The Psycho Sniper apparently left behind another chillingly cryptic clue for stymied probers at the scene of his latest attack – a note with a phone number on it.
Montgomery County, Md., Police Chief Charles Moose painstakingly chose his words in revealing the mysterious note, which was discovered after a 37-year-old man was shot in the parking lot of a Ponderosa restaurant in Ashland, Va., Saturday night.
The note was found in the wooded area where the shot is believed to have been fired, a source told The Post last night.
“To the person who left a message at the Ponderosa … you gave us a telephone number. We do want to talk to you. Call us at the number you provided. Thank you,” Moose said at a hastily called press conference.
Police spokeswoman Joyce Utter said the FBI spent hours crafting a response that would “make perfect sense” to the intended recipient.
“That is the only person Chief Moose wants to talk to,” she said.
A law-enforcement source later told The Post that investigators believe that the sniper left the phone number.
“We are not looking for a witness. We believe this is coming from the person who is doing these shootings,” the source said.
It appeared that the killer left the number of a pay phone – possibly to open a dialogue with police – based on the chief’s request that the sniper “call us at the number you provided.” But probers also acknowledged the note could be part of another taunt.
The shooter, who has killed nine people and wounded three others this month, communicated with cops once before – by dropping a “death” tarot card at the scene of another attack that carried the taunt, “Dear policeman: I am God.”
The FBI is examining the ink with which that note was written, hoping to tie it to a certain pen, sources told Time magazine.
The shooter has consistently shifted his strategy in reaction to police reports in the media about changes in their own investigation.
Saturday’s shooting, for example, came after police noted the sniper had yet to strike on a weekend.
“The victims had nothing to do with it. It’s a cat-and-mouse game with police,” a law-enforcement official said. “He’s controlling the when and where.”
At least one source also said the locale – about 85 miles south of D.C. – was chosen because the Pentagon released news that it would deploy spy planes to monitor the Washington area from the sky.
Since the shooting was miles away from the others, cops are now checking gas station credit-card receipts as a possible means of identifying the mystery marksman.
Saturday’s victim, whose identity was not released, was shot once in the mid-section and underwent emergency surgery to have his spleen and parts of his stomach and pancreas removed.
During a second surgery last night, the bullet was removed from his body, officials said.
He was listed in critical condition afterward, and doctors said they were “cautiously optimistic” about his prognosis.
Authorities said they will perform tests on the bullet to determine if it is of the same .223 caliber, and from the same rifle, as the bullets used in the other attacks.
The victim’s wife told cops she heard a noise like a branch snapping, leading police to believe the sound of the shot was altered by a muzzle flash suppresser.