She was everything Bruce thought she would be. Smart with a great personality, and totally into him. Plus, Gail was great looking, even prettier than in the photos. He knew from text and phone conversations that she was a perfect fit for him. She was into biking, traveling, reading on the beach, and had so many other shared interests.

There was just this last step, confirming it by meeting in person. Gail had left it up to him to pick the place, so he decided to go with his favorite restaurant, Perfect Thai in Germantown. It would be a longer drive for her, coming from Rockville, but she had agreed to meet him there anyway.

It was working out so well, Bruce was considering taking her to his home, maybe even having her meet his parents. With all their warnings and cautions about internet dating scams it would be great to show her off and prove them wrong.

He knew about various scams and had been careful in getting to know Gail. Ever since she first messaged him on Facebook explaining, “I hated to contact you out of the blue, but since you are a friend of Cabe’s and he’s such a great guy, I thought that I should take the risk.” Cabe was a childhood friend of Bruce’s so he figured that Gail must be all right. They had a few other Facebook friends in common and she lived not far away. They started messaging back and forth and eventually exchanged phone numbers and photos, including a few sexy ones.

“Why don’t we take in a movie after we’re done eating? Bruce suggested. Barbie is playing at the AMC down the street. Have you seen it?”

Gail smiled. “No, I haven’t, and a movie would be great.”

“Maybe afterwards we could stop at my place.”

“Sounds like fun.”

Just then the waiter came by and left the bill in front of Bruce. He quickly grabbed it and looked it over to calculate an extra good tip since he loved the place, and they always treated him well. Then he noticed a message scribbled at the bottom. He was startled to read; I’ve run across your date before and have heard stories. She’s a scam artist. Get away!

What the hell? Bruce thought. No way, she’s great.

A little later while watching the movie in the theater, he couldn’t help thinking about the waiter’s note so he decided he would call Cabe to see what he knew about her. He got up from his seat saying, “I need to visit the men’s room.”

While in the lobby Bruce called Cabe who answered with, “Hey Bruce, what’s going on?”

“Hey buddy, sorry to bother you but I’m wondering what you know about Gail?”

“Who? I don’t know any Gails.”

“She’s one of your friends on Facebook.”

“Hmm, I’m sure I don’t know a Gail. Maybe she sent me a friend request and I blindly accepted it. She must have looked hot in her photo.”

“Okay, thanks, I gotta go but will talk to you later.”

Bruce had more time to think during the rest of the movie. When they left and were approaching their cars he asked, “Say, how do you know Cabe?”

“Who?”

“Cabe, in your Facebook Friends.”

“Oh yeah, Cabe. He’s a great guy. We went out a few times.”

Bruce knew that Gail was lying or stretching the truth, but he also wanted to give her the benefit of doubt. Let’s leave your car here. I’ll drive you to my place and then bring you back.”

Gail had a concerned look on her face. “Well, I don’t know, I’ll follow you in my car.”

“No, No, don’t waste the gas, this is a safe parking lot.”

Gail climbed into Bruce’s passenger seat and then Bruce pulled out onto the highway. “I talked to Cabe a little bit ago. He said he doesn’t know you.”

“What, that can’t be.”

“What color is his hair?”

“Hey loser, just take me back to my car!” Gail demanded. “I already have some great photos of you.”

Unfortunately for Gail, she knew as little about Bruce’s background as he knew about hers. It worked both ways. Bruce had been trying to turn his life around. Although he never obtained a police record, he could be a mean son-of-a-bitch and couldn’t handle being shit on. He locked out the door lock switches and pulled a Glock out from under his seat.

“Just shut the hell up. Have you ever been to Great Falls?”