be fathomed, the key alphabet might be constructed absolutely at random".

Quite fortunate that the Zodiac Killer, after possibly reading this newspaper article, should then create a cipher of 13 characters beginning with an A (the first letter of the alphabet) and ending with an M (the 13th letter of the alphabet), just like Edgar Allan Poe's construction in his essay A few Words on Secret Writing. 

Throughout the newspaper article Professor D.C.B. Marsh is urging the Zodiac Killer to give his name, which clearly the Zodiac wasn't going to achieve with any reasonable possibility of decryption, but he may have played a game with D.C.B. Marsh by offering us another cryptic message within the cipher. We contended previously that the 340 cipher and 13-Symbol cipher could possibly have been created at the same time because of the interconnectivity between the two. The name Zodiac appeared to be numerically carried forward from the 20th line of the 340 to the 13-Symbol cipher in the form of three circled 8's. This was achieved by placing the correct spelling of Zodiac alongside the 'near Zodiac' and numerically counting the difference between the columns. This produced perfect numerical symmetry, as did placing A to M (half the alphabet) alongside the 13- Symbol cipher. For this to be achieved, it was argued the two ciphers must have been created with each in mind, and therefore both crafted at a similar time. See image here for explanation.
 
"In Christian numerology, the number 888 represents Jesus, or sometimes more specifically Christ the Redeemer. This representation may be justified either through gematria, by counting the letter values of the Greek transliteration of Jesus' name, or as an opposing value to 666, the number of the beast". Wikipedia.
Curiously, if you visit the English gematria site here and enter Edgar Allan Poe into the calculator, 666 is achieved.    
​Was the Zodiac Killer playing games, giving us the name Jesus in the form of a numerical value and depicting himself as the savior of souls for the afterlife?

Professor D.C.B. Marsh attempted to coerce the Zodiac into giving us his name by stroking his ego, therefore it seemed rather unusual that every alphabetical letter within the 13-Symbol cipher apart from one, could be found in the word NAME. The Zodiac Killer gave us A twice, M twice, N twice and E once. The only exception was the letter K - the only letter the Zodiac Killer scrubbed out in the 340 cipher. Removing this from the 13-Symbol cipher only leaves us with letters contained in the word NAME.

The creation of these two ciphers together is a plausible explanation for a correlation between the two, with the inspiration of Edgar Allan Poe in the construction of the 13-Symbol cipher, based upon splitting the alphabet down its center, was ultimately born from the article by Will Stevens. ​Edgar Allen Poe stated that "any cipher created by man can be solved by man". Could it be claimed that any cipher created by Zodiac can be solved by Edgar Allan Poe?