Feast or famine?

On Monday night I was feeling this...And wrote this in my journal....
I am so frustrated! Every time my phone rings with a number that I don't recognize, I jump. I have waited all day for the friend of my thief, FOMT, to call back and he hasn't called. The last time we spoke he seemed spooked by the possibility of exposing himself but also hungry for the money. So I guess the question is, which of his natural instincts will direct his behavior, the primal fear of being caught or the hunger for the prize? Okay, Shama, so think for a minute. He is an animal just like the rest of us, so what would an animal do? If a mouse spends his days scrounging around for bits of stale bread would he run out in the open to nab a big piece of cheese knowing that a hawk may be circling high above? Fear or hunger? Jon said that he would stay in his hole, and i guess that is what FOMT has decided to do. Just like the mouse he darts forward a few feet towards the prize by calling me, but the fear of being crushed by the talons of justice keep him scampering down his little hole again. I have been dangling a big piece of cheese but if it is fear that is motivating his actions then I need to play into that instead of focusing on his hunger. How do I make him afraid enough to contact me? What leverage do I have?
Maybe if I make him feel that the risk to him is minimal he will come out?

So I posted this on Craigslist: (http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/wan/1698992813.html )
Your contact called me today. I am not interested in ambushing you or trapping you, I just want my stolen property back. I have a proposition for you. If you do indeed have the laptop and the files are intact then I want to do business with you. Think about this, you have stolen property. If you try to keep the laptop and use it as your own the IP address can be traced back to you. If you try to sell it you have to reveal yourself as a thief and hope that you don't get caught, and you would be lucky to make even $100 bucks. I am promising $1000 for the laptop. This is the only scenario that you come out even remotely ahead.
Okay so here is what I propose. You have a third party meet me at a public place, like a Starbucks or something. You can text or e-mail the location right before we meet so that you have some measure of comfort that I don't have time to set you up (and really do you think that the police have the time or the resources to launch a sting operation for a petty criminal-I don't think so). I will verify that the contents of the computer are intact and give your contact the money. I can only give you my word that I will not call the police, I will not follow you, I will not attempt to trace you in any way. I will not try to trick or deceive you. You know where I live. You know what my children look like. I would not risk their safety or my own over $1000. If you have someone bring the laptop, I will bring the money. I will not meet you if I feel the situation is unsafe or if you cannot provide me with the serial number of the laptop ahead of time so that I know that you actually have it. If you don't want any face to face interaction you can leave the laptop at a public location and I will check it out and then leave the money. Like I said, the threat of retaliation will keep me from trying to deceive or trick you in any way.
I am not some vigilante trying to bring you to justice. I am a mom trying to get back her family photos. The whole last year of our lives are on that computer, every birthday, every special event, every milestone was documented and stored on that laptop. I want them back so badly that I am even willing to do business with some stupid thug who has nothing better to do then rob good people while they attend church on sunny Sunday afternoons.
Like I said, this is your only option for any monetary gain. If you are uncomfortable with the scenario I came up with then you come up with something and as long as I feel my safety isn't in question, I will consider it.
Let’s do business.
By the way, I am not an idiot. So if you are just trying to scam me out of $1000 and have nothing to do with my stolen lap top, leave me alone. Don't waste your time or mine with games. But if you do have my laptop, then you have something I want, I have something you want. Let’s find a way to make a trade happen.

And then the phone rang (after I called and texted...a lot)....
FMOT: "Lady, why you keep calling me?"

ME: "Because I want to say something to you..."

FMOT: "I's seen what you you's has ta' say {I think that he is referring to the numerous texts I have sent} and i know you got the cops in it. I ain't stupid. You little ol' white women and you's say you gonna meet up with me? You think I'm real stupid"

ME: "Do you really think I would endanger my family for $1000? You know where we live. You know children's faces, their names. I wouldn't do that. I just want the laptop back. Why can't you see that I am just trying to get back our photos. I am not trying to trick you, I swear!"

FMOT: "Lady, it ain't gonna happen".

And then I wrote this in my journal...
Negociations have fallen a part. He won't do business with me. I texted a few minutes ago telling him that I am losing my patience. I don't think he cares. I KNOW that but I still wanted to say it. I told him that when he is scrounging to pick pocket some guy for $20 he will regret this. I am crossing over from trying to work with him to wanted to get him. I really was going to let him walk away from our meeting. I am on a mission to get that laptop back. If that isn't going to happen then my mission is changing to one of wanting to get a sense of justice back in my world.

So I posted this on Criagslist trying to appeal the thief who robbed me and to FOMT. Now before you judge please remember that I had not slept the night before and was VERY tired and just worn out and what followed really made sense to me at the time. (http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/wan/1700628371.html )
I am giving you 90 mins. By 10pm I want to hear from you or your contact person letting me know that we are going to make a trade some how. If I don't hear from you, the reward changes from $1000 for the return of the laptop to $1000 for your name. I will also hand over your "friend's" phone number to the police and let them know that you two are trying to extort me. This could all go south for you very quickly. I will plaster the neighborhood with reward signs offering cash for anyone willing to turn you in. Again, all I want is the return of my laptop. I am willing to pay you. If you are not willing to work with me then I am actively working against you. I am still willing to let it all go for the return of my property but only for about 88 mins longer. I am not joking. I refuse to let go of the images of my newborn daughter contained on that computer. I refuse to let go of the trip to Disney Land my family took last year. If you force my hand you will regret it. CONTACT ME. The offer is still $1000 for my laptop with all image files in tact. Let me know if we are doing business so I know if I am calling the sheriff tonight and stopping by kinkos for mass printing or if I have the return of my laptop to look forward to.

It did not go over very well. The next morning the phone rang....