Pierre Larcher slammed a book on the enameled metal kitchen table, launching a loud thud followed by a rattling of eating utensils, coffee cups, and saucers. 

"What's this?" asked his startled friend, Raymond Rolland.

"It's our meal ticket, our guide to the ultimate prize."

"What are you talking about? It's just a book."

"Ahh! Not just any book – The Snatchers by Lionel White."

"Never heard of it."

"It's basically a how-to book on kidnapping. I read it while I was hiding from the cops and waiting them out after the last job I pulled."

"Kidnapping? Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not kidding. Do you expect me to steal cars and pinball machines for the rest of my life? There's no future in it. Do you have a better plan?"

Raymond, a car thief himself, who had a weakness for fast cars and even faster women, answered Pierre's question with a question, "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, we don't just snatch up anybody. We want someone who's worth a lot of dough. And whoever it is, they can't give us any trouble. It has to be an easy catch, a sitting duck."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe a millionaire's wife."

"Man, I don't know. A dame's gonna be too much trouble. Believe me, I can tell you that."

"Yeah, I think you're right. Who else would a filthy rich guy pay a huge ransom for?"

"Well," suggested Ray, "if he had a little kid, he'd probably pay anything we ask."

"Yeah! And a little tike would be easy to kidnap. All we'd have to do is follow him around a bit, and when the coast is clear, we snatch him off his feet and into the car."

"So, who do we get?"

Pierre left the kitchen for a moment only to return with another book, which he also dropped on the table, spilling Ray's morning coffee in the process.

"Hey! Watch it! What's this?"

"You still don't know a book when you see one, do you?"

"Wise guy!"

"It's a social registry," explained Pierre. "Sometimes, I'll look through it to find a house to rob. I don't want to rob just anybody. I want to find someone who's got the goods. Know what I mean?"

The two criminals perused through the blue book in search of a potential victim.

"That's it!" shouted Pierre, pointing to a fuzzy black and white photo of the famed Peugeot residence. He read aloud from the book, "'...and four-year-old son, Eric.' He's our ticket!"

"How much should we ask for him?"

"Well, we have to grab him first. But I'd say he ought to be worth at least 50 million francs." ($100,000) "And we don't ask, we demand."

At that opportune moment, a svelte young brunette walked into the room.

"Ah! Just in time, my dear Rolande!" said Pierre to his girlfriend. "How would you like to assist Raymond and me in a little project?"

"How much do I get?"

Story Copyright © 2023 by Michael DeFrancesco