After School Specials – Part 7

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 to 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…

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 press 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…

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 he 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….

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…

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 long 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 scared 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…

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 suit, 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 and chest it felt as if I was getting a big hug.

He then helped 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 be quiet, as 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 was 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…

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…

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…

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, and we had been used to make him do it…

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…

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