United States

• The Zebra Killer

One down - fourteen to go.
It is 5 a.m. on a hot July morning. Mac (JAMES PICKETT) leaves an apartment house, mounts a bike and rides off, whistling. Inside the building are the bodies of three young nurses, all brutally murdered. A fourth, a black girl, Liza (RUBY BROWN) calls the police before losing consciousness. The two homicide officers who arrive, Sgt. Frank Savage (AUSTIN STOKER), big, black and muscular, and his white partner, Marty Wilson (HUGO SMITH) find only one clue. A note that reads: "One down - fourteen to go. Mac.". [sic] That night five more people die - a man, his wife and children, blown up in their car. A nearby note reads: "Two down - thirteen to go." Not until Liza regains consciousness does Savage learn that the killer was a black man. The killings continue, and each time the countdown is left behind. Escaping after another murder, Mac removes his make-up revealing that he is a white man. He taunts police headquarters with a clue: "November, 1971" and his choice in women, the beautiful "Lady" (VALERIE ROGERS). Mac succeeds in kidnapping Lady, then murders an airline stewardess and an attorney. Savage, now convinced that the killer is a white man, pieces clues together with the aid of a police computer. He learns that eight of the murder victims were involved in the murder trial of Mac's father. Soon only one man is left - the judge - but he also becomes a victim. Mac offers the police a deal. If they will supply him with an airplane and a pilot, he will free Savage's girl. But at the airport, Savage is waiting... !