The Dancing Men of the FBI

Current news items are not usually the fare on this blog but in this case, as a former investigator,  I could not resist. The title refers to the Adventure of the Dancing Men published in 1903 (set in 1890s) where Sherlock Holmes solves a case by cracking a code.

The FBI has had a murder cold case and for the first time they are asking the public for help.

The body of Ricky McCormick was found by Saint Louis, Missouri police on June 30, 1999 dumped in a field. The only clue left at the scene were two encrypted notes. There is a Wikipedia page about the case too.

Despite being worked on by the best Cryptanalysis professionals in the world the FBI remains stumped. The notes can be found here. The FBI is hoping a fresh set of eyes can crack this. Per the FBI is anyone has any ideas or any insight to write to:

FBI Laboratory
Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit
2501 Investigation Parkway
Quantico, VA 22135
Attn: Ricky McCormick Case

After a web search I found a number of posts and articles referring to the Zodiac killer. The Zodiac killer was a serial killer in the San Francisco area in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Since this is one killing several hundred miles away, unless there is other evidence, there is no reason to connect the two cases besides the notes.

At first glance the coded notes appear to be an alphabetical substitution where one letter is substituted for another. The best way to break this is to look at the frequency of the letters starting with ‘E.’ ‘E’ is the most common letter in English but that is making some assumptions.

That is assuming the decoded version is in English as opposed to some other language or dialect. Another assumption is that the decoded version is in any language at all. It could be just some incoherent ramblings of a nut. It also assumes the notes were placed there by the killer as part of the killing as opposed to being placed there, before or after, to throw the police off, which it certainly has done.

In my opinion the notes were placed there to confuse things. If we are supposed to think this was done by some Zodiac type of wacko where are the other bodies and the other notes? A killer like this gets pleasure from killing he or she (yes there are female serial killers- mostly men though) would not stop at just one. I feel this cases resolution will not be found in the notes but in McCormick himself and his life.

Riverside Blues for Bob Dylan fans

I just read Riverside Blues by writer and poet Casey Mensing. This book is a collection of short stories about all sorts of things from greed and crime to drug use and loss. Most have a sense of Bob Dylan like melancholy that makes you think about yourself and your life. I know that happened with me.

My first thought after reading a few of the stories was that the last one would tie them all together but after a few more I realized each story and the characters in them were to diverse for togetherness. Still, most of the stories, although short, are compelling reads and bring you in quickly and easily. I found myself being a bit disappointed when some of these stories, there is one about two drug dealers having to get rid of some bodies, just ended without a complete resolution. Sure the story was done but what happened after? Did the guy get caught by the cops? Or did a bigger fish get him?

But maybe this was the point. It made you want to read the next one. But maybe we are not supposed to know. Maybe the end comes from us after thinking about each one. What we think the end is-what we would like it to be instead of being told what it is. All in all this is a good read.

This book is available through Lambright Press at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and both the US and UK versions of Amazon.

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