Who is The Fox?
Angela
“That, my dear
Anne, was a delicious meal.”
“Almost as good
as yours?”
“I didn’t say
that,” Grandpa Bowden said with a smile, “but it was delicious.” It was the first Sunday after school had
started again, and we were having lunch with Grandma and Grandpa Bowden – the
first time they had visited us since we had found out the truth in Cardiff
about them last year. It’s a long story,
but essentially, they had pretended to be divorced because Grandpa had
infiltrated a gang as part of his work – and last summer, the last of that gang
were arrested.
Since then, he
had moved back to living with Grandma, in the small village near Cardiff, but
they had come to visit Holderness this weekend and to see my other
grandparents. Angela was back at
University for her third year, so it was just the four of us there as well.
“Can I have
some more juice, Mummy,” Andrew said as he sat in his booster seat. It was amazing just how much he had grown as
well – he was now at a nursery and just as I was now at a sixth form college,
soon he would be starting at school. For
today, however, he was in a polo shirt and jeans, looking at Grandma and
Grandpa.
“Can you give
me a hand with the coffee, Angela” Mum said as she stood up, Grandma nodding as
she did as well. Both of them were
wearing grey jersey dresses, while Dad and Grandpa were in shirt and trousers.
And me? Well, I was in a pair of jeans with a blue
smock top. And I was also suddenly aware
of Grandpa looking at me, his head to one side.
“You know,
Simon,” he said with a smile, “I do think there is a lot of Angela about her.”
“Well, there is
– and hopefully most of the good stuff has come to the fore Robert,” Dad said
as he looked at me as well.
“I know, I
know,” I laughed.
“So – sixth
form. How are you enjoying it?”
“It’s good – although
I don’t see the girls all the time now, given we’re all doing different
courses.”
“Naturally –
but that just gives you all the more to talk about when you get together, no?”
“That’s also
true – so how is it working for Colin’s dad?”
Grandpa had
worked for the Fraud Office in London, but now he worked as a consultant for
the Holderness police from Wales.
Strange, I know, but he worked remotely.
“Well,” Grandpa
said as he sat back, “it’s interesting, put it that way. But at my age, you take what you can get.”
“At least you
have no plans to follow that line of work,” Dad said as he stood up. “Robert, you still okay to come with me and
Andrew to the party this afternoon?”
“Sure – give
three generations of Bowden ladies the chance to talk us down,” Dad said as he
winked at me. Remember I said Andrew was
at a nursery now? Well, one of his
friends there was having a party at a soft play centre, and he was going.
And as if we
would bad mouth them? That’s what we do
at school…
“Have a good time,”
Mum said as we waved Andrew off in the car.
Going back into the house, Grandma smiled as she said “are you sure you
would rather not be with Martin this afternoon, Alicia?”
“Moot point,
Grandma – He’s with his parents at a recital today. He did say he’d pop by before you had to head
off, however.”
“Well, that’s
something,” Grandma said with a smile.
“So, got any decent films to watch?”
“Well,” Mum
said as she looked at me, “I wonder if Alicia here would let me and you watch a
musical.
“In silence?”
Well, there was
a challenge, so I said “okay – if that’s what you want. I do have to get an assignment finished today
if possible.”
“Good – get
what you need,” Mum said, “while we go and make sure we don’t need to go
anywhere for a while.”
Well, I knew
better than to argue with Mum – and Grandma nodded, so I went to find a bag of
things while they prepared themselves.
When I came into the front room, I said “I presume you don’t want the
full works?”
“No – but make
sure we can’t move,” Mum said as they both turned their backs to me and crossed
their wrists behind their backs. I took
two lengths of rope from the bag, and then bound their wrists together, before
taking some rope round their waists to make sure their hands stayed there.
“What about
your arms,” I said as I tied the rope off round Grandma.
“Go on – you
may as well,” she said with a smile as I took a longer length out and wrapped
it round her, forming a band above and one below her chest, and then cinched t
between her arms and boy with two shorter lengths. After I did the same to Mum, they sat next to
each other on the couch and watched as I bound their ankles, and then their
legs below their knees.
“Okay then,” I
said as I stood up and they squirmed round a little bit, “what blast from the
past are you both going to watch today?”
“It’s in the
player already,” Mum said, “so let us be quiet – and if you hear us sing along,
just let us be.”
“Gotcha,” I
said quietly, “open wide now.”
“Talk to you
later, Anne,” Mum said before I gently pushed a folded scarf into their mouths,
before covering them with the white tape.
They both nodded as I turned on the player, and heard the dulcet tones
of Antonio Banderas as I went to my room.
The assignment
was on Sixties music, so I turned on my CD player and listened to the Dusty
Springfield album I had picked up while I started typing on my laptop. I guess I really lost myself in it – because
when this deep rich voice said “well, I have to admire your musical taste” it
took me completely by surprise.
Believe me,
that wasn’t the only surprise, as I turned to see who had spoken. She as a few inches taller than me, with long
red hair that fell over the shoulders of her white blouse. The blouse was open at the top two buttons,
while she had a red girdle round her waist, tight brown riding britches, and
knee length burgundy leather boots. She
also had short gloves in the same shade of leather – and a gun in her hand.
“Thanks, I
think,” I said quietly. “Where are my
mother and grandmother?”
“Oh I left them
watching the film – you did a very good job on them, and I haven’t disturbed
them,” she said as she smiled, “but I am afraid you are going to take a short
break from your studies.”
Looking at her,
I shrugged and said “not the first time it’s happened – so long as I can still
listen to the music.”
“Now why should
I be so cruel – please, sit on your bed, and put your hands behind your back.”
As if I could
refuse? I did as she asked, feeling her
sit behind me and then securing my wrists tightly together, before she tied
more rope around my arms and body.
Whoever she was, she was strong, and she knew what she was doing – right
down to taking the rope between my arms and body to tighten the ropes.
She then knelt
down and tied my ankles together, side by side, as well as securing my legs
together below the knees, and then she stood up and smiled at me.
“How old are
you?”
“Sixteen –
why?”
“Just curious,”
she said as she went to a drawer, and took a pair of panties out, before saying
“open wide now.”
“At least they
are clean,” I said to myself before she stuffed my mouth with them, and then
wrapped a white bandage round my head.
Laying me on my side, she smiled and waved as she left me in the room.
I could hear
her in Mum and Dad’s room, and then caught a glimpse of her as she passed my
room, and went downstairs. I wondered
where she had got to – and after a while, that turned to concern as I got
myself onto my feet, jumped out of my room and along the corridor, before
sliding myself down the stairs.
As I jumped
into the room, Grandma looked over at me and raised an eyebrow as she said
“Dhduuthuhrshlf?”
Mum then looked
over and said “whtshshpphnd.”
I looked at
both of them, and said “Dhhddushhhrr?
“Shhhwhhh?”
“We were
robbed, and we didn’t know it?”
Dad and Grandpa
had come back to find all three of us in the front room, and while Grandpa had
untied us Dad had uncovered the search of their bedroom.
“Yeah – I had
no way to tell you, but she left you alone at least,” I said as we sat round the
table, Colin’s father looking at us.
“Who was it
anyway?”
“A woman, yea
high, red hair…”
“She calls
herself the Fox.”
We all looked
at Barry Hampton as he said “you’re not the first family she’s visited this
last day or two…”
Freddy and Louise
“Was that Dad,”
I asked Mum as she came into the front room.
It was about nine at night, and we were already dressed for bed – a
routine we liked to have on a Friday each week.
I was wearing a pink Hello Kitty pyjama top, and red bottoms with little
white hearts on them, while Freddie was wearing a brown t-shirt and checked
shorts. As for Mum, she had a pink
nightdress on, and she was smiling as she watched the film with us. Betsy was asleep in the nursery, and all was
right with the world – even if Dad was away on business.
“We need more
popcorn,” Freddie said as he stood up and took the bowl into the kitchen, Mum
looking at me and saying “you two seem to be getting on a lot better – what
happened, Eric have a word with him?”
“Eric – have a
word with Freddie? He is getting better
Mum, but seriously?”
She looked at
me and we both started laughing while Benedict Cumberbatch made all sort of
funny hand movements on the screen, and we waited for Freddie to come back.
And waited.
And waited some
more, before Mum stood up and said “I wonder what…”
“Well now – the
family are all here. That’s nice –
convenient.”
I stood up and
looked to see Freddie in the door – but he wasn’t alone, and he couldn’t
talk. That was probably because of the
silver tape that was over his mouth – and the fact there was rope around his
arms and body, with his hands behind his back.
It was the
woman that was with him who caught my eye.
She was tall – taller than Mummy – and she had long red hair that fell
over the shoulders of her grey blouse, which was open at the top. She had long grey gloves on, and what looked
like a grey girdle round her waist, as well as tight riding britches which were
tucked into red riding boots.
“Freddie? Are you all right?”
“Oh the little
man is fine,” the woman purred as she pushed Freddie in, and I saw the blush in
his cheeks as he looked at me. “In fact,
her insists you are both just like him – take this,” she said as she handed Mum
a length of rope, “and tie your little daughter’s wrists together behind her
back. Do it properly – I hate to have to
correct sloppy work.”
“Well, I don’t
think we have a choice,” Mum said as she walked behind me, and wrapped the rope
around my wrists. She made sure it was
tight, but not uncomfortable, as Freddie watched.
“Good,” the woman
said as she inspected Mum’s handiwork, “now take this, and tie it round her so
like her brother.”
“Who are you,”
I said as I felt Mum pull the rope tight round my arms.
“Oh I am sorry,
forgive my manners,” she said as she looked at me, “I’m called The Fox, and today
you are the first stop on a little tour I am doing round here.”
“The Fox? Surely if you’re a woman, you’re a Vixen?”
“Ah, but that
name is already taken,” she said with a smile as Mum tied the ropes off. “Now, be a dear and sit with your brother,
while I make sure Mum here is nice and secure as well.”
“Do as she
says,” Mum said as I went and sat with Freddie on the couch, the two of us
looking at each other. We both knew we
could get out of this, but unlike a certain pair of young Teen Tornadoes, we
both realised this was not the time to reveal that. Instead, we watched as the Fox bound Mum’s
hands together behind her back, and then tied more rope around her arms and
body so that she could not move them either.
As she wriggled
round, the woman made her sit on the floor, and then bend her legs before she
tied her ankles together, and then her legs around the skirt of her nightdress,
just above her knees. She then pushed a
folded cloth into Mum’s mouth, and covered it with silver tape, before she
looked at me and said “open wide, little girl.”
“Talk to you
later Freddie,” I said, my brother nodding as I felt the cloth on my tongue,
and then the tape pulling on the skin of my face as she tape gagged me. We then both watched as she tied our ankles,
and our legs below our knees, before making us sit either side of Mum on the
floor while the film continued.
“Now don’t
move,” she said with a smile as she left the room, Mum looking at both of us
and shaking her head as we wriggled round.
It certainly was not the tightest we had ever been tied, but it was
firm, and I prayed she did not go down to the basement and see our supply boxes
there.
A prayer which
was answered as she came back in, checked the ropes and then left us
alone. We sat for a few minutes, before
Mum looked at both of us and said “Nhhhh.”
That was the
cue as we all started to twist our mouths, the tape giving slightly before I
managed to push the cloth out of my mouth, taking the tape with it as it fell
to the floor. I looked at Mum as the
tape hung from her cheek, and then we both looked at Freddie as he took a deep
breath.
“She grabbed me
in the kitchen,” he eventually said, “tied me up, gagged me, and then made me
walk back in here. Do you have any idea
how embarrassing that is?”
“I can guess,”
I giggled as I twisted my back to Mum, and started to pick at the knot holding
the rope around her wrists, “I guess we should call the police once we’re free,
right?”
“Yeah,” Mum
said, “and count our blessing she seemed to be in a hurry…”
Colin Hampton’s
dad came into the front room as the officer finished taking our
statements. “I was up at the farm when
you called,” he said as he looked at us, “are you sure she said she was the
Fox?”
“That’s what
she said Mister Hampton – why?”
“We’ve heard of
her – a high end jewel thief. Did she
get much?”
“Not really,”
Mum said, “the real stuff is at the bank.
But she said we were only the first, Barry – where else is she going?”
“That’s what
worries me,” he said as he looked at his mobile phone, and groaned. “And I just got an answer…”
Rachel
“Thanks, Mum,”
I said as I took the glass of milk from her, and looked at the television. Dad was at the restaurant, and Chris was
asleep in his cot, so Mum and I were having some time together without any
interruptions.
Patty was away
for the weekend – she had finally persuaded her mother to let her go and stay
with her boyfriend in Newcastle. All the
other girls were, shall we say, otherwise occupied.
I was in a
comfy pair of joggers and a sweatshirt, with thick socks pulled up over the
legs, while Mum was wearing a blue smock top and black leggings. “You know,” she said as we watched Hugh
Jackman singing, “I think you’re about the right age to start to appreciate
this musical now.”
“Well, it
helped that we went to see it in the theatre,” I said with a smile, “so what
are we going to do this weekend Mum?”
“Shopping,
tidying – your dad is going to be late back tonight anyway, so…”
She was
interrupted by the sound of Chris starting to stir coming over the baby
monitor, so she stood up and said “will you warm up one of the bottles of milk
while I go and fetch him Rachel?”
“Sure Mum,” I
said with a smile as we both stood up, Mum heading up the stairs as I went into
the kitchen. One of the things that Mum
and Dad did when we got the money – and that’s another story – was to
completely refit the kitchen so Dad felt it was up to his standards – one part
of which was a very large refrigerator.
I opened the
door on one side, and took out a prepared baby bottle, walking to the side and
putting it in the white heater before I switched it on. The last thing I expected at that point – and
yes, this is going to sound daft coming from me – was a gloved hand going over
my mouth and a smooth female voice saying “so what do we have here?”
No, I did not
jump for joy – for once, I did not recognise who it was, and when she took her
hand away and turned me round, I really did not know her. She was dressed like someone from Pirates of
the Caribbean – a red blouse, open at the neck, with a grey girdle and long
gloves, tight grey pants and over the knee red leather boots. She also had incredibly long red hair, and
smiled as she looked over my shoulder.
“Well, I guess
your little brother or sister is hungry – is your mother upstairs?”
I nodded and
said quietly “Please, don’t hurt me?”
“I won’t hurt
you if you do as I say, little girl,” the woman said as, seemingly from
nowhere, she produced a large roll of a wide grey tape. “And the first part of that is making sure
you stay on one place for a while. So
turn round, and put your hands behind your back.”
“Okay,” I said
quietly as I did as she asked, and I heard the tape peel away from the
roll. In my mind, I was grateful it was
not duct tape, but it certainly kept my wrists together behind my back, and my
arms into my sides as she wrapped it around me in two bands.
“IS the bottle
about ready Rachel?”
The red haired
woman looked at me as I said “yeah – I’ll take it through to the front room
Mum.”
“Good girl,”
she said quietly as she picked the bottle up in her gloved hand, and then made
me walk into the front room, indicating I should sit down as we both heard the
footsteps on the stairs.
“Okay then,
little one,” Mum said as she came in with Chris in her arms, “why don’t we…”
“Have a seat,”
the woman said as she showed the gun she had drawn from behind her, “and give
the little one his bottle while I finish making sure your older daughter stays
quiet?”
Mum looked at
me as I wriggled round, and nodded as she sat in her armchair, Chris giggling
before he took the teat into his mouth and started to have his feed. “Can we know who you are,” Mum said as she
looked at her.
“I’m known as
The Fox,” she said with a smile before she knelt down and taped my ankles
together over my socks, and then taped my legs together below and above my
knees. As she stood up, I said “so are
you robbing us?”
“Maybe of one
or two little things,” she said with a smile as she stood up, and walked behind
me. I then felt something pressing my
tongue down as she stuffed a cloth into my mouth, and then wound the tape round
my head before she took my glasses off, folded them and put them to the side,
and helped me to lie on my side.
“He seems to be
enjoying the feed,” the Fox then said with a grin as she knelt in front of Mum,
and taped her ankles and legs together in the same way as me. Mum nodded as she said “at least let me get
him fed and back off to sleep before you do anything else.”
“Fair enough –
just remember, your daughter is already captive,” she said as she looked at me
wriggling on the couch. If truth be
told, it was very tight, and very comfortable – but there have been far too
many times with Patty when showing that has been a problem, so I just acted the
scared little girl.
Mum stroked
Chris’ brown hair away from his face as he continued to drink, while she
wriggled her legs round, the tape making a strange sound before he finally let
go of the empty bottle and smiled. Mum
looked at him, then at me, and at the woman before she said “he needs changing
– can you lay out the mat on the floor, and then I should be able to kneel down
and do it?”
I watched as
the Fox unpopped the changing mat from the travelling bag and did that, before
she held Chris while Mum slipped off the chair and knelt down, the tape
stretching over her legs. She then took
Chris back and laid him down, unfastening his sleep suit and then very quickly
removing the soiled nappy.
Yeah, I wrinkled
my nose – not like I had the chance to complain at that point, was it? I just had to stay calm as Mum cleaned and
change Chris, then put him over her shoulder as she gently winded him.
“Nice kid –
does he sleep through the night?”
“He should do
now,” Mum said as she looked at the redhead, “look, can you lie him down next
to Rachel, and then you can finish doing whatever you are going to do to
me? Can you also put him back into his
cot, when you – well, when you go looking to see if I have anything worth
stealing?”
She had some
class, this Fox – she took Chris from Mum and I shuffled back a bit as she laid
him next to me, his eyes closed as he gently slept. I gave him a little taped kiss on his
forehead as she took Mum’s hands behind her back, and then taped her wrists
tightly together, as well as her arms to her sides, the grey bands as tight as
mine.
As I watched,
she then pushed a white cloth into Mum’s mouth and wound the tape tightly round
her head, lifting her hair out of the way as she did so, and then helped her to
sit back in the seat.
“Enjoy the rest
of the film,” she said as she gently picked Chris up, Mum and I looking at each
other as they started to build the barricade.
“Hey, are you
two still up – I thought you would have…”
Dad stopped and looked at us as we wriggled in our tape bonds, and then
said “oh my god,” before he ran to the kitchen, coming back with a pair of
scissors and cutting the tape band away from Mum’s mouth. She spat out the cloth, which was now wet and
grey, before she said “we’re fine – check Chris, see what she may have got,
then phone the police before you cut us free.”
“She?”
“It was a
woman,” Mum said as Dad went upstairs, and she looked at me. “Guess I know how you feel now when that
happens a bit more,” she said with a smile as I nodded, and Dad came back down.
“Some of your
jewellery has gone, but that can be replaced.
Let me cut you free, and then I’ll call them…”
“Louise and
Freddie? The same women robbed them
tonight?”
“Looks that
way,” Colin’s dad said as he sat with us, “I think we have a one woman crime
wave going on.
“For a change –
get some sleep, I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.”
As they left,
Dad said to Mum “do you think she’d be stupid enough to go for the Craigs or
any of the Holderness family?”
“I hope so,”
Mum said, “she’d be taught a lesson or two…”
Charlie and Lisa
“Well, I’m glad
you had good time at the Cottrell farm last weekend,” Yvonne said as the
Williamson family sat round the dining table, “but it is a school week. So, have you both done your homework?”
“Yes Mum,” I
said as I rolled my eyes and looked at my charming brother. Don’t get me wrong, I love them both, but
when she put her school headmistress face on…
“Can we play a
game tonight, Mum,” Charlie said with a smile, especially as Dad has that late
meeting?”
“I guess so,”
Mum said with a smile, “but this time I think I should arrange to capture both
of you, if that is all right.”
Charlie looked
at me and shrugged his shoulders, as he said “sure – let’s see if we can get
out of it as well. Want us to change
before we begin?”
“I do – I may
dress up a little as well,” Mum said with a smile.
When I came out
of my bedroom, I was wearing a light blue t-shirt and legging, a matching band
holding my hair back. A moment later,
Charlie appeared, wearing what he tended to wear to bed these days – a long
sleeved blue top and matching bottoms.
“So what do you
think Mum’s going to do,” he said as we headed down the stairs.
“No idea –
guess we find out when we find out,” I said as we walked into the front
room. There was a plate of biscuits and
two glasses of milk on the low coffee table, and the television was on – but no
mother.
“Well, this is
going to be a surprise,” Charlie said with a wink as we sat down, and took a
drink from a glass each before starting to eat a biscuit – which was when Mum
came in. She was wearing a tight black
sweater, stirrup pants and short felt boots – but she also has a black domino
mask covering her eyes, and smiled as she pointed a water pistol at us and said
in a Welsh accent “not a word little ones – I already have yer ma secured
upstairs, but now I see I need to secure both of you as well.”
I looked at
Charlie, Charlie looked at me, and I adopted the standard response. “Please, don’t hurt us,” I whispered as I
looked at her.
“Don’t you dare
hurt my sister,” Charlie said, but Mum laughed as she tossed a wide roll of
white tape at him. “I’m not going to
hurt her kid,” she said quietly, “so make sure you don’t either. Tape her hands together behind her back.”
“Just do as she
says, Charlie,” I whispered as I turned to the side, and put my hands behind my
back. No, it wasn’t rope, but as Mum had
said earlier, it was a school night. So
I felt Charlie put my hands together, palm to palm, and then wrap the tape
tightly round my wrists, before he took it round my waist as well to keep them
fixed there.
“Make sure she
can’t move her arms as well,” Mum said quietly, Charlie nodding as he wound the
tape round my arms and upper body, two white bands forming before he tore the
tape free and smoothed it off.
“Right, little
girl,” Mum said with a smile, “lie down and put your feet on your brother’s
lap. He’s going to tape your ankles and
legs together.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes you do,”
Mum said with a smile, so I lay on the couch, my head on the armrest and my
feet on Charlie’s lap as he taped my ankles together, then my legs below my
knees, and then my thighs.
“Very good –
right kid,” she said as I looked at Charlie, “tape your legs the same way you did
your sister.”
“Better move your
feet,” Charlie said, and as I bent my legs I saw the tape tighten on my thighs,
while he put his feet up on the couch, and taped his ankles and legs in the same
three places. As he put his feet down in
the floor, he handed the roll of tape to Mum, and then turned, grinning as she
took his hands behind his back and started to tape his wrists together.
“You’ll never
get away with this,” I said as I wriggled round, playing the cute little damsel
very well if I say so myself, while Mum wrapped the tape tightly round
Charlie’s tummy, and then his upper arms so that he was as well secured as I
was.
“Oh I think I
will,” she said with a smile as she tore a strip of the tape off, and looked at
me, “so put those pretty lips together – I don’t want to hear either of you
talking for a while.”
“Youhllnfrrgthhwewsfhsss,”
I mumbled as the tape was smoothed over my lips, Charlie looking at me and
trying not to laugh as his own mouth was covered, before Mum looked at both of
us and said “just sit and watch the television while I check on yer mama” and
walked out of the room. We nodded, and
then settled down to watch – promise you won’t laugh – Not Going Out.
After a while,
Charlie looked at me and said “shhwmshlhngrrr?”
“Gffhtfhvvv…” I stopped talking as I looked at the door,
Charlie raising an eyebrow and then looking round as well. The tall woman standing in the doorway was
wearing a red blouse, open at the neck, and some sort of black girdle round her
waist. She also had on black opera
gloves, and over the knee red leather boots with grey leggings, and she had a
huge smile on her face as she gently laughed, her long red hair moving as she
did.
“Well now, it
appears she wasn’t lying when she said you were playing a game down here,” she
said as she walked over and looked carefully at us. “And she did a very good job at it, by the
look of things, so I want you both to stay there while I have a look round.”
“Whrsmmhfrrr,”
Charlie mumbled as he glanced at me, a glance that spoke volumes.
“Oh she’s
having some down time upstairs,” the redheaded woman said with a smile, “and I
want you to stay nice and quiet as well.
She used a good tape – that will keep you nice and quiet for now, but I
will be back later.”
“Dhnthrrthhsss,”
I said, the woman smiling as she wagged a finger at us, and said “then don’t
move” before she went out. Charlie and I
looked at each other, then I saw from the corner of my eye she was heading
upstairs.
And that was
when I saw Charlie bring his hands round in front of him, and start to unwind
the tape from his body. “I know what you’re
thinking,” he said as he peeled the tape away from his mouth and looked at me,
“but seriously, sis, I want you to stay where you are. She could see you from the doorway, and not
me.”
I had already
noticed that, as I wriggled round and said “Bthwhhthrughnnhdh?”
“Get free
first,” he said with a smile as he started to remove the tape holding his legs
together. “Then I’m going to grab
something from the kitchen. If this is a
robber, she’s in Mum and Dad’s room now – and then she’s going to head for
Dad’s office. I intend to lay a trap.”
“Shrrlehhbhchrfhl.”
“Ain’t I
Always?”
I wanted to
remind him of certain recent events, but this was probably not the time, as
Charlie stretched his legs out, and then got off the couch, smiling at me as he
quietly slipped out of the room and left the room, coming back a few minutes
later with a roll of the black tape. He
then handed me something and put a finger to his lips as he stood by the door,
as I watched the woman look in, now carrying a small velvet bag.
“Hrrruh?”
“Me – I am
called The Fox,” she said as she stepped in, and looked over, a slight frown on
her face as she said “where is your brother?”
I just smiled
as Charlie stood behind her, and said quietly “waiting for you to walk in. Now, I want you to play our game as well –
kneel down, and put your hands behind your back.”
I saw the look
on her face, as she questioned what to do, but then I brought my own hands
round, and started to film her with my phone, as she smiled and said “very
clever – well, I’ll play your game” as she knelt down, putting her hands behind
her back as Charlie knelt behind her – and then raising another eyebrow as she
felt him taping her wrists together.
“why do I get
the feeling you have done this before,” she said with a smile as Charlie then
would the black top round her upper body, forcing her arms against her sides as
I looked on, holding the phone as I used my free hand to start to free my legs.
“No comment –
but I hope it is not too uncomfortable,” he said with a smile as he tore the
tape from the roll and smoothed it down, then taped her legs together above her
knees, followed by her ankles.
“Now, I think
it’s your turn to be quiet,” Charlie said as she wriggled round.
“I could see
that one coming – so let me complement both of you on what you did while I
still can. It is good to see such
ingenuity.”
“Thank you for
the complement – lips together please.”
The redheaded
woman than shut her mouth, as Charlie wrapped the tape tightly round her head,
covering her lips and trapping her red hair against her neck.
“Ehhpthsdhsnntshthk,”
she mumbled as Charlie lay her on her side, and I finished freeing myself.
“Now just stay
there,” he said with a smile as I took the tape from my mouth, filming her as
Charlie picked up the velvet bag and then beckoned for me to follow him. We made our way up the stairs, as he said
“Mum?”
“HNHHHRRHHHH!”
We both walked
into our parents’ bedroom, to see our mother lying on the bed, her arms and
legs stretched out, her wrists and ankles tied to the posts at the corners with
four of her silk scarves, and a fifth one tied between her lips. We both walked to the sides of the bed and untied
her wrists, and then as she sat up we released her ankles.
“Where is she,”
Mum said in a dangerous voice as she removed the scarf from her mouth, the damp
centre hanging on the front of her jumper.
“Downstairs –
Charlie tricked her and taped her up,” I said as I held up my phone, “and I
filmed him doing it.”
“Smart work –
Charlie, call the police. Lisa, come
with me – I desire words of import with this lady.”
As we walked
down the stairs, Mum said “did she get into your father’s office?”
“No – we
checked, and the door is still locked.”
“Good – right
then, who are you and…”
We both looked
at the lengths of black tape that had been left on the floor, but of the woman,
there was no sign…
“Do you mind if
we keep your phone for a little while, download the film,” DCI Hammond said as
he sat in the armchair. Dad had come
home as soon as Mum had called him, and the police were taking fingerprints.
“No problem
Barry – any idea who it was?”
“From what you
said, it sounds like this woman who has hit a few houses around here – she calls
herself The Fox, as she told you. We
need to find her – but I suspect you gave her a bit of a scare.”
“Well, thanks
for coming out Barry,” Dad said as they stood up, and shook hands with Colin’s
dad, “let me show you out.”
“The same
person who robbed Rachel and her parents?
She is getting around,” Charlie said as he looked at me.
“Yeah,” Mum
said as the phone rang, and she went to answer it. We heard her say “Brian – yeah” as Dad came
in.
“Come on –
school night. Bed, both of you…”
Cassie
“It’s good of
you to invite me to stay the night, Aunt Jo,” I said as I put my bag on the
floor. Mum and Dad had taken the twins
away for the day, and were not going to be back until late, and Jenny was out
with Colin, Alicia and Martin on an overnight visit to another town, so Mum had
called Aunt Cassie up and asked if I could stay the night at their house.
Believe it or
not, this was the first time I’d actually stayed overnight there – I had
visited a few times, but never for long.
They lived in a modern estate on the outskirts of town, with only one
floor, but it’s big and roomy.
I was wearing a
pair of black jeans and a black sweatshirt, with sneakers, and in my bag I had
the assignments I had been putting off finishing – no, not a Science
assignment, I’m not daft enough to do that with Dr Frost in residence, but a
few other small things.
“Well, we’ve no
problem with you staying here,” Jo said with a smile. These days she’s a primary school teacher,
and she was still “in uniform” as she put it, taking off the pale blue jacket
she was wearing that matched her trousers, and revealing the white blouse she
was wearing.
“Where’s Aunt
Cassie anyway?”
“Staff meeting
– right, sit at the table and get started, I’ll see what we can work up for
dinner,” she said as she headed to the kitchen, and I sat at the table, pulling
out my book from my bag and taking a pen out as well.
“Now then,” I
said to myself quietly as I opened the book, “what can I say about the weather
in the United Kingdom…”
As I was
writing, I could hear Aunt Jo humming to herself, and joined in as I wrote in
my book, put it to one side, and then started on Quadratic equations – one of
the greatest evils known to modern man.
It is safe to
say, I was getting bored, and was wondering how I could make it more
interesting. If the girls were there,
there was a way – as my mind wandered to what I had heard from some of the
others about the spate of robberies.
Lisa had told me about the woman who had robbed them – long red hair,
silk blouse, leggings, tight boots…
Just like the
woman who was now standing in the room doorway, looking at me with her head to
one side…
I shook my head
and kept writing the next question out, and then slowly turned and looked at
her as she waved at me with her gloved hand.
“Hey there,” she said with a smile, “sorry to interrupt your work, but
I’m afraid I need to make sure you stay in that chair. So, if you could just put your pen down, and
put your arms through those very convenient gaps in the chair back?”
Now, I know
there was a time I would have made this a game, but something in this woman’s
voice and pose told me this would not be a good idea. That, and the fact she had a gun, and I had
no idea where Aunt Jo was. I guessed
this was the time to play the scared little girl.
“All right
lady,” I said quietly as I put my pen down, and leaned forward so that I could
slip my arms through the bars in the chair back, “just please, don’t hurt me.”
“Well, behave
and I won’t” she said as she walked over, and I noticed the rest of her
outfit. The black girdle over the red
blouse, the high boots over the leggings – it matched the description Lisa gave
me.
“No, I’ll
behave” I said as she crossed my wrists and tied them together with rope. Now, she was good – made sure it was tight
and comfortable, and then tied the ends to the chair back so that I could not
move my arms away. She then took a longer
length of rope and tied my waist to the chair back, and then round my upper
arms. It was certainly designed to keep
me in the chair, but there was one thing I thought might be useful later.
She had not
covered my hands…
The woman then
pulled the chair back and tuned it round, before she took another length of
rope and tied my ankles together while I watched, then secured my legs together
below my knees. Neat, tidy, and when she
pulled my feet under the chair and tied them to the centre spar, it made sure I
was staying there.
I hadn’t said
anything while she did this, but as she stood up and pushed the chair back, I decided
it was time to ask an impertinent question.
“Where’s my
mummy?”
“Oh, she’s your
mother? She doesn’t look old enough to be
that. But who knows these days – once I
have you quiet, I’ll bring her through to keep you company.”
“Thank you… What do you mean, once I have you quiet?”
Yeah, I already
knew the answer to that one, as I saw the folded cloth in her hand, so I meekly
opened my mouth and let her push it in behind my teeth, and then the tape as it
covered my mouth. Quadratic Equations
would have to wait – I had another task to perform…
“Now, you wait
there,” the woman said as she walked off, allowing me to wiggle my fingers as I
heard Aunt Jo say “What the…” and then she was walked in, looking at me with
her arms pulled behind her back, and bands of rope around her arms and upper
body. She lifted an eyebrow as she saw
me, white tape over her mouth, and then sat on the couch as the intruder bound
her ankles and legs, letting her lie down as she walked off.
“Whlllnhhh,”
Aunt Jo said as she looked at me, “whtddhwhdhhnh?”
“Ghtfhrrrh?”
“Shnddsslhkhphlhhnnn,”
Aunt Jo said as she started to wriggle round, and I felt round with my fingers,
finally finding the knot and starting to unravel it – before we both stopped
and saw Aunt Cassie standing in the doorway.
She simply raised an eyebrow, as Aunt Jo moved her head up, and we heard
the footsteps in the bedrooms.
Aunt Cassie
just nodded, and walked off – before we heard a muffled gasp, and then the
sound of tape tearing, before she came back down and peeled the tape away from
my mouth.
“Guess she
picked the wrong house,” she said as she took the cloth from my mouth, and I
brought my arms round.
“Yeah, she
did,” I said as she took her mobile phone out, and dialled a number.
“Barry? Jo – we have a visitor you need to pick up.”
As the police
took her away, Aunt Jo said “nice catch – you’re back early.”
“Yeah – meeting
cancelled, but I talked to Jessica and Jennifer.”
“Oh – so is it
on?”
“Oh yes – it is
on….”
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