>I, ofcourse, agree with that.
>However, I am not certain about the use of your term
>'control device'.

I'm thinking one of the reasons for the note was to control John's actions, thoughts and feelings as much as possible. To me, this offender is a very controlled and controlling individual, but he is terrified to have direct confrontations with those who he sees as equal or superior to him. I think he would have loved to put John through hell directly, if he could, but he can't, so he used the note to begin controlling him from the moment John read it. I think he may have used the note to control the investigation by sending LE down the wrong path right from the beginning. I liken the note to the garotte in that both were constructed for the purpose of control.

>I would agree that he wanted the note to instill a viewpoint
>of 'we must get the money and sit by the phone'. It was
>still overly wordy for such a message, but that is the
>behavior he wanted.

Not just get the money and sit by the phone. Immediately begin looking for what might be the proper size case to carry the money in. Make the arrangements with the bank to get the money and have it sorted into the proper denominations. Bring the money home and transfer it into a sack. Then wait by the phone for a phone call that may come any second because the perp said if he got the money earlier he might call. And, of course, John's brain will not be idle while he is waiting. The perp has given John plenty of bloody and terrifying imagery, plenty of questions, and he still has many hoops to jump through after the call. John Ramsey probably didn't relax and begin healing for many, many months. The offender had to put enough in the note to satisfy himself that, at least until JonBenet was found, he was in total control of John Ramsey. The offender is either a natural at psychological warfare or he studied it. You and I know that a simple, "We've got the kid. Get the money. We'll call you," would have had the same affect, but that would in no way satisfy the offender, would it?

>Sit by the phone endlessly waiting for a call that would not
>come and going through pure hell everytime some darned
>telemarketer called.

It's hard to imagine anyone would think this way or be so cruel, but that is what it looks like to me.

>Was this solely for his amusement or did he have to get
>someplace in particular before the corpse was discovered?

I don't know, but I do think he would have rehearsed his alibi and reinforced it to others.