When Ricky McCormick’s body was discovered in Missouri in 1999, investigators eventually encountered an extraordinary mystery. Two handwritten notes found in his pockets contained lines of letters, numbers, parentheses and apparent coded messages. Years later, the FBI publicly appealed for help deciphering them. Investigators believed understanding the notes might reveal information relevant to McCormick’s death, but their meaning remains uncertain. This is the strange intersection of homicide investigation, cryptanalysis and one man’s private language.