Trapping the Kidnapper

Chris, I love you. You're brave, smart, and your flair for the dramatic astounds me.

Last night, Gerard called promptly at eight. I set up a tape recorder to capture his voice, so I'd be prepared for the police. We both huddled around the phone, which was on speaker, and I tried not to yell as my best friend talked to a kidnapper. Here's how it went:

Chris: Hello?
Gerard: Hey Chris, how are you?
Chris: (grimacing) I'm... okay. You?
Gerard: Missing you.
Chris: Really? That's...erm, sweet.
Gerard: Sweet but true, my dear. When are you going to see me?
(By this point I was feeling sick. Had he seduced my sister just like this?)
Chris: Umm... uh, not soon.
Gerard: (clearly upset) What?
Chris:(Improvising and very freaked out) That's right! Not soon. I'm, uhh... mourning the death of my sister... in law! Sister-in-law!
Gerard: You're... married? (He pronounced the last word like it was some kind of disease) Aren't you a little... young?
Chris: Um, uh- it's not me! It's my brother! My older brother. (she sighs with relief and collects herself) He just lost his wife of two years to... a brain aneurysm. (she didn't sound very convincing. I winced.)
Gerard: (not convinced) I see. What was her name?
Chris: Umm... (her eyes flew around the room, settling on her computer with the Bellatrix Lestrange wallpaper. She's crazy about Bellatrix for some reason.)...it was Bella! Bella Black. (It was our luck that Chris's last name is Black. I just hoped Gerard wasn't a Harry Potter fan.)
Gerard: Oh! (he sounded convinced, and at least faking sorrow) I'm sorry, Chris. When is the funeral?
Chris: Tomorrow.
Gerard: That's too bad. Next weekend, perhaps?
Chris: (breathing hard and very scared) Perhaps.
Gerard: I'll be at the Castleton mall, in the food court, and I'll be reading a copy of 1984. (I glared. It's one of my favorite books.)
Chris: Okay... um, bye!
Gerard: Goodbye.
(He hung up, but I didn't turn the tape recorder off. I figured we'd want a record of our plan, if we developed one.)
Me: That was genius, Chris! (I high-fived her) You rock!
Chris: (laughs) I try, Stacie. But now, what do we do?
Me: We can't go to the police. We don't have evidence that he did it.
Chris: You have that note-
Me: But who's to say it's the same Gerard?
Chris: Good point, I guess. Hey! Why don't I go meet him?
Me: WHAT?!
Chris: I'll meet him, and you'll be in disguise watching us! If he makes a move toward me, I'll signal you or something, and you can pretend to be someone else who knows me from school!
Me: I don't know, it sounds really risky...
Chris: Come on, what have we got to lose? It's a public place, it's not like he can just grab me and make off. And there are security guards everywhere.
Me: (I sigh) Fine. We'll do it. Now let's do something fun while we still can.

And there you have it- our plans for trapping Gerard. I don't know what we'll do when we see him, I guess this meeting's just a "get-to-know-you" kind of thing. But seriously Chris, I am in awe of you.

~Stacie