After School Tales (MF/mfMF)

[KP Presents]

1965

My mother was a wonderful person, and my sister Irene and I adored her because she loved us, and always tried to keep us safe. Especially that Christmas Eve…

Irene and I both had wavy brown hair, while our mother was a peroxide blonde – and we liked to dress like her. So that night, all three of us had on big thick jumpers, with purple blue and white zig-zags like those sound wave pictures, and purple pants, with black and white shoes. I was ten, and Irene was eight, as we sat in front of our artificial Christmas tree wrapping presents up for our dad.

It was the knock on the door that was the first indicator this was going to be a different night, as mother got up to go and see who it was. Irene and I kept wrapping our present in shiny paper – and then we saw our mother come back in with a stranger. He was holding her arm tightly, and he smiled as he looked at us, and said that she was going to do whatever he said, or we would be the ones who paid.

I could see this upset her, so I told him to stop hurting our mother. She looked at him after I had said that, and she said we’d be good, that he didn’t have to threaten us. That was when I knew something was wrong as I knelt with Irene and hugged her.

Mother was pushed onto a chair, as he told us to hug each other, and don’t move. As we did that, I looked over Irene’s shoulder and saw him pull some ropes from a bag, so I whispered into her ear he was going to tie us together, and she should not be scared. She looked at me and nodded as I felt him put my wrists together, and then the rough rope as he tied them tightly to each other.

Irene started to cry a little as I watched him put her ankles together and tie them with more rope, and then tie my wrists to her ankles, but I suggested we sing some songs to make it less scary. So we sang about the Yellow Rose of Texas as he walked round, and I felt her arms getting tighter round me as he tied her wrists together, then my ankles, and her wrists to my ankles.

While he was doing this, Mother was talking to us as well, telling us how brave we were, and how proud she was of both of us. He then made her lie face down on the long couch, and as we both watched he tied her wrists together behind her back, crossed and tied her ankles together, and then bent them back before he tied some rope between her wrists and ankles.

He then turned the radio on, the music loud as he left the room. Mother looked at us, and told us we would be all right, and not to worry – Dad would be home soon, and this would all be over. We both nodded as we heard noises upstairs, but really we were too scared to do much except stay there.

When he came back down, I saw he had three of our mother’s headscarves in his hands – and he used one to keep each of us quiet, pulling it into our mouths and telling us to bite down on it before he tied the band round our head, at the back of our necks. Then he ran off, leaving us to try to call for help and (as I found out later) taking mother’s jewellery with him…

[KP Presents]

1971

How did it start? Well, we had all been to church for the morning service, and Dad was driving us back to the house for dinner. Been good church goers, we were all in our Sunday best, and looking forward to a quiet afternoon.

I was about ten at the time, and had on a short pink gingham dress with a wide collar, white tights and black shoes. My big sister Coral was wearing a short dress as well – hers was white, with lace sleeves and a round collar, and she had black sandals on.

Mom was also wearing a white dress – hers had a funny collar with a square cut at her throat, and the sleeves gathered at the cuff. They both had a gathered waist as well.

And then there was Gran – she had on a blue striped dress with white details, and white shoes. All of them also had pantyhose on.

Dad? Suit and tie – all he ever seemed to wear was a suit and tie. Anyway – we drove onto the front of our house, Dad and Mum getting out first and going to the front door while Gran waited for me and Coral to get out of the car, so that she could lock it. I remember there was an old van parked outside, but didn’t think much of it as we walked in. Gran and Coral went to the kitchen, while I walked into the front room – to see Dad standing with two men next to him, and Mum passed out on the couch. I was going to say something, when someone grabbed me from behind and pressed a damp, sweet smelling cloth over my nose and mouth. I was taken completely by surprise, as I breathed in – and my head started to swim while my eyes went all blurry. I was vaguely aware of Gran saying something, before it went misty and I must have fallen asleep…

When I started to wake up, I felt funny – something was in my mouth, and there was a tugging feeling over my lips. What’s more, I couldn’t move my arms or legs. I could hear Mum trying to say something, but it was mumbled, faint…

When I finally opened my eyes, I could see Mum looking at me, but there was something over her mouth. It was only as I managed to focus that I saw that someone had put sticking plaster over her lips, and that her arms were behind her back. Looking down, I saw that her ankles were tied together with rope – and then I was shocked to see mine were tied together as well.

I could feel there was rope round my wrists as well, and I realised I must have some of the plaster over my mouth too – and something else in my mouth. When I finally managed to wake up, I saw I was lying next to Mum on her bed – and one of the men I had seen with Dad looked in the door, walking over and making sure the ropes were still tight, before he walked off again.

I tried to say to Mum “what happened,” but all that came out was “Wwhthhhphndd?” Mum just shook her head, and pressed her covered lips on my forehead, as the second man looked in as well. I heard him say “any word yet” and then the telephone next to Mum and Dad’s bed rang. He came in, picked it up and listened for a few minutes, before he reached down and pulled the cable away from the wall, Mum rolling over and protesting as he did so.

“Shut up or we chloroform you again,” he said in a low voice, Mum shaking her head and then rolling back over before she said “whllbhlrrhhtthnnee.” I nodded as we heard the men walk down the stairs, and then the front door open and close.

“Whrhrssdhddd?”

“Ththkkhhmm,” Mum said as she looked at me, and then said “shnuushtnndhpo?” I nodded as I managed to get myself sitting on the edge of the bed, and then stand up, turning and watching as Mum did the same, and then motioned with her head to the door. I followed her out, taking short jumps, and we heard voices from Coral’s room, so we jumped into there.

Coral was sitting on the floor, tied like us with plaster over her mouth, while Gran was lying on her bed, her eyes slowly opening as she looked round. I jumped over and sat with her, while Mum jumped to Coral’s dressing table, looking over her shoulder as she picked up a pair of scissors and started trying to free ourselves.

It took a while, but she did so, and the cut Gran free before she peeled the plaster away from her mouth, and spat out a soaking wet rag cloth. Handing the scissors to Gran, she walked out while Gran freed us. It turned out they were bad men, who had taken Dad to give them something from his office, and knocked us all out as a way of persuading him to do so…

[radarlove67]

Very nice, thanks [mention]KP Presents[/mention]

Lovely story.

[KP Presents]

1978

Mummy and I had been to the park with our dog to let her have a walk – it was a beautiful Afghan hound called Betsy. I must have been eleven at the time, and Mummy was still in her early thirties. I had on a mustard coloured jumper, brown trousers and black shoes with white socks, and when we went to the park I had my favourite grey hooded poncho on – it was crocheted, and held by two large buttons at my neck and a little way down.

Mummy also had a hooded crochet top on – hers was grey with brown squares, and she wore it over a brown jumper and long skirt, and a pair of brown knee length waterproof boots. We both had the hoods up over our blonde hair – something I was grateful for given what happened when we got home.

Mummy took our dog into the kitchen to settle her down, and I went into out front room to find a book I was reading – but when I went in, there were things all over the floor, and then someone put a gloved hand over my mouth and whispered “not a word, little one.”

When Mummy came in, she looked at me, and then whispered “please, don’t hurt her.” I heard whoever was holding me say “I won’t hurt her if you both do as I say. Understand?” Mummy nodded and told me we were going to do what he said, and I nodded before he let me go, letting me run to Mummy as she hugged me.

I looked at the man who had been holding me – he had on a black jumper and trousers but he had one of those ski masks pulled down over his head as well, so that we could only see his eyes and mouth. He had something in his hand like what you see in cowboy films, as he told us both to sit on the couch, and put our hands on our heads.

Mummy asked if we could take our ponchos off, but he shook his head, so we sat down and did as he asked, while he opened a black bag he had and took some ropes out. Handing on to Mummy, he told her to tie my wrists together in front of me – starting by doubling the rope over.

She nodded, and said she was sorry as he told her what to do – the rope going round my wrists as I put my hands together, then pulled back as she wrapped it round them, and then between my arms before tying the ends off. He checked it, and then told Mummy to put her hands back on her head while he knelt in front of me.

I watched as he used some more of the rope to tie my ankles together, in the same way as my wrists, and then he did the same to Mummy – before he tied our legs together below our knees as well, so that all we could do was try to move them. I giggled as I heard Mummy’s boots squeak, and she smiled back at me as we both wondered what he would do next.

He answered that as he lifted me and sat me on Mummy’s lap, telling her to put her arms round me and hug me. When she did this, he used some more rope to tie her wrists together, while I rested my head on her and she said everything was going to be all right. I nodded and said I knew, as the man tied some rope from my wrists to my legs, and then tied Mummy’s wrists to the rope round her legs. We were staying there, that was for sure…

He then took from the bag a roll of silver tape, and made sure Mummy’s hood was over her head before he wrapped it tightly round, covering her mouth as he did so. He did the same to me, as I felt the wool on my head and cheeks – and the tape pulling on my mouth. I tried to speak, but it was only a mumble that came out, so I rested my head on Mummy as we watched him put some things from the display case into his bag, and then went upstairs.

He left a little while later, as we wriggled on each other - but we could not get free. That was when our dog came in and looked at us, and then lay at Mummy’s feet as he went to sleep. I must have fallen asleep as well – because the next thing I remember was Daddy asking if I was all right as he cut the tape from my mouth…

[KP Presents]

1971

I lived with Mum, Dad and my three sisters in downtown Springfield, just your ordinary everyday family in many ways. Mum had brown hair which the hairdresser invariably set in a bun, and when this happened I was twelve, Cindy ten, Shirl eight and Emma five. Dad worked in the local newspaper, and Mum as – well, Mum.

The week before we had the visitors, Dad had been working late some nights – he said he was finishing off an article, and he did do that form time to time. Then on the Sunday he went into the office, leaving us at home. Mum was wearing a short dress with white sleeves and a white wing collar, the main part in blue with a thin black belt, and blue shoes. I was going out later, so I was wearing a purple long sleeved dress with a brocade front and belt, purple tights and new white knee length boots.

Cindy was going to an event at the synagogue, and had on a grey and white top, short grey skirt, dark tights and black shoes. Shirl and Emma were on the front room, watching cartoons – Shirl had on a green dress with a white lace front and sleeves, white socks and blue shoes, while Emma was in a white blouse, a purple skirt with a wide brown belt, white tights and red shoes.

It was Sunday, nothing was going to happen – and then it did. And it happened when Cindy heard a knock on the door, and thought it was her friend coming to take her to the event, so she ran down and opened it – and then Mum and I heard her scream.

Mum went into the corridor, and I heard her say “oh god – no, don’t hurt her,” so I went out, as did Shirl and Emma – and we saw the three men who had come in. they looked like Dad does when he goes to the office – short sleeved shirts, ties, jackets, trousers – but they had something pulled down over their heads that looked like they were Mum’s stockings. One of them was holding Cindy, with a hand over her mouth, the second one was holding what looked like a rifle, but it seemed much shorter – and the third one ordered all of us to go into the front room, told Mum to draw the drapes over the windows, and told us to sit quietly on the couch.

Well, we were all scared, as Mum told us to do as they said, so we went in and sat down, the man pushing Cindy over to sit next to me, while Mum closed the curtains and then sat in an armchair.

The men looked at us as Cindy started crying, and told us to – well, he told us to be quiet and stop crying, but that wasn’t exactly what he said. He then put a bag he had been carrying on the floor, and told Mum she was going to call Dad and tell him to do something – but first, we all had to be tied up and gagged.

Well, we were really scared now, but I said to Shirl and Emma we could make it like a game of cops and robbers – only it’s only the robbers here right now, the cops would come later. They both nodded as I told them we’d be fine, and then watched as one of the men took out of the bag some lengths of what looked like washing lien that had been cut up.

He told Emma and Shirl to put their hands together in front of themselves, and when they did he used one length each to tie their wrists tightly together. Mum asked what they wanted, but the man with the gun just told her to be quiet and he’d tell her what to say.

The man tying my little sisters up looked up and smiled, before he took two more lengths of the cord and tied their ankles together, just as tightly, and then he tied their legs together below their knees. He then told them to shuffle back in the seat, and when they had done so he tied their wrists to the rope around their legs. He then looked at me and Cindy, and said we were to kneel on the floor, and put our hands behind our backs.

When we did that, there was a knock on the door, and the armed man told us all to be quiet while Mum was told to go and see who it was, and get rid of them. We heard her talking to someone, and saying Cindy was in bed ill, and we realised it was her friend – but we were too scared to say anything, as the man crossed my wrists behind my back, and I felt the rope around them as he tied them together.

He then tied Cindy’s wrists, as Mum came back in and told us we were all been very brave. I wasn’t feeling brave right now – I was scared as he tied my ankles together, and then tied Cindy’s ankles, before he helped us both to sit back to back and he tied us together at our waists and around our upper bodies.

Then came the even scarier bit – he took four white cloths out of the bag, and used one on each of us as a gag, pulling it round our heads and between our lips. It tasted funny on my tongue as he tied the ends together at the back of my neck, but it meant all we could really do was mumble.

I held Cindy’s hand behind my back to show I was all right as the armed man made Mum stand up and walk into the hallway. I could hear her talking to someone – I think it was Dad – and then she came back in – but this time her hands were behind her back as well, and I could see rope around her arms and upper body, keeping them in place.

She sat back in the armchair, and we watched as he tied her ankles together, and her legs below her knees, and then sued another cloth between her lips to keep her quiet as well. All this time, the television had been playing, and as the news programs started Mum mumbled “htwhntntbglhngghrrlss.”

It was at least two hours before the phone rang again, and the man listened to a message, before they all left. When the door closed, Mum started to twist round and I could tell she was trying to get free – Emma and Shirl started to try and call for help, and I could see the cloth had got grey in their mouths. I guess the same thing that was happening to me happened to them – I was getting very thirsty.

Another hour later, the door opened and two policemen came in, removing the cloths and then untying us before we went to the hospital, where Dad met us. They had forced him to hand over his story – but not before he had sent a copy to his editor…

[KP Presents]

I’d invited Penny back after school for tea, and then so that we could look at some new magazines I had bought over the weekend. As it was, we discovered something else…

I was wearing a very nice blue short sleeved top, a gold mini skirt, and knee length brown leather boots that were laced up the front. Quite the fashionable thing – and Penny was just as smartly dressed, in a purple gingham style dress with puffed sleeves, and short black laced boots that came half way to her knees.

Anyway, we were talking as we walked along the sidewalk to my house, and then we went in the back door as I always do, stopping to get two bottles of coke from the icebox. It was as we walked past the door to my front room that I called out to Mom to say we were going upstairs – and I heard something strange, a muffled call that sounded like Mom, and yet wasn’t.

So I looked in the door – and shrieked “MOM!” My mother was lying on her side on the long seat, looking at me with her eyes wide over a wide strip of sticking plaster that covered her mouth. She was wearing what she had on when I left that morning, a short printed shirt dress and knee length burnt orange suede boots – but there were bands of rope round her ankles and legs, and her hands were behind her back, with more rope around her arms and body.

She looked at me, shook her head and said “RHNNNN” but as I turned round, I saw Penny looking at me – and the big man behind her, covering her mouth with his large hand as he said “great – the kids are home. You going to cause any trouble?”

“No sir,” I whispered, as he nodded and said “good – upstairs, both of you. Stay right there Mommy.”

“Dhnnthhrrthtmphlsss,” I heard her say as he made me and Penny walk in front of him, me taking her hand as she put it out for me to hold so we could tell each other we would be all right. He made us go into my room, but as I passed my Mom and Dad’s room I saw things scattered over the floor.

“Okay you two,” he said as we went into my room, “lie face down on the bed, and put your hands behind your back.”

“We’ve walked into a robbery, haven’t we,” Penny said as we did as he had said, and I felt him cross my hands behind my back as she looked over. I felt the rope on my wrists as he pulled them together, the tight cords rubbing no my wrists as he took them around and between my arms, and then tied the ends out of reach of my fingers.

I looked over and watched as he did the same to Penny, and then crossed her ankles before he tied them tightly together as well. I heard her boots squeak as her legs rubbed together, and then the rope round my own ankles as he tied them as well.

He then made us both roll over and sit up, as he tied our legs together below our knees, and then took one of the longest ropes I had ever seen, and started to wind it round Penny’s upper body. We were both twelve, and our bodies had not really started to develop, but as he took the rope round in two bands I saw her dress as it was pulled over her chest, and saw the strange look in her eyes as she watched.

He then tied two shorter lengths between her arms and body, before it was my turn. It felt very strange as the ropes were pulled tightly round me, and I saw my jumper stretching as well – it felt different, especially after he had tied the shorter lengths to tighten those two bands round my body.

As we looked at him, he then took a roll of sticking plaster out of the bag the ropes had bene in, and tore off two wide strips, pressing one over each of our mouths. Penny looked at me and said “Whtddhwwhhdhnhw?”

“You both stay there,” the man said as he looked at us, “or I pull those legs back and tie them to your other ropes.” We both shook our head as he made us lie down, and then left the room as we started to twist round.

I started to feel hot, flushed – and strange as the ropes rubbed on me – and I looked at Penny as she looked back at me. We just looked at each other for a few minutes, before she shuffled over and put her head on my chest. It just felt nice, right, the best thing to do as I rubbed my cheek on her head, and she rubbed her cheek on my chest…


I don’t know how long after it was, but we heard someone shuffling outside the bedroom door, and then we saw Mom making her way in. She had pushed herself up the stairs, and as she looked at us she said “huhhrrghrrelshllrhtt?”

“Whrfhfnnmmm,” I said as the front door opened and closed, and I heard Dad say “where is everyone?”

“HPPHUUHHRRRR” we all shouted out as he ran up and looked at us, then rushed in and hugged us before he untied us. The man was never caught – but Penny and I became closer friends, and we started to play tie-up games together after that…

[KP Presents]

1980

It was school photo day in Primary 5, and my twin sister Tanya and I were both sitting side by side, smiling as the photographer looked at us and said “say cheese.”

“CHEESE” we both said, grinning as the flash went off, and he said “great – thank you.” We both jumped off the seat and walked out hand in hand to join the others. I was wearing a brown dress with a little white bit at the neck and a lace collar, with a pair of long light brown boots with a cork heel – and Tanya a red Laura Ashley style dress with a white fern pattern, and similar boots to mine, but a darker brown leather. She also had her brown hair slightly longer than mine – but not much.

We went back to the classroom and sat at our desks, looking at the clock – we had an hour still to go before we left for the day, and Mummy had promised us a special treat when we got home…

As the bell rang, we collected our bags and ran out to see Mummy standing there. She was also wearing a Laura Ashley dress – hers was a long one, with a thin black belt round her waist, and two white lace trims half way up the skirt and at the edge, as well as baggy black boots. She hugged both of us as we ran over, and said “have you had a good day?”

“We have Mummy,” I said with a smile, “are we still going to have a treat?”

“Yes we are – let’s get home then,” she said as she held our hands and we started to walk home. It only took us ten minutes, and we were really excited as she opened the door and we ran in…

And then were grabbed, a gloved hand clamped over my mouth as I saw someone doing the same to Tanya before Mummy came in. She looked at us, and then said “oh my god” as she dropped her handbag on the floor, and put her hands in the air.

“Smart move lady,” a male voice said from behind me, “do as we say, none of you get hurt, understand?”

She looked at us and nodded as she said “they won’t make any noise – please, let them sit on the couch, I’ll turn the television on, it will keep them occupied.”

“Do it,” the man said, “and close the curtains as well.” Tanya and I watched as Mummy walked across the room, and pulled the curtains over the bay window, before she turned the television on and we saw BBC One come on.

“Go and sit on the couch, and do what the people tell you to do,” she then said quietly as we were released, and we walked over before sitting down. We could see the two men now, with what looked like Mummy’s stocking pulled down over their heads. One of them opened a bag he was carrying, and then put Mummy’s hands behind her back as she said “please, they’re just kids.”

“Then it’s an adventure,” the other man said as he looked at us. “Can you both put your hands together in front of you, as if they are a ball?”

We both nodded as he took two lengths of white cord from a pocket, and then he tied our wrists together in front of us, Tanya and me looking at each other as he took the rope around and between our wrists. It was tight, but it didn’t hurt, and when he was done we could not move our wrists apart at all.

I looked at Mummy, who was mow having some rope tied around her arms and tummy, as the second man walked to the bag and took out two more lengths of rope. He then knelt down and tied my ankles together, again taking the rope around and between my legs so that they were held tightly together, but it was the funny noise my boots made when I tried to move my legs that made us both giggle.

Doubly so when he tied Tanya’s ankles together as well, and then found some more rope to tie out legs together below our knees. As he did this, the second man took Mummy upstairs for a few minutes.

“Where’s Mummy going,” Tanya said as he took the rope between her legs.

“Oh don’t worry, she’ll be back in a few minutes,” the man said as he tied the rope off, and then brought two more lengths over, this time using them to tie our wrists to the ropes between our legs. We weren’t going anywhere now, as the man took from the bag a roll of silver tape, and tore a strip off. He stuck that firmly over my mouth, and put a second strip on top of it, before he did the same to Tanya and we had to watch the television quietly.

He was right though – Mummy did come back a few minutes later, looking at us as she was sat in a chair and then her ankles tied together as well. The man also tied her legs together, but above her knees, gathering the skirt of her dress around her legs as he did so.

Some silver tape was then pressed over her mouth before the two men left, and we heard the front door open and close. Mummy started to wriggle round then, her boots squeaking – so Tanya and I did the same thing, the sound of all three of us making our boots rub together and squeaking eventually making us laugh as another program started.

We were stick there until Daddy came home at Six – he freed us, and after we talked to the police he took us all out to a Berni inn for dinner…

[KP Presents]

1973

This was a Saturday – Mum and Dad were working at the newsagents they ran, and I had been to the Saturday Morning Cinema with my friends at the ABC, while big sis Lesley looked after my younger sister Dawn. It was a warmish day, so I was wearing a new blue dress I had, with a very large white checked pattern on it, blue tights and my brown Frye boots. I had a short alieved white blouse on a swell, the collar over the top of the dress – just to keep the chill out.

Anyway, we all caught the bus back from the centre of town to the estate I lived on, and it must have been about one o’clock when I let myself in. I was eleven at the time, Dawn was five and Lesley seventeen.

The house was quiet, which I thought was a bit funny given how loud Dawn could be, but I soon found out why when I walked into the front room, and Lesley looked at me, shaking her head as she said “Ghhhhlppfhrrmnhxtdhr!”

Now, that did sound funny – but that was because she was sitting in one of the chairs from the dining table, and she had a strip of Elastoplast over her mouth. What was more, Dawn was sitting next to her in her wooden chair – and she had some sticking plaster over her mouth as well.

Dawn was wearing her yellow sundress over a white top, and brown socks with white and yellow strips at the top – but her ankles were tied to the front legs of her chair, and I could see the rope around her waist and the chair back, while her arms went round that back. As for big sis, she was wearing a yellow blouse and pink miniskirt, but she was also tied to the chair, her ankles tied together and pulled under the chair, and her arms around the chair back as well.

Something was very wrong – but before I got the chance to go for help, I was grabbed from behind, a rough hand over my mouth as a deep male voice said “no, I think she’s going to do exactly what we say, aren’t you girlie?”

“Hhhhruh,” I mumbled, but I then heard a laugh as the voice said “someone who’s going to make sure you can’t raise the alarm. You going to keep quiet in the meantime?”

I nodded slowly as the hand was taken away, and then my hands were pulled behind my back, as I felt the rope around my wrists as they were forced together.

“Dnnthrhrhrrr,” Lesley called out as I felt the rope tugged between my arms, and then more rope around my arms and stomach, locking them into place before I was told “lie face down on the couch.”

I walked over and lay on the black leather seats, looking at my sisters as I felt the rope around my ankles, forcing them together, and then around my legs below my knees, before I was told to raise my head. When I did, he pressed something over my mouth which pulled at my skin, and I realised he had put Elastoplast over my mouth as well.

There was footsteps, and then I heard whoever it was go back up the stairs, as I rolled onto my side and looked at the other two. “Hmmshrreeee,” Lesley said, Dawn nodding as I saw a tear run down her cheek.

“Shhllrhtdhnwhllbhfhnn,” I heard myself say, as Lesley started to twist herself round in the chair. I then heard footsteps running down the stairs, and the front door open and close, before a thought struck me.

Where was Mum?

I got an answer to that a few minutes later when I heard some thumping on the stairs, and then Mum jumped in, Elastoplast over her mouth as well as she looked at us. She was wearing a yellow coat mini-dress, and white shoes, but she had been tied as tightly as us, the ropes around her arms and body as well as her legs.

She said “hrrughrlsshllrht,” all of us nodding as she jumped slowly over and kissed Dawn on the head, before turning round. We watched as she started to pick the plaster away from little sis’ mouth – wondering how long before we could call for help…

[KP Presents]

1975

It was a quiet evening at home – just me, Mum, Dad and my eighteen year old sister Barbara. We had finished our tea – Findus Pancakes and chips with peas – and were sitting watching Nationwide. I was in a blue and white striped dress, with a sash belt, and white tights. Barbara was in her work clothes – a mustard coloured blouse and crochet cardigan, checked miniskirt and brown shoes.

Mum was in the kitchen washing the dishes, while Dad sat with his pipe in his mouth. He was wearing a brown and cream striped t-shirt, black trousers, socks and shoes – he worked as a driver for a local firm.

Anyway, as I said, we were watching television when there was a crashing noise in the kitchen. Dad stood up, and called out to Mum to ask if she was all right, but none of us was expecting her to be pushed back in the room, her hands behind her back – or the two men who came in with her. They were big men, wearing boiler suits and gloves, and they both had black ski masks over their heads, so that we could only see their eyes and mouths.

The worst thing though as one of them had a gun, and pointed it at us, telling us to sit down and shut up, and if we did as they said, nobody got hurt. Mum was crying as she walked to be with Dad, and I saw she had some brown rope around her wrists, holding them together behind her back.

Dad asked if she was all right, but she shook her head as she, Barbara and I were ordered to sit next to each other on the couch. Barbara and I were then told to lean forward, and put our hands behind our back, while the man with the gun stood with Dad. We did this, and I felt the rope rubbing on my wrists as the second man pulled it tightly round them, forcing them together as he made sure it was very tightly tied. I watched as he tied Barbara’s wrists as well, and then we were both pulled back in the seat as we looked at Mum.

Dad asked what they wanted – we weren’t exactly rich, and we didn’t have any money. That was when the man said they didn’t want money – they wanted Dad to take one of them to his depot and drive a van for them.

Well, Dad said he would not – and the man said if we did not, it would be us who got hurt. Mum shook her head, and pleaded with Dad to do what they said, and he eventually nodded in agreement. He then had to watch as we all had our ankles tied together side by side with more rope. Mum was wearing a black and grey dress, and I could see she was crying as they tied her ankles together.

The rope hurt – it was rough, and it was tight on my wrists and ankles, but I was too scared to say anything. I looked at Barbara, who nodded and said we would be all right, and I nodded as well as the man said to – gag us?

The next thing I knew, a rolled up headscarf was pulled between my lips and tied tightly round my head, Barbara and Mum getting one tied into their mouths as well, before the second man made Dad walk out, the first man sitting in the armchair and watching us as the television stayed on.

We had no idea who they were, or what was happening to Dad, as Top of the Pops, Tomorrow’s World, a whole lot of other programs came on. I could feel the scarf getting wet in my mouth, and I saw a dark stain between Mum and Barbara’s lips, as it got dark outside, and my eyes got very heavy…

I don’t know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up Mum and Barbara were asleep as well. It was dark, and the television was off, but we were all still tied up, all still gagged.

Something had changed though – the man had gone, and as I listened I realised there was nobody else in the house. So I shuffled forward, managed to get onto my feet, and very carefully jumped to the kitchen, finding a pair of scissors and somehow managing to cut my wrists free. I then sat down and cut the rope round my ankles, before I went into the hallway and picked up the telephone receiver.

Only to see the wire had been cut – so I opened the door and looked out. I could see a light on in the house next door, so I ran round and banged on the door. When it was opened, the woman looked at me as I cried that my mum and sister were tied up in our house!

Her husband came out, and told me to wait there while he went round. A few minutes later, he came back and told me he had freed them, and I hugged them as they came in while he called the police. Dad was found at his work – they had hit him, but he was all right, and he said we had been very brave when he got home…

[KP Presents]

1971

Mum was a model for catalogues and knitting patterns – and she liked doing the job, so much that sometimes my big sister and me got roped in for the shoot. The day the woman called, that was what we were doing – because we were going to a show later, the people doing the shoot allowed us to go home in the outfits.

I was ten years old at the time, with my blonde hair in a pudding bowl cut, and they had dressed me in a red jumper, black shorts, knee length white socks and black shoes. Mandy is a year older than me, and that day was in a red wool cardigan, a grey pleated skirt, white tights and black Mary Jane shoes.

As for Mum, she was wearing a green fitted jacket and knee length skirt, with white flat shoes. She also had her rings, gold bracelets and earrings in, but the one thing we all wanted to do was get home so that we could go and see the show.

Mum had a Morris Minor, and it was a half hour drive home, but Mandy and I spent the time playing I-Spy, with our Big Chief I-Spy books to fill in. We parked outside our house, went in – and then we saw the two women in our front room, with papers scattered over it.

They were both wearing blue boiler suits and gloves, but when they turned and looked at us we saw they had scarves tied over the lower half of their faces. Mum looked at them, before one of them walked quickly over and grabbed both of us, putting her gloved hands over our mouths as she told Mum not to do anything stupid.

Mum slowly nodded as the second woman walked over, and told Mum to take her jewellery off, and put it in a leather bag she was holding. I looked at Mandy, too scared to do anything as she took her rings, bracelets and earrings off, and put them into the bag, the second woman nodding before she told her to lie face down on our long seat, and put her hands on her head.

“Whhhrrudhnnn,” I mumbled as I tasted the leather glove on my lips.

“Robbing you kid - now we gotta make sure you and your mummy can’t tell anyone about us for a while,” she said as the other woman took some brown rope from a bag, and pulled Mum’s hands behind her back, crossing her wrists and tying them tightly together. She then crossed and tied her ankles in the same way, before pulling them back and tying them to her wrists.

Mum looked at us and told us we had to be brave, but I was looking at how she was lying on the couch, wondering why I was so interested in how she looked. The woman then tore a strip of sticking plaster from a roll, and pressed it over Mum’s mouth, then looked at us.

The woman holding us told us not to talk, but to go and kneel in front of the couch where Mum was, and to put our hands behind our back. I nodded as Mandy and I walked forward, and did as she said, then I looked to the side as she began to tie Mandy’s wrists together. She had doubled the rope over, and pulled it round her wrists so they were held together, then wound it round a few more times before she separated the ends and tied them between her arms. Mandy was biting her lower lip, as the ropes rubbed on her wrists, and then she looked over and smiled at me.

I then felt the rope on my own wrists – it was rough, but as they were held together I had to admit I was finding it exciting – something about this whole situation was good, and I had no idea what it was. I felt the rope tightening, and then I felt my ankles been held together as well with more rope.

Looking over, I saw Mandy having her ankles tied together as well, before we were made to sit back to back on the floor. As one of the women tied us together with the biggest length of rope I had seen, the other one pressed a strip of sticking plaster over my mouth, and I heard Mandy grunt behind me as she had plaster put over her mouth as well. It tugged on the skin on my face, and as I wriggled round I felt the rope rubbing on me – as I held Mandy’s hand in mine.

I looked at Mum, who had rolled onto her side and was watching us as she wriggled round as well – and that was the sight I could not take my eyes off as she tried to speak to us, but could not. It was a strange feeling – not just in my head, but also in my body as I felt something stirring inside me, a feeling I had never had before as I twisted round.

I didn’t even notice the two women had left as there as I felt a throbbing start, and was beginning to get scared – but it was only a little while before a policeman came in. He had seen the open door as he passed, and come in to see if everything was all right.

We were freed, and Mum told us to change as she went upstairs with us, but those feelings I had experienced were still in my head – and I think now, that’s where my interest started…

[KP Presents]

1981

The thing I remember most about that night is just how calm Mum and Dad were when the whole thing started – especially as I had two friends round to stay the night, and they had to be kept calm as well.

The three of us were going to a theatre trip to London the next morning, and so I had asked Zoe and Patricia to come and stay the night beforehand. We lived in a big house on the outskirts of town – Dad is a very important person in his company – and given we were all eleven years old, Mum agreed to make it a proper party for the three of us, with popcorn and Betamax tapes.

We have a big TV room, with a huge 21” screen television, and I remember getting the snacks and drinks ready before they arrived that night. I was wearing a white t-shirt with orange short sleeves, a long gypsy skirt in the same shade of orange that had two grey bands with little white spots, and my brown Frye boots. Then I had long black hair, which was combed back.

Zoe was the first to arrive, taking off her duffle coat to reveal a light blue and white checked poncho over a long sleeved white top, her jeans tucked into her long black leather boots. As she tucked into some Hula Hoops, the doorbell rang again, and Patricia was shown in. While Zoe had blonde hair, Patricia had curly dark brown hair, and she was wearing a long sleeved crimson velvet dress with a white blouse underneath, and grey cowboy-style boots.

Mum asked if we needed anything else, but I shook my head as I opened some bottles of Coke, and we looked at the tapes I had. Eventually, we decided we would watch Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown, and I pressed the button to open the top up, putting the black box in and then pressing it down again as Zoe turned the television on.

And that was it – we were settled in for a film, and some fun – and then there was the doorbell ringing again, and I heard Mum, then Dad, their voices raised in anger.

We looked at each other, wondering what was going on, but before I could go and find out, the door to the TV room was thrown open and Mum was pushed in by a big man – a scary big man, who had a gun in his hand and called out that he had found the kids.

Two more men came in, with Dad, and I saw he had his hands behind his back. He looked at Mum, and then said we all needed to remain calm – the men were going to do something to us to stop us moving round, but we were not to try and stop them.

I nodded as we held each other, before one of the two men with Dad held up three coils of brown rope. Dropping two on the floor, he made a lasso with the third one, and asked which one was “their kid.” I held my hand up, and then he dropped the lasso over me, pulling it tight so that my arms were held against my sides. He wound it round twice, then told me to put my hands together in prayer in front of me. I did that, and watched as he pulled the rope tightly round them, and then tied my legs together over my skirt, before he took what was left and tied my ankles tightly together. As a result, my wrists were tied down to my lap and to my legs, and I could only wriggle round, watching as he picked up another rope, made another lasso, and started to tie Patricia up in the same way.

Zoe was crying, so Mum knelt next to her and stroked her head, saying she knew she was scared, but it was all going to be all right. I wasn’t so sure – especially when she was pulled away and Zoe ended up the same way as me and Patricia, unable to move our hands and only able to wriggle round. There was one other thing – a squeaky noise, which I realised was made when my boots, or Zoe’s boots, rubbed together. Patricia didn’t get the same sort of noise when she twisted round, but it was a funny thing to hear.

We had to watch then as one of the men tied Mum’s wrists together behind her back, and then two of them dragged my parents out of the room, the third one closing the door and watching over us. We looked at each other, and decided there was only one thing we could do – keep watching the film.

When it finished, he turned the television on – before one of his ‘friends’ came back in, and tossed him a roll of silver tape. He smiled at us, tore a strip off – and then pressed it firmly over my mouth, two more following before he did the same to the other two.

Now we couldn’t even talk to each other – but that wasn’t the worst thing that happened. That was when they picked Zoe and Patricia up and carried them both out of the room, while I screamed at them. Well, I say scream, it sounded like something else, as the tape meant my mouth was closed tight shut.

One of them then came down and picked me up, carrying me up the stairs. As I passed my room, I saw Zoe and Patricia on the floor, tied together back to back – but I was taken into Mum and Dad’s room. Mum was sitting on the bed, up by the headboard, and I saw they had tied her ankles and legs together as well. I was sat next to her, and my ankles tied to her legs, before the two men left us. She had the silver tape over her mouth as well, as she kissed my forehead, and then rubbed against me as she tried to talk to me.

I wondered where Dad was, and I could see Mum was looking round – so I said “Whrssdhddd?”

“Thtthkhmmm,” she mumbled back, and I realised there were only two men in the house – the third must have taken Dad somewhere. We heard the front door open and close – and then Mum started to rub the side of her mouth on the headboard. I wondered what she was trying to do – and then realised as the tape slowly came away from her mouth. When it finally came off, she whispered if I was all right, and I nodded as she started to scream for help.

Luckily, a man was passing and ran in – he called the police from a phone box down the road, because they had pulled the phone from our wall, and then came back to release us all…

[KP Presents]

1977

It was a very strange time to be a teenager – Glam rock had just run the course, and Punk was just round the corner, so sitting in my room with Lynn and listening to Genesis was something of the norm for passing the evening.

I was thirteen, and Lynn twelve – it was a Saturday, so we had been to the Adventist meeting that day, and were relaxing at home. I remember I was wearing a black mini-dress, with a little white collar and cuffs on the short sleeves, and long black socks with brown shoes. Lynn was also wearing a shirt dress, but hers was a white sleeveless one with buttons up the front, and she had a long sleeved blue blouse underneath it, as well as long white socks and black shoes.

It must have been about six, and Dad had gone to an evening meeting, so we were expecting Mum to call us down for supper. But when it got to six thirty, and she had not called up, we decided to go downstairs and see what had happened. Sometimes, she fell asleep, and when that happened we would cook supper and then wake her up. When we looked in the living room, however, it was clear she had not fallen asleep.

She was lying on her side on the couch, her head resting on the wooden arm, and as she looked at us she shook her head and tried to say something. She wasn’t making any sense however – because someone had covered her mouth with silver tape. They had also wound silver tape round her ankles, legs, waist and arms, and her hands were behind her back.

Mum was wearing a tartan coat dress, with a black belt round her waist – at least, I presumed it was still round her waist, as there was a band of silver round that now. I could also see the heels of her brown shoes, as he kept trying to tell us something.

Before we could do anything, however, a hand was pressed over my mouth, and as I looked over I saw a leather gloved hand over Lynn’s mouth as well. Mum looked at both of us and shook her head, but a male voice said something about it saved him going upstairs, and told us both to keep quiet, and put our hands behind our back.

Well, I realised now someone had tied Mum up, and used the tape to keep her quiet – and he was going to do the same to us, as I heard a ripping sound and felt something tug on the bare skin of my wrists as they were forced together. I told Lynn to keep calm, and she nodded as I watched whoever it was tape her wrists together with the tape coming off a large roll.

He had large hands, and he seemed to be wearing a blue boiler suit, but I didn’t look any more as he started to wrap the tape round my sister’s arms and body, making two silver bands as she stared straight ahead.

That was when I started to silently pray, as I felt the tape forcing my own arms into my sides, and then we forced to sit back to back on the floor. I saw him now – big, very big, bearded, and a wild look in his eyes as he wound more tape round our waists to hold us together, and then taped my ankles together, my calves together, and my thighs together.

Mum was still trying to talk to us, I think to keep us calm, so I found Lynn’s hand and gave her fingers a squeeze as I listened to the sound of the tape been torn from the roll. He then knelt in front of me, and brushed my hair away from my face – before he tore a strip of tape off and pressed it over my mouth.

Then another strip. And another. Only then did he nod, and I heard him taping over Lynn’s mouth as well.

He then left the three of us in the room, Mum twisting round as the tape he had used to bind her up crinkled. We were both too scared to move, as we heard him in the kitchen – and then silence.

Dad found us when he returned two hours later – Mum told us when we were free he was an escaped prisoner who had surprised her in the kitchen, then used some tape to secure her and keep her quiet. She had hoped he would go before we came down – but sadly, that did not happen…

[KP Presents]

1973

Want to talk a night of terror, both on a personal and a fashion level? Try the night I, my sisters and my mother were forced to spend the night tied up and gagged – in matching outfits!

And what was worse, it was the time when cheesecloth and checks were king…

I was eleven years old at the time, Katy twelve and Annie fourteen. We lived in the outskirts of Cleveland, mom really loved us to be coordinated – to a frightening level. Put it this way – the night in question, we were all in red and white checked outfits. Mom’s was a one piece pantsuit, made to look like a waistcoat and pants, with a red roll neck jumper underneath. Mine was slightly worse – the top bit looked like a wrap round waistcoat, but I also had to have the red jumper underneath.

Mind you, looking back, Katy and Annie had the worst deal – theirs were capped sleeved romper suits, and they had to wear white jumpers underneath. They both got to wear white short go-go booties as well – I had brown shoes on, and mom red heels.

Anyway – we all had finished our supper, and were sitting watching the Smother Brothers when there was a knock on the door. Mom stood up and went to see who it was – and then we heard her say “no…” before she was pushed back into the room by one of two men. Both of them had black ski masks on, showing only their eyes and mouths – and one of them had a gun, which made Annie scream when she saw it.

The other man – well, he told us to shut up, in different words, and to sit still with our hands where they could see them. Mom had her hands behind her back, and I wanted to know why – and found out when she was made it sit down, and the second man came behind me, yanking my wrists behind my back and tying them together with thin twine.

Annie and Katy were starting to cry as he walked behind them, making them put their hands behind their backs and tying their wrists together as well, before he ordered is all to sit cross legged on the floor. When we did this, he started to tie our legs together with the thin brown twine, while the second man made Mom lie on the couch and tied her ankles together as well.

We tried to move – but then he tied my right leg to Katy’s left, and my left knee to Karen’s right, as we heard Mom say “please, no udhhnthftdhttht” and then a ripping sound before she was even quieter.

I wondered what had happened – and then I found out as a cloth was pushed into my mouth, and brown tape pressed firmly over my lips to keep it in. The girls were soon the same, as we looked at each other, and one of the men ran upstairs.

They were only in the house for twenty minutes – but it was the scariest twenty minutes of my life, and they hadn’t finished. When the second man came down, they pulled the necks of our jumpers up, covering our taped mouths, and wound the brown tape round that as well, before they left us there. None of us were able to make much noise now…

They left us all night before Pops came home – we weren’t the only house they visited and did that to the family either…

[KP Presents]

1978

It was the middle of the summer, and Mum and I had been to the park. I was nine at the time, and like mum had long brown hair that fall down my back. I remember I was wearing a short sleeved white dress with a pattern on it and a lace hem, as well as white trainers, and Mum had on a white and pink polo shirt with some old jeans and sandals.

On our way back from the park, we were going to go to Aunt Jessie’s for tea. Aunt Jessie lived on the other side of town with my cousin Morag, who was seven then. So as we always did, we walked into the front door of the house, Mum calling out to Aunt Jessie to say we were there, and then we walked into the front room – which was when the day went very strange.

I could see Aunt Jessie sitting on the couch, wearing a red sleeveless pant suit and trainers, and Morag was lying down with her head on Aunt Jessie’s lap. My cousin as wearing a blue polo shirt and a blue and purple ra-ra skirt, and had no shoes on. But that wasn’t the strange thing. The strange thing was the silver bands around their arms and body, their ankles and their legs – and the silver strips that covered their mouths. Aunt Jessie looked at her, shook her head and said something like “ghhttthhtfffhr…”

“No, I think they’ll stay right here.”

“What the…” We both turned round to see a big man standing behind Mum, wearing a set of blue overalls, but as Mum looked at him she said “we need to be brave now Maggie, all right?”

I nodded as he held up a roll of silver tape, and handed it to Mum. “Tell the kid to put her hands behind her back,” he said, “and tape her wrists together, then tape her arms to her sides.”

“You’re robbing the house?” The man nodded in response to Mum as she took my hands behind my back. I heard the ripping sound, then the tug on my skin as she used the tape to keep my wrists together, and then wrapped it round me so that my arms were stuck to my sides.

“Sit in the chair kid,” the man said, so I walked over and sat in an armchair, watching as he made Mum kneel down and tape my ankles together, and then my legs above and below my knees. Morag looked at me and said “uhrrjhstlhkhsss.”

I nodded – and then I was more like them as he made Mum tear a strip off the roll, and then pressed it down over my lips so that I could not talk well either. I wriggled round, wondering what was going to happen next as he took the roll of tape from Mum, and made her put her hands behind her back so that he could use the tape on her as well.

As I watched, he wrapped the tape around Mum’s arms and tummy, then made her sit on the other side of the couch from Aunt Jessie as he wrapped the tape round her ankles and legs as well. As he covered her mouth with the tape as well, she looked at me and said “hwhnnhstgfrrr.”

He nodded and lifted me off the chair, lying me down so that my head was on Mum’s lap just like Morag and Aunt Jessie. She looked at me and nodded, then at Mum as the man left the room again. A few minutes later, he came back carrying one of Uncle Derek’s holdalls he used for sports, and then left us with the radio playing.

Morag and I wriggled round for a while, and then we must have fallen asleep – the next thing I knew was Uncle Derek coming in and running to us…

[KP Presents]

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1964

It was a very hot summer in Albany that year, and my little sister Abby and I were on our summer vacation. I was nine at the time, Abby a year younger, and we were at home most of the time with Mom. That meant we spent most of the day hanging round our back yard, with Mom doing the housework, but every so often we would go out for the day with her – and this was one of those days.

Abby and I had page boy like haircuts at that time – I had slightly darker brown hair than her – but it was one of those days when we were wearing the same outfit as our mom. That was a sleeveless shift dress – well, Abby and I had little capped sleeves, but Mom’s had none – made from a white fabric, with purple trim and a grey net design. Under the net were pictures of fishes and underwater plants, and while Mom and I were wearing blue flip-flops, Abby had a white pair on.

We went to the mall, and then to the park, so it was about three thirty when we got home – and that was when things took a very different turn. Abby and /I ran into the house to watch some television – but instead of turning it on when we ran into the front room, we were grabbed and hands were placed over our mouths, keeping us quiet as Mom walked in and looked at us.

“Oh my god,” she whispered as we looked at her, before a gruff male voice said “we got your kids lady, you going to give us any trouble?” She slowly shook her head as the voice said “good – see that chair over there? Sit in it, hands on your head.” We watched as she walked over and sat down, putting her hands palm down on her head as she said “girls, whatever he says to you to do, you do it, and we’ll get through this together, all right?”

I nodded as the voice said “you girls are going to keep those lips together when we take our hands away, got it?” I nodded, and Abby did as well, as the hands were taken away and the voice said “both of you, put your hands together out in front of you, as if you are praying.”

As we did this, I saw another man walk in front of us – whoever had spoken had one hand on each of our shoulders. He had a ball of twine in his hand, and as he made a small loop in one end her smiled as he put it over Abby’s hands, and then pulled her wrists tightly together as he wound the thin cord around and between her wrists.

“Mom, why is he doing this,” Abby said as she looked at our mother,

“I think they’re going to make sure we stay in the chairs, so I need you both to be very brave for me,” she said quietly as the man took Abby and walked her over to one side of our settee. It was a wooden one, with armrests, and he made her sit down before he wound the twine round the arm to keep her wrists tied down to it. Taking a penknife from his pocket, he cut through the twine under the last knot, and then started to make a second loop as he smiled and looked at me.

The twine rubbed against my wrists as he tied them tightly together, but I was going to be a brave girl, so I watched as he tied the knot, then walked me to the other end of the settee and made me sit down as he tied my wrists down to the armrest. Abby and I looked at each other, unable to move as I then looked at the second man. He was dressed like the first one, in a dark boiler suit and black gloves, and smiled as the first man went over and tied Mom’s wrists down to the armrests of her chair with the twine.

He then knelt down and put her ankles together, tying them in the same way as he had tied our wrists, while the second man walked over and asked Mom where she kept her jewellery. She started to tell him as her ankles were pulled to the side and tied to one of the front legs of the chair.

Abby and I looked at each other as he then came back to us, and used more of the twine to tie our ankles together as our legs hung over the seat cushions, smiling as he did so. We were so busy looking at him, we didn’t realise Mom had gone very quiet – but then when we looked over we saw why.

She had a white scarf rolled up and pulled between her lips, the red closing on the white as it was tied round her head – and the second man had two more scarves, one of which he gave to his partner as they walked behind us, and then told us both to open our mouths.

The material tasted funny on my tongue as he pulled it between my lips, and it pressed my tongue down as well as pulling back the corners of my mouth as he tied it round my head. I looked over at Abby, as she had a scarf pulled between her lips as well, and she nodded as we tried to talk to each other, giggling as we could hardly make out what each other was saying.

One of the men sat in the room and watched us as the other one went up the stairs, and then came down a little while later, something jangling in a bag in his hand before they both left. Mom looked at us and then started struggling, trying to get free as we copied her – only the thin twine rubbed on my wrists, and it was sore, so we both stopped and watched as we tried to figure out how to raise the alarm….

[KP Presents]

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1978
My cousin had come to stay with me for the weekend, and we had gone to the Saturday Cinema Club to see some film. Audrey was a year younger than me – I was thirteen, and had long blonde hair, while my hair was more strawberry blonde. That day, I had a white headband on my hair, and was wearing a yellow cardigan over a striped top, and blue jeans, the legs tucked into knee length brown Frye boots. Audrey had on a brown checked dress, with a light brown leather belt round her waist, and shorter dark brown leather boots.

Anyway – we went to the cinema, and on the way home we stopped to get a snack at the café. If we had not, we might have been home when they came…

Anyway, it was about one when we got home, and came in – and that was when someone grabbed me from behind, putting a hand over my mouth before I could speak. Audrey was no better off – there was a tall man wearing dark glasses behind her, also with his hand over her mouth, as he said “what are we going to do with them?”

“Gonna have to tie them up,” whoever was holding me said, as he then said “you girls are gonna be real quiet, right?” Audrey nodded, and I did as well, before he said “use your hanky – open your mouth girlie.” When he took his hand away, I did as he said, and then almost choked as a large handkerchief was pushed into my mouth. I could see the man holding Audrey doing the same to her, the white edges sticking out of her mouth as we were pushed into the front room.

I could see the magazines and books scattered round the floor, as we were pushed over to the wooden couch and told to sit on opposite ends. As I sat down, I saw the man who had been behind me – not as tall as the other man, but he also wore dark glasses, and I could smell something on his breath as he produced some twine from his pocket, and started to tie my wrists together, before he tied them to the arm of the couch.

As he knelt down and started to tie my ankles together, I looked over to Audrey, who had started crying as her wrists were tied together as well. The man looked at her, and told her to stop crying, it would only be for a little while. She nodded as he tied her ankles together, and then the two men stood up, looking at us before the smaller man went upstairs.

He came back with two of Daddy’s ties, and pulled one of them between my lips, keeping that cloth in place as he tied it round my head, and then did the same with the second tie to Audrey, before they both left us there, too scared to move or try to call for help…


Mummy came back an hour later, and almost fainted when she saw the mess – and us. But she hugged us and cut us free, and then stayed as the police came…

[KP Presents]

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1973

I remember it was Saturday, and Mom had taken me and my brother Tommy out on our new bikes. I was a cute nine year old with a red headband, wearing a new white dress which had no sleeves, and a short pleated skirt, as well as white ankle socks and red and black shoes, while Tommy was seven, and had a short sleeved white shirt on with blue shorts, white socks and black and white shoes.

Mom had long blonde hair then, and was wearing a ling sleeved white top and very short pink shorts, as well as a pair of white shoes.

Anyway, we had been riding our bikes up and down the sidewalk, but when we got home we were all ready for a cold drink and a snack – but that wasn’t what happened. Instead, we went into the garage, Tommy and I putting our bikes to the side as Mom went into the kitchen, and we followed her in – only to be grabbed from behind with a hand clamped over our mouths as Mom told someone not to hurt us.

There was a man standing with her, wearing a denim jacket and jeans, but with a mask over his head so that we could only see his eyes and mouth. He looked at us as he did something to Mom’s wrists behind her back, and I heard a funny ripping sound. He then told us if we kept quiet, his friend would take his hands away. Mom looked at us and told us to promise, and we both nodded our head as the hands were taken away – but we felt a hand on our shoulders as I asked Mom what was going on.

The masked man said he wanted Pops to do something for him, and he and his friend were going to stay for a while to make sure Pops did what he wanted – and then he told us to put our hands behind our backs. As we did so, I heard the ripping sound again, and then something sticking to my wrists as they were held together by something.

Tommy was starting to cry, and said he was scared. Mom said she was sacred as well, but we needed to do what the men said, as I tried to move my arms – only I could not, so I watched as a second masked man took Tommy’s wrists and used some sort of silver tape to hold them together behind his back.

The man with Mom then told us to put our lips together, as he took another roll of silver tape and tore a strip off. I told Tommy to be brave, as he pressed the tape over my mouth, making it difficult for me to say anything, and then he used another strip to cover Tommy’s mouth. We were then walked into the hallway, where the man picked up the telephone and told Mom to tell Pops what was going on.

We both watched, unable to talk as Mom told Pops that there were two masked men in the house, and they were holding us hostage. One of the man wanted to talk to him, but if he told the police or anyone, then…

Well, I don’t like to remember what Mom said, as the man took the telephone and told Pops someone was going to come to the store, and he was to give him all the money in the safe. If he did that, his family would be all right. He wasn’t to call the police, or anyone else, and they would know if he did.

After a few minutes, he put the phone down, and then told us all to walk up the stairs. Mom kept talking to us as we went into my parent’s bedroom, and we were told to sit back to back on the floor. As we did this, I held Tommy’s hand while the second man wound some of the silver tape round us to hold us together, and then taped our ankles together as well.

As for Mom, the first man told her to sit down on the bed, as he knelt down and taped her ankles together. He then wound some tape round her legs below her knees, as well as her arms and stomach, before pressing a length of the tape over her mouth before he helped her to lie on her side on the bed.

We were like that for hours, the tape creaking as I tried to move my legs, but too scared to do anything as the two men watched us. One of them then looked out of the window, before they both left the house – and a few minutes later, Pops ran in and found us…

[KP Presents]

Famile Ties.jpg

1968

Mum and Dad had taken me to see a pantomime, a good one with some people from one of my favourite TV shows in it, the night this happened. Even though I was six, Mum let me wear a nice white dress with a black bow at the neck, and a short black waistcoat, my white tights, and a nice new pair of boots. They were black, came up to my knees, and were laced up the front. Mum was wearing a short black dress and heels, while Dad had on a suite, white shirt and patterned tie.

Anyway, it was a great show, and it was dark when we got out of the theatre and walked to our car to drive home. Mum and me sat in the back seat of our Cortina, talking to each other while Dad got in to drive – and that was when it happened.

The front passenger door opened, and a stranger got in – a man, who looked back at me and Mum and said hello, then told Dad just to drive home. I could see Mum was scared of something, but Dad nodded and said he’d do what the man said, as he started the car, reversed out, and then set off.

I asked Mum what was going on, but she just hugged me and said we would be all right. The man turned round and nodded, saying that we were going to play a big game, and he’d explain everything when we got to our home.

When we pulled up onto our drive, the man got out and opened the door, telling Mum to get out and then me to get out on the same side. As we did so, I saw he had a coat draped over his arm and hand, but I could not see what was under it. Dad got out, and said we should go inside, so we walked up to the front door, Mum with her arm round me as Dad unlocked the door and we walked in.

The man waited as he turned the light on, and then told Dad to go and open the glass doors that led to our garden. As Dad went into the back room, he looked at us, and said something funny. He said so long as Dad did what he was told to do, everyone would be fine.

I could see the man was wearing a suit, shirt and tie as well – and so were the two other men who came in with Dad. I wondered why they had come in from the garden, but one of them told the man with us to take a bag from him, and ‘make sure they can’t cause any trouble.” That seemed a funny thing to say as well, as we were told to go upstairs into Mum and Dad’s bedroom.

So we walked up the stairs, and went into the big bedroom, Mum looking increasingly worried as we did so. The man closed the door, and looking at Mum he said she didn’t need to worry – he just needed to make sure we both stayed in the room quietly, and nothing else was going to happen. She seemed a little happier about this, and then it was my turn to be a little frightened as he put the bag on the bed, and took out some lengths of white rope.

He looked at ne, smiled, and said he was going to make me and Mum comfy o the bed, and not to be afraid. Asking me to sit on the bed, he told Mum to cross her wrists in front of her, and I watched as he took a length of the rope and wrapped it round her wrists several times, then took the ends between her wrists before he tied it off. I asked Mum if it hurt, and she shook her head as he took a longer length of rope and tied it round her arms and chest. When he had finished, she could not move her hands or arms – and then he said it was my turn as Mum came and sat next to me, kissing my head and telling me it would be all right.

So I crossed my wrists and watched as he used some more of the white rope to tie them together. It felt tight, but Mum was right – it didn’t hurt, and as he tied the rope round my arms ad chest it felt as if I was getting a big hug.

He then heled us to lie next to each other on the bed, our heads on the pillows, and he tied Mum’s ankles together, then her legs below her knees, and finally a length of rope that went from her wrists to her ankles. She wriggled round and smiled, watching as he did the same to me. When he was done, all I could do was wriggle round as well, as the ropes rubbed on me.

He then said we should eb quiet, a I heard the front door open and close, so Mum and I just lay there and talked quietly to each other about the Christmas holidays. I asked where Dad was, and Mum said he as going to do something with the two men who had come in, and we would see him soon.

A short while later, the man looked at us and told us we were very brave, but he had to make sure now that we stayed really quiet. He took from the bag a roll of sticking plaster, and told Mum to put her lips together as he tore a strip off. I watched as he stuck the fabric over her mouth, covering her lips, and then she looked at me and nodded as he told me to do the same thing.

When he pressed the sticking plaster over my mouth, it felt strange – the plaster tugged on my skin, and I discovered I could not speak very well or open my mouth. So I rested my head on Mummy’s shoulder as she pressed her mouth on my head, the man smiling as he watched us.

Eventually, we heard a car pull up, and he looked out of the window before he said we had been amazing, and turned the light off before he left the room. Mum rubbed her cheek on my head as my eyes started to close…

It was Dad calling out that made me open my eyes. I heard the footsteps on the stairs as Mum called out, her voice muffled, and then the policeman came in with Dad. I was so glad to see him, and so was Mum…

[KP Presents]

Famile Ties.jpg

1982

My sister was the assistant manager at a bank in the town where she lived, and I often went to say with her during the holidays. When this happened, I was ten, and Hazel’s daughter Joanne was six. That particular night she had a friend from her class sleeping over – a Chinese girl called Pam. But it wasn’t anything that happened the night of the sleepover that was a problem – it was what happened early the next morning.

I remember waking up to hear Hazel walking to the bathroom to start to get ready for the day, and looking at the alarm clock before I got up, and walked down to the kitchen to get a drink of milk. I was wearing blue cotton pyjamas – funny what you remember – as I opened the fridge door, looked in, and then felt a cloth gloved hand covering my mouth as I was pulled back. I could see another man standing there, wearing a black jumper and pants, and with a balaclava mask covering his head. He put a gloved finger to his lips, and asked if everyone else was upstairs. I had to answer, nodding as he looked to the side, and I saw another masked man walk quickly out of the room.

He then said if I promised to be quiet, his friend would take his hand away, and I nodded again. The hand was taken away, but whoever was behind me had a tight grip on my arm as we walked out of the kitchen and back up the stairs.

As we got to the top, I heard Joanne and Pam crying, and then Hazel came out of the bathroom, wearing a bath robe as she stared at me and the men with me. The one who had spoken told her not to scream, and do as he said, and we would all be all right. Hazel looked at me, and then asked what they wanted – and the man said we were all going to get dressed, and take an early trip to work.

Hazel nodded, and then said she needed to talk to her daughter and her friend. The man nodded as we were all walked to Joanne’s bedroom, and I saw them sitting on the bed, holding each other. Hazel knelt down and stroked her hair, before she said they were going to have to be very brave, because we all needed to take a trip, and we would all need to stay together.

One of the men told Hazel to put their clothes out, which she did, and I was walked to my room and told to get dressed as normal. I nodded, and put on clean underwear, trying not to let the masked man see too much. I then pulled on a pair of blue jeans, and a white blouse, then pulled a light blue sweater over the top of my head to cover the blouse. Finally, I put on some socks, and my short black leather boots, tucking the bottom of my jeans into them.

I was then taken to Joanne’s room, where I found her sitting on the bed, pulling on a pair of long black wellington boots. She had on a mustard coloured jumper and a tartan skirt, while Pam had on a red pinafore dress with little white polka dots, white tights and red boots.

I told them both we would be brave together, as I watched the second masked man take three lengths of white cord out of his pocket, and then tell all three of us to put our hands behind our backs. I said I would go first, to show them they had nothing to be afraid of – but to tell the truth, I was scared, as he crossed my wrists behind my back and then tied them tightly together with the cords.

I wriggled my fingers, and then talked to Joanne and Sue as the men tied their wrists behind their backs as well. He had just taken care of Sue when Hazel came in, whispering “oh my god” as she stood with the other masked man. She was wearing a white blouse, open at the neck, with a brown waistcoat and long skirt, the hem over her knees, her legs in her brown square heeled high boots.

She asked if they had to tie us up now, but the man with her said it was “an incentive for her to do as she was told” before we were all ordered to walk down the stairs, and out of the house. There was a large grey van parked outside, and we were all made to sit in the back of the van, two of the men sitting with us while the other one closed the door. Hazel told us all we were been very brave, as the van started and we were taken from the house.

When the van stopped, and the doors was opened, I saw we were behind some buildings. The masked man told Hazel to get out and open the door I could see, Hazel nodding as she looked at us and then stepped out. I saw her walk to the door and take some keys out of her purse, and then go in with the man, while the other two looked at us. Joanne asked if we still needed to be brave, and I nodded as I wondered where we were.

The man then looked out and waved, as the other two told us to stand up and walk quickly into the building. When we went in, I realised we were in the bank Hazel worked in – but behind the counter, where the safe was. Hazel was opening the safe up, as we were told to sit against the wall, one of the men producing three more lengths of white rope from a pocket, and using them to tie our ankles together as we looked at each other.

When Hazel had opened the safe, the masked man with her nodded, and then told her to put her hands behind her back. I guessed he was going to tie her wrists as well, but I could not say anything about it – the masked men with us had stuck strips of brown sticking plaster over my mouth, then Joanne, and then Sue, telling us not to struggle and we’d be fine. So we had to watch as Hazel had her wrists and ankles tied like us, as she sat facing us, and then her mouth was covered in sticking plaster as well.

The three men then emptied the contents of the safe into black bags, and carried them out, leaving us there as we struggled. All of us rubbed our legs together, meaning there was a squeaking sound that each of us made with our boots – and that at least made Sue giggle a little.

It seemed to be an eternity as we sat there, Hazel trying to talk to us and keep us brave – and then we heard a man say “what the…” I looked over to see Hazel’s boss in the doorway, staring at us as Hazel tried to speak. He walked quickly over and peeled the plaster form her mouth, waiting as she coughed and then said a group of robbers had taken them hostage, and used the three of us to force her to open the safe.

The police came later, and we were untied and taken to hospital, then allowed to go home. My mum and Sue’s mum came to talk to Hazel, but I was allowed to stay – so we could talk about what happened…

[KP Presents]

ITOW.jpg

1972

Look at us in that picture – it was meant to be a family photo, but somehow it didn’t turn out like that. Dad in his patterned shirt, slacks and shoes, and Timmy in his denim checked shirt, jeans and socks. Then there’s Mum, with her swept up hair, in a blue mini-dress with a metal belt round her waist, and those tight over the knee black patent leather boots that were popular at the time.

And then there’s me, all of thirteen years old – Timmy must have been eleven then. The dark grey pinafore dress over a long sleeved white blouse, and knee length laced up boots – very much the in thing then.

So why on earth were we so glum in this photo – and why does it bring back so many memories nearly fifty years later? Well, it has a lot to do with what happened after that…

Dad worked for an accountant, and that particular day he had bene in a strange mood all morning. So had Mum, if truth be told, because she had been trying to get him to say what was wrong, and he wouldn’t answer.

Anyway, we needed to take that photo, so we posed on the steps that led from our main room to the dining room, Dad set the timer, flash, bang, and you get the idea. He picked up the camera, and at the same time there was a knock on the door, Timmy running off and saying he would see who was there.

That was when it started – because when Timmy came in, there were two men with him, wearing smart suits, white shirts, black shoes, dark ties, leather gloves and black sunglasses – and while one of them had his hand over Timmy’s mouth, the other had a leather holdall in one hand and a gun in the other.

A gun that was pointing at all three of us.

Dad just stared at them, as the man with the gun ordered all three of us to face the wall, and put our hands behind our backs. The other man let Timmy go, telling him not to shout out and join us as we stood there. When I looked back over my shoulder, I saw he had put the holdall down and taken some lengths of white cord out, handing two to the second man before they walked behind us.

Dad told us just to do what they said, as they took his hands behind his back and Mum’s behind hers, and used one of the lengths of cord to tie their wrists together. I saw Mum wince as they did this – and they certainly seemed to be making it tight, before they stood behind me and Timmy.

The one behind me took my wrists and crossed them, and then pulled the rope tight around them – certainly making sure they stayed together, but it did feel very tight, and I was starting to cry. So was Timmy – but the man told us not to cry, or else it might be worse.

So I just looked at Mum as the rope went around and then between my wrists, and was tied off. We were then all turned round, as the men said something about taking the kids to one room, and the adults to another. So we were forced to walk in single file up the stairs, before one of the men took some more rope and a red roll form the bag, and ordered us to go into my bedroom while Mum and Dad were taken to theirs.

When we walked in, he told us both to sit on the bed, and stay there. When we did this, he put the ropes down on the ground and knelt before us, taking one length and tying Timmy’s ankles tightly together while we both watched. Timmy just looked at me, as I told him to be brave, watching as he took the rope between his legs, the bottom of his jean legs flaring out under the tight band.

It was my turn next – he wrapped the rope round my ankles and pulled them tightly together, the rope making a squeaking noise as it rubbed against the leather of my boots. It wasn’t that funny, however – when he tied that rope off, he took two more, and tied our legs together below our knees. Timmy at least had his jeans on, and that gave him some protection – but my legs were bare, and the ropes was tight, rubbing on my skin as he pulled it tighter each time round, and then tighter still by taking it between my legs.

I definitely could not move them, though, except to rub them against each other – and then he picked Timmy up, and sat him so that we were back to back. I gripped his fingers with mine, as he used the last lengths of rope to bind our upper bodies tightly together, around our stomachs and then our upper arms.

Timmy said something about how brave I was, while the man went and looked in one of my drawers – and then he started mumbling, as I heard a ripping sound and then very little indeed from Timmy. I found out why a minute later, as he stood in front of me, one of my short white socks balled up in his hands, and told me to open my mouth.

The cotton tasted funny on my tongue, but I knew why Timmy could only mumble a sit filled my mouth – and then I saw him tear a strip of brown sticking plaster from a rill, and press that down firmly over my lips, so that I could not spit the sock out.

So there we were, back to back, unable to talk to each other – and then he made us both lie on our sides, so that we could not really move off the bed either. I could see the door from where I was, as the second man walked back with Dad. He looked in, and said he was so sorry as the man with him said to wait for the call, and then took Dad away.

I was determined not to cry, but I kept hold of Timmy’s hand as much as possible as the man left our room, coming back from time to time. I guessed he must have bene checking on Mum as well, and I found myself wandering if they had tied her as tightly as us – and if she was unable to call for help as well.

We were like that for a good while – because I could see it was starting to get dark outside when the telephone rang once – and then a few seconds later started ringing again. The man left the room to answer the call, and then came back in, checking the ropes were still tightly tied, and told us we were both very brave, before he went to wherever Mum was. He then walked past, as I heard him walk down the stairs and then the front door close.

Tied like we were, it was impossible for me to move without Timmy – an di could hear his nasal breathing, slow, regular, as well as the fact he wasn’t really moving – which made me think he had fallen asleep. So I lay there – and then I heard a thump.

And another thump.

I wondered what was going on, and then Mum appeared in the doorway. She had ropes tied round her arms and upper body, framing her chest, and I could see her ankles and legs were tied in the same way as ours. She also had a length of sticking plaster over her mouth, but her cheeks were bulging, so something was in there as well.

“Sthmmehlrhtt,” she said as she looked at me, and I nodded as she jumped in, her belt moving each time she did, and then she sat on the bed next to me, looking at the way we were tied before she said “Hmsrreee” and pressed her lips on my forehead.

“Whrtssdhddd?”

She looked at me and then shook her head, as she watched over both of us…



It was late at night before the police arrived and freed us – the men had taken Dad to his place of work, made him do something, and then they had beaten him with their fists before leaving him there. He quit his job after that, and we emigrated – but we never really talked about that night until now…

[KP Presents]

itow.jpg

1975

Oh yeah – the family hostage night. It was my grandmother’s birthday, and we were all dress in our finest to go to her house. My mother was wearing an orange top with a longer beige skirt that had a floral pattern on it, and brown shoes. Carol, my sixteen year old sister, had on a black top with short sleeves and a scoop neck, a knee length floral print skirt on black fabric, and black shoes, while my twelve year old sister Abby had a long dress on. It had a white short sleeved upper part with black trim, and a patterned skirt, but she had been allowed to wear her black boots underneath.

Me? I was fifteen, and had on a white mini-dress with long sleeves, and a black collar. It also had a pattern printed on it, and I had on nee length black laced boots.

The whole family was there, including cousins I had not seen for a long time, and we were sitting round the dinner table, eating and talking. Grandma was at the top with Granddad – she had on a long purple dress.

We had just finished the main meal when it happened – the doors burst open, and a group of masked men came in, carrying guns and yelling at us to put our hands on our heads, and sit very still. I remember seeing the look on the faces of the others, but we did as we were ordered to do, watching as one by one our hands were taken behind our backs.

When it happened to me, I felt rough rope as it was pulled tightly round my wrists, forcing them together and rubbing on them as the masked man took the rope around and between my arms. I saw Abby was scared, so I told her to be calm, we’d all get through this together.

One of the men then told two of the others to take Grandpa, and after he left he ordered my father, and all the other men and boys to stand up, before two more of the masked men walked them out. He then looked at Mum, and told her to stand up, as well as the rest of her family.

Carol, Abby and I all stood up, before another two masked men told us to walk out of the room. We were arched up the stairs and into one of e bedrooms, as I noticed one of them was carrying a gun, and the other a large canvas holdall.

Once we were in the room, the man with the bag closed the door, and told Mum and Abby to sit on the double bed, and not to move. As they did this, he put the bag down and opened it, taking out a long length of rope and then standing behind Carol as he passed it round her arms and body. I turned my head and watched as he pulled it tight, forcing her arms into her sides, and stretching her top as he took it round several times, above and below her chest.

Mum asked him not to do that, we weren’t going to cause any trouble – but he looked at her, and smiled as he said he knew we would not, before he tied the ropes off – and then did the same to me, my dress stretching over my chest as my arms were forced into my sides.

He then handed two long lengths of rope to the second man, holding the gun as we watched him tie Mum and Abby’s arms to their sides in the same way. At least Mum and I ha dour arms covered – Abby looked so afraid as the ripe rubbed over her own bare arms, and it was so tight…

The men then told Mum and Abby to lie on the bed, and we watched as they lifted the hems of their skirts up, and tied their ankles tightly together, looking at each other as he did so. He then folded the hems of the skirts down – taking one fear from our minds – and tied their legs together rover their dresses so that they could only wriggle them round – and that only for a moment, before they tied the ankles to the metal grid at the foot of the bed.

We were then ordered to sit on the floor at the foot of the bed, and when we did we watched as they tied our ankles together, and then our legs below our knees. I could hear Mum talking to Abby, as other footsteps went outside the closed door.

And then we heard the ripping sound as I watched them press a length of sticking plaster over Carol’s mouth. I shook my head at that, as I heard Mum say me and Abby needed inhalers – we were asthmatics.

The two men looked at each other, and then Mum started mumbling as one of them pressed some plaster over her mouth, while the other went to the bag and took out a black scarf. He folded it into a tight band, and told me to open my mouth, before he pulled it between my lips and tied it round the head. He then picked up a second scarf, and I heard Mum mumbling to Abby – presumably to tell her to relax, because she went very quiet after that.

We watched the men as they searched the room, and then left, the door swinging to and fro as they did so. It was quiet outside – very quiet, as if nobody could talk. I know I could only mumble, and that was more than Carol could do, with the material covering her mouth. So we sat quietly, and I started to hear some noises – all of them muffled, so I imagined the rest of the family were spread round the house.

I started to hear another sound, a thumping sound, that stopped every so often and then started again. I watched the door as it seemed to get closer, and then my eyes opened wide as I saw Grandma looking in. she had been tied in the same way as us, the rope holding her skirt round her legs, and she had brown plaster over her mouth, but she looked in and said something like “hhhrulrrhtttt?”

We nodded as I heard Mum say “Hwwhrthfhrrrghrls?” Grandma looked at us, and said “therrdhnn, bhbrrfff” before she turned herself round and jumped off.

It was another hour before the police came in – Granddad had been taken to rob his company, ad we had been used to make him do it…

[KP Presents]

itow.jpg

1981

I’d invited three of my classmates round for a birthday tea – when you’re eight years old, your school friends are your best friends, and Lois, Polly and Rhea certainly met that mark.

It was a wet October day, and since our school did not have a uniform, we could dress to be warm and cosy. I certainly did that day I had on a grey jacket over a roll neck sweater, jeans and long black rain boots.

Lois had curly blonde hair then, and she had on a dark blue track suit with white trim, the legs of her pants tucked into shorter black boots. Polly had long blonde hair, plaited into two pigtails that hung over her white Arran cardigan. Like me, she had a matching jumper under her jacket, jeans and black boots, but her jeans were darker.

And then there was cute little Rhea, wearing her red dress, white socks and red ankle boots. We had a good day at school, and then we walked the short distance from the school to my home – their parents were going to pick them up from my place later that night.

Mind you, the party was very different from what I thought it was going to be – because we walked in, and found my mum was with a stranger. A man who was tying her wrists together behind her back when we walked in.

Mum looked at me, and told us to run, but before we could get out of the door a second man appeared in the door, shaking his head as he said “no girls – you’re going to stay right here.”

“Please, don’t hurt them,” Mum said as she looked at us. She was wearing a dark grey smock dress over a fawn coloured sweater with a collar that hung in front, and brown shoes, but the man with her just told her to be quiet as he did something.

The other man looked at the four of us, and then said we were going to play a special game. He told us all to go over to the long couch, and then to kneel on it, facing the back, and put our hands behind our backs.

Mum asked what they were going to do, and then I heard her gasp – and as I looked over my shoulder, I saw the other man had taken some lengths of cord from his pocket, and then he put my hands together behind my back, and I felt the cord round them as he tied them together.

Mum said he didn’t need to do that – and then she stopped talking. I slowly turned my head again, and saw he had put a cloth in her mouth, the edges sticking out as the rope was tightened round my arms.

Next to me, Lois was biting her lower lip as the man put her hands together, and used another length of cord to tie her wrists together. Rhea asked him what game we were going to play, and the man said he had seen the birthday cake, so we were going to get a chance to dance to some music, and then play a game he called wriggly worms.

Lois nodded as he tied the cord off, and then secured the wrists of Polly and Rhea. He then told us all to sit down, which we did, and I could see the other man had tied some rope round Mum’s arms and body.

That wasn’t done to us – not then – but he did tie our ankles together with more of the cord, which meant when I tried to move my legs my boots squeaked as they rubbed together. He then found some more cords, and tied our legs together below our knees, folding the skirt of Rhea’s dress back so that he could tie her legs.

The men must have draw the curtains over the windows earlier, because when he was done, he told all four of us to stand up, and then he put a tape on so that we could all dance to the music. When he did this, the other man told Mum to stand up and he took her up the stairs – I wondered what for, but we were having some fun dancing round with our hands and legs tied!

Anyway, after a little while he told us all to stand still, and he found some more ropes – and this time, he tied it round us like his friend had done to Mummy, so that our arms were held against our sides. He then said for the game of wriggly worms, we all had to be quiet – so he took a roll of silver tape, tore off a strip for each of us, and then pressed it down over our mouths so that we could not open them.

When Mum came back down, she had tape over her mouth as well, so it didn’t feel so bad, as they made her sit on the chair, and tied her ankles and legs in the same way as me. We were then helped to first kneel, and then lie on the floor, while Mum was helped to lie on the couch, looking at us and nodding as she did so.

The men then said we were the wriggly worms, and we had to try and move across the floor to where the mother worm was. We all looked at each other, and then started to try and wriggle across the floor as Mum made muffled calls to encourage us.

It was actually a real fun game to play – so much fun, we didn’t notice at all that the two men had gone, until Lois was the first to reach Mum and we looked round. I could see the telephone in the hallway had also been pulled out of the wall socket!

So we sat with Mum, as she started to hum a song, and we hummed along for a while – until we heard a scream, and I saw Rhea’s mum standing in the doorway. We were cut free very quickly after that, and the police came to talk to us…

[KP Presents]

1973

Mommy had taken my to the playpark for the afternoon, and I had a lot of fun there as I recall. I was only about four at the time, but I had on this short sleeved peach dress that was as short on me as Mommy’s was on her. I also had on short white socks and white shoes.

I remember Mommy had on a long sleeved dress, with black and white stripes, and a funny black top that fastened with one button at the front. She also had on a pair of white boots that went up over her knees – I always thought she looked really pretty in them.

Anyway, as I said we went to the playpark, but it happened when we went back to our car. Mommy opened the door to let me get in the back, and then this man appeared behind her, said hello to me, and asked if her could come to our house for a little while – and we could play a special game when he was there.

I looked at Mommy, who had a funny look on her face, and then said she was going to let theman come. I nodded as they got in the front, and he turned and smiled at me, while Mommy drove off.

When we got home, we waited until Mommy opened the garage door and we went in, before the man got out and told Mommy to unlock the door to the house. He then held the door open so I could jump out, and we walked into the kitchen, where Mommy got me a drink of juice and we walked into the front room.

Mommy sat next to me while I had the drink, and the man said it was time to play the special game. He was going to do something to me, and then to Mommy, so that we wouldn’t be able to move or talk very easily, and when he gave the word, the first one of us who managed to get free would get a special prize.

Well, it sounded an exciting game, so I asked him what he was going to do. He reached into the pocket of the jacket he was wearing, and took out a ball of twine, before he asked me to put my hands together as if I was in church. Mommy said I should do what he asked, so I put my hands together, and watched as he wound the twine around and between my wrists – and when he was done, I could not move my wrists apart!

Mommy then stood up as he told me to lie down, putting a cushion under my head before he put my hand son my lap, took the twine down, and told Mommy to lift my legs up. He then tied my legs together, above and below my knees, and then my ankles before he tied the twine off and cut it with a knife he had.

I wriggled round a bit, before he told me I had to be quiet now, so I nodded and put my lips together as he took from his other pocket a roll of sticking plaster, tore a strip off, and gently pressed it over my mouth. It felt funny, but I really could not talk, as he turned the radio on, and said he needed Mommy to do something next as part of the game.

I nodded as they went into the hallway, and I saw Mommy making a phone call. I wondered who she was talking to, and who the man was talking to, before he looked in and said he was going to get Mommy ready to play the game now, and then he’d take me to join her. I nodded as Mommy came over and kissed my forehead, before they went up the staircase while I listened to the music.

A little while later, the man came back in, picked me up and carried up to my parent’s bedroom, where Mommy was waiting for me on the bed. The man had used the twine to tie her just like me, and she had a strip of the brown sticking plaster over her mouth was well as he put me down next to her. She mumbled something to me, and then rubbed her cheek on my hair, as the man smiled and sat down to watch us.

There was another wait, and then the telephone rang twice before stopping. He left the room as it rang again, and then he came back in, and told us we could try to escae now. As eh walked away, Mommy looked at me and shook her head, which I thought meant we should wait, so we both just lay there waiting for him to come back.

Mommy would nudge me from time to time, and I ended up with my head against her shoulder when we heard footsteps, and a policeman came in and cut us free, Mommy hugging me when she could. It was later I learned the man was a crook, and his friends had forced Papa to rob his store…

[KP Presents]

1972

It was an amazing time we had with Mummy and Aunt Sue at the funfair that day. Mummy had long black hair, and Aunt Sue chestnut brown hair which was just as long as Mummy’s. I was six years old at the time, and my sister Yvonne was five.

I remember I was wearing a shirt and shorts, with braces, and sandshoes with grey socks, while Yvonne had a blue cardigan over a white blouse, a short tartan skirt, white socks and black shoes. As for Mummy and Aunt Sue, they were both wearing sleeveless mini dresses with a newsprint pattern on them, and knee length white boots – Mummy’s had zips up the inside, while Aunt Sue’s laced up the front.

Anyway – we got the bus back home from the fair, and we were ready for our tea – but something happened that meant we did not eat for a while after we got back.

And that something was the two men who were in the house when we walked in, wearing black jumpers and trousers, who saw us both as we went into the front room to turn the television on, and grabbed us, putting their gloved hands over our mouths as Mummy came in and saw us.

She screamed as Aunt Sue ran in, and the man holding me told them to be quiet, and sit down. We had two armchairs and a settee in the house at that time, with wooden armrests, and as Mummy and Aunt Sue sat down in a chair each he told them both to put their hands on their heads, and say nothing.

Yvonne and I were then lifted up and sat at opposite ends of the settee, and the man who had been talking told us both to be quiet, and to put our hands out together in front of us. When I did this, he took a ball of twine from his pocket and started to tie my wrists tightly together, while the other man did the same thing to Yvonne.

Mummy kept saying she didn’t want the man to hurt us, and I could see she was crying – and the twine was tight, and it did hurt a bit on my wrists, but I was too scared to say anything as he then put my hands down on the armrest and tied the twine round the wood and my wrists as well. Yvonne was having the same thing done to her, as the other man told her to be quiet – she had started to cry, you see.

I told her we should be both be brave, like the Famous Five, and she nodded as the men both knelt down, and tied our ankles together with the twine as they hung off the edge of the seat. At least we had the socks on, so it didn’t hurt quite as much – but it was tight, as the man told us both to be quiet.

They then walked over to Mum, one of them taking her left wrists and the other her right and putting her hands palm down on the arms of her chair, before they used the twine to tie her wrists down to the wood. She asked what they wanted, and the man said to tell her where her ‘stuff was’. She said to look in the bedroom, and he nodded as they went to Aunt Sue, all of us watching as they tied her wrists to the arms of her chair as well.

The men then knelt in front of both of them and tied their ankles together with the twine, before taking them to the side and tying them to the leg of the chair. One of the men then went up the stairs, while the other one took a white cloth from his pocket, rolled it into a band, and pulled it between Yvonne’s lips before he tied the band round her head.

She turned and looked at me, the corners of her mouth pulled back by the white band as it started to get damp, and then the man told me to open my mouth. I had no choice as he pulled a second cloth into my mouth and tied it round my head as well. When he was done, it was hard for me to talk – the cloth making it hard.

He didn’t tie a cloth between Mummy and Aunt Sue’s lips – instead, he took a roll of sticking plaster from his pocket and stuck strips over their mouths as well, meaning they could not say anything either. He then searched the room, throwing books and thing son the floor as we all wriggled round, too scared to do anything else.

The other man came back down and they both ran out of the house leaving us to look at each other as we tried to call for help – but it was no good, nobody could hear us. It was an hour later, when our next door neighbour came in and said were we all right, that we were freed and we got to call the police…

[KP Presents]

1962

It was a Sunday afternoon, and we were visiting our Gran for the day. We were all young at the time – I was seven, Davey nine, and Sam six. Gran was a lovely woman, who loved to read to us and talk to us. On that particular day, she was wearing patchwork tabard over a red and blue tartan check dress that came down to her knees, and blue heels.

We weren’t really dressed up either – Davey had on a striped jumper and shorts, and Sam had a blue top on and white shorts. Both of them had Moccasin like slippers that looked like boots on – Davey blue ones, Sam red ones.

I was wearing a new dress – it was green, with a white trim on the skirt and a white top that had short sleeves which were puffed up. I also remember I had long yellow socks on, and black Mary Jane shoes.

Anyway – you want to hear my story. When it happened, Gran was reading to the boys in one of the bedrooms, and I was sitting playing with my doll in the front room, when I looked up and these two women were in the house. They were strangers to me, and were wearing sleeveless blouses, pedal pushers and dark glasses, with a headscarf tied over their hair.

They looked at me, and I opened my mouth to call Gran – but one of them walked quickly over and sat next to me, putting her hand over my mouth. I could smell the perfume on it, as she told me not to shout, her friend was going to see who else was in the house. I watched as she walked off, with a large handbag over her arm, as the woman who was with me put her own handbag down, and said she would take her hand away if I promised not to shout. Well, I nodded, and when she did she asked me what my name was.

I told her I was called Katy, and she smiled as she asked who else was in the house. I told her my brothers were upstairs with my gran, and she nodded as she said her friend was going to talk to them, and then she was going to do something to them – and she was going to do that to me now. If I did what she said, she promised it would not hurt, and it would be exciting.

Well, I nodded as she opened her bag, and took out a ball of wool. I wondered what she was going to do with that as she stood up, and asked me to lie on my back on the couch, and put my hands together as if I was praying. I did that, and watched as she made a lasso with the end of the blue wool – and then she put that over my hands, and pulled it tight so that my wrists were held together.

I asked why she was doing this, and she asked me if I had seen Dragnet. Well, I had watched it once with my mom and dad, so she said she was going to use the wool to make sure I could not get off the couch, but in a little while she’d take me to my gran.

I watched as she wrapped the wool around and between my wrists, and then she told me to bend my legs as she put my hands down on my lap. She then took the wool and wrapped it round my legs, above and below my knees, and then around my ankles so my legs were tied tightly together, before she cut the wool with a pair of scissors.

I could hear Gran upstairs, as the woman looked at me and stroked my hair away from my eyes. She then told me to open my mouth as she moved me so I was sitting slightly up, and I watched as she took a white scarf from her handbag, and rolled it into a band, before she put the band between my lips.

It tasted a bit funny as she tied it round my head, and it kept my tongue down as I closed my lips over it, the woman nodding as she said to stay there while she had a look round the room. I wondered what she was looking for, but she did find Gran’s purse and took some things from it, as well as from a drawer in a bureau she had.

After a little while, I looked at the door as the second woman came in. The one who had tied me up asked if everything was all right, and she nodded before she asked if I was going to join the old woman. I had been promised that, so I nodded as I was lifted up and carried up the stairs.

As we passed a spare bedroom, I looked in and saw Sam and Davey sitting back to back on the floor. They also had their wrists tied together with wool, and then tied down to their legs where they were tied together – and so were their ankles. They also had a scarf tied between their lips, as they looked at me and nodded before I was taken to Gran.

She was lying on the bed, her wrists tied together with wool and then tied to the headboard. Her ankles and legs were tied together, in the same way as mine, and she had a blue scarf tied between her lips. The woman put me down next to her, as she said something like “hthhlbhllrhtt.”

I nodded as she kissed me on my forehead, and the two women left as we lay there. It was another hour before Dad came and found us like this…