Cath's Caff

If you head north on the A1 from London, it is still possible to find some of the old roadside cafes that were used by bikers and truckers in the 50’s and 60’s.  Cath’s Caff is off the A1 just north of Peterborough, in a small village, and it still serves the old fashioned riders who prefer a mug of strong hot tea and a fry-up to the asinine offerings that you get on the main road today.

Cath herself is a friendly woman, in her mid-thirties with dark hair that dyed blonde at the front.  She owns and runs the place herself, and gets enough regular customers to make the place viable to run.  A year or so back, however, she got a couple of very unusual and unwelcome visitors…

It was seven in the morning, and Cath had just opened up on this particular Sunday.  Given the clientele she had, her dress code was not as strict as other places, so long as her staff wore a white apron when they were on duty.  Cath herself was dressed on this particular day in a manner she knew pleased her customers – a black sleeveless top with shoulder straps that showed the tattoos on her arms, short skirt and dark stockings, and black leather shoes.

She was wiping down the tables when the two women came in.  Looking up, she could see that they were sisters.  One was dressed in a purple see-through blouse which showed her lingerie and a long black pinstripe skirt with the word “bitch” written on it in certain places, and she had long hair that was dyed purple.  Her sister was wearing a purple short sleeved t-shirt and a long black skirt, but her hair was black.  Both women looked around the eating area, as if they were checking for something.

“Can I help you?” Cath asked as she slipped a white apron over her head and tied it around her waist.

“Yes, I think you can,” the black haired woman said as she opened her handbag and drew out a pistol.  “You can put your hands on your head and say nothing.  Deena, go and make sure there’s no-one else about.”

“What’s going on?” Cath asked as the purple haired woman slipped past her into the kitchen.

“You just do as you’re told.  Expecting a busy day today?”

“A few people.”

“Any other staff?”

“I have two girls who come in later – why?”

Deena came back out.  She had tied another white apron around her waist, and slipped a pair of silver wash gloves over her hands.

“All clear so far, Betty.”

“All right, Cath,” Betty said waving the gun at her.  “In the back – my sister and I will be minding the store for you today.”

The terrified owner turned and walked into the kitchen, followed by the two women.  Deena picked up a large chopping knife and held it in her hand, while Betty searched the kitchen, appearing with several coils of brown rope.

“What do you use this for?”

“My customers sometimes need tow rope, or to secure something to their bikes.”

Betty eyed up the rope, and then threw a coil over to Deena.  “Take care of Cath here while I keep everyone else out.”

Cath looked at Betty as she placed an apron over her head, then walked back into the front of the store.

“You,” Deena said, “Put these on and put your hands out in front of you.”

Cath stared down at the pair of blue wash gloves Deena had thrown at her.

“I still don’t understand why you’re doing this – I don’t have any money!”

Cath looked over her shoulder at Deena.  Her wrists had been tied together in front of her, with the gloves acting as some protection on her wrists.  Lengths of rope were wrapped around them, holding them against her and around her thighs and waist, as well as her lower chest, with a further length holding her arms together above her chest.

“Could you pass out an apron for Barbara please, Cath?”

Betty called through the doorway, and Deena passed through a long white apron as Cath heard the first of her two assistants talking to the other woman.

“Now then,” Deena said as she picked up a white towel and rolled it into a band, “I’m getting a little tired of your questions when we told you to do as you were told.”

“No, please, don’t mmmp m mth”

Deena pulled the rolled up cloth tightly into Cath’s mouth, securing it behind her head, and stopping her from making any more intelligible noises.

“There now, Cath, I’m telling you for the last time to shut up and let me and my sister get on with our work.  I’m going to make sure you’re comfortable and then – well, we’ll see what happens.”

As she said this, Deena took a clean glass towel from a pile and looked at Cath.  She returned the look, afraid of what this woman was going to do next, as she folded the blue edged cloth into a thick band.

“Maybe I should tie this over the other cloth – make sure you really can’t complain any more.”

Deena held the band in front on Cath's mouth, and pulled back so that her head was tilted back and looking at Deena’s face.

“No – I think a blindfold will be better – I don’t want you to see what’s going to happen next.”

Cath shook her head as Deena raised the cloth over her eyes, and tied it firmly into place, blocking Cath’s sight completely. 

“What do you mean she’s not here?  Cath would have told me if she was going away – I want to see for myself!”

“Well, if you insist,” Betty said as she followed Barbara into the kitchen.

“Cath, are you…..”

Barbara stopped short at the sight of her employer bound, gagged and blindfolded, and a woman who looked just like the one she had spoken to holding her chin in a gloved hand.

“I told you that you should have stayed out front,” Betty said as she pointed her gun at Barbara’s head.  “Deena – deal with this one and make sure she can’t raise the alarm before you finish with Cath.  Come and take my place out front once that’s done – it will soon be time.”

Deena nodded as she placed her knife against Cath’s throat.

“Over here and quietly put your hands in front of you, or your boss gets a pay cut.”

Half an hour later, Deena came to the front, where Betty was serving teas and other items.

“Take a break, Betty.  Cath’s having a sit down for a little while.”

“Thanks, Deena,” Betty said as she walked back into the kitchen.

Barbara was standing next to the rear door.  A cloth had been rolled up and tied into her mouth, keeping the ends of her long red hair fixed against her face.  With the white apron over her black dress, she was struggling to free her arms from the knot the held them vertical in front of her with the end tied to a coat hook.  Her wrists were lashed together, and the rope had been passed several times around her arms, chest and waist so that they were held firmly in place.  Her ankles were also lashed together as she stood there in her black high heeled shoes.

“Not the most practical footwear for waiting at table, is it Barbara?”  Betty said with a smirk as she closed the door behind her.

Barbara watched as Betty walked over to the sink, and picked a pair of yellow gloves.  She was balling and unballing her hands into fists, both to give some relief to the soreness that was starting to creep in and also to get rid of her anger.

“Well, I think we need to take you to join Cath, but first I need to finish what my sister had started.”

Barbara could hear Cath’s muffled cries from the larder, and watched as Betty pulled the wash gloves over her hands.  She tried to scream out, hoping to attract the attention of a customer.

“I really would not do that if I was you,” Betty said as she stood beside the bound girl and pulled the fingers of the glove over her left hand.  “The last thing we want to do is hurt you, but we will not hesitate to do so if you keep screaming.”

Betty took Barbara’s head by the hair, and pulled it back as she placed a gloved hand over her gag.  The smell of the glove was overpowering, and Barbara had to stop herself from retching.

“Close you eyes, dearie,” Betty said as she took a glass cloth, and as with Cath tied it over Barbara’s eyes as a blindfold.  The girl twisted her head round as the blindfold was tied in place, and Betty walked in front of her.

“Very nice, sis – now put her with the other one.  It’s almost time.”

Deena turned and went back out front, while Betty unties the rope from the coat hook and held Barbara’s gagged and blindfolded face in her hands.

“Come on, dearie; let’s take you to your boss.”

Holding Barbara by the arm, Betty helped her to hop across the floor and into the larder.  Cath was sat on the floor, her ankles bound together and her legs above her knees with her wrists held down there.  Betty helped Barbara to sit next to her boss, before tying the loose rope around her thighs.

“Brbr?”

“Cth – wht’s gng n?”

The two women started to try to free themselves as Betty closed the door on them.

“Where’s Cath and Babs?”

Katie was looking at both Deena and Betty.  Another hour had passed, and the lunch crowd was thinning out as Cath’s second assistant reported fro work.

“They’re taking a break,” Betty said as Katie put a white apron on over her black vest top and denim patched skirt.  “Why don’t I take you through to see them?  Deena, could you see to these customers please?”

Deena nodded as a small party of leather jacketed men entered the café.  Taking Katie by the arm, Betty took her through to the kitchen.

“So, where are they?” Katie demanded as Betty closed the door behind them.

“They’re safe, young lady – now you do as you’re told or there will be trouble.”

Katie looked at Betty, then at the pistol pointed at her, and slowly raised her hands.

“What’s going on?”

“Cath’s place has been picked for a meeting, and we’ve been asked to make sure that meeting is not disturbed.  Now, turn around and put your hands behind your back, and don’t make a sound.”

Placing the pistol on the table, Betty picked up another length of rope, and quickly bound Katie’s wrists behind her back.  She was a tall girl, so her secured wrists lay against the bottom of her skirt as she stood there.

More rope was pulled around her upper arms and chest, and her elbows around and below her breasts.  A third, much longer length was then passed around her waist, pulled tight so that her arms were pressed well into Katie’s back, and the long lengths allowed to drop on the floor after it was knotted in front.  One final piece was tied to the lowest of the three ropes, around the middle and under the tope ones before been passed around Katie’s neck and the process repeated at the other side.

“This is tight,” she said as she turned around and tried to look over her shoulder, her long red hair lying across her face.  “So what happens now?  I don’t suppose there’s enough room in that larder for three of us,” she said as she heard the sound of kicking against the larder door.

“No, I don’t think there is,” Betty said as she pulled a kitchen chair over.  “Sit down.”

Sitting herself down side on on the chair, Katie watched as Betty took the loose ends of the rope and passed them around her thighs, pulling tightly so that they were brought together, then under her legs and around her calves, again pulling tightly so that they could not be moved apart.  Taking a final length of rope, she placed Katie’s ankles together side by side and lashed them together, before pulling them to the side and securing them to the chair leg.

“Are you going to gag me as well?” Katie shouted as Betty took a small cloth and rolled it into a thin band, before tying a knot in the middle.  Walking behind the bound girl, she gently pulled her red hair back behind her head before pulling the knot into Katie’s mouth, and securing the cloth at the base of her neck.

“Sit there and don’t move,” Betty said as she kissed Katie on the top of her head, and made her way to the larder.  Opening the door, Betty entered, and Katie turned to listen to what she had to say.

“Just be quiet for a little while, ladies, and we’ll be out of your hair.  Sorry we had to do this, but we had a job to do.”

Returning to Katie, Betty picked up two more glass cloths and folded them into bands.

“Sorry, young lady, but we need to keep you especially quiet,” she said as she pulled the first cloth over Katie’s already gagged mouth and secured it, then the second cloth over her eyes.  Katie leant forward, trying to figure out what was happening as the door to the kitchen opened.

“Deena told me what had happened here,” Katie heard a man say, “good work, both of you.”

“Thank you, Mister Parker.  If we can ever be of assistance again?”

“I’ll keep you in mind girls.  What are you going to do with these three?”

“We’ll just leave them there.  Sooner or later someone will come and find them.  How long do you need for the meeting.”

“Another hour or so should do it.  You can sty until then?”

“That’s what the contract says, Mister Parker, and we keep to the terms of our contract.”

The kitchen door closed, and Katie could hear sounds both from the front of the café, and also from the larder as her boss and Babs were trying to get free.  With the blindfold tightly in place, however, it was impossible for Katie to help at all.

The clock in the kitchen struck three, and the noise had died down outside.  Katie was still in the chair, her head slumped forward, when she heard a woman saying “Charlie – get back here, quickly!”

The light blinded her eyes as the cloth was removed, and she blinked to get her eyes to focus.  A young girl was standing in front of her, dressed in a tight leather jacket and grey pedal pushers, while someone was behind her untying the cloths around her mouth.

“Please,” she gasped as the knot was pulled out, “there are two more of us in the larder.  Get them free and call the police.”

“You call the cops, Pearl – I’ll see to them,” the man who must have been Charlie said as he went towards the larder, and Katie started crying as she heard Babs and Cath thanking the young man.