In Their Own Words – Take Care
It is one of those inevitable truths –
when someone intent on performing a robbery is disturbed, they will take steps
to ensure that they can get away safely with as much of a delay as possible in
alerting the authorities. And most
times, that will involve securing and silencing the person or persons who
disturb them. But what happens if one of
those people is expecting? Today, on In
Their Own Words, we look at occasions when that has happened from both sides.
First, we talk to Ingrid, who returned
home one autumn day to discover she had an unexpected visitor…
My husband and
I, at that time, had different worktimes, so I tended to get home a few hours
before him. Yes, when this happened I
was about eight months pregnant, but I worked in a fashion bureau, so I still
had to dress fashionably. That
particular day, I was wearing a black scoop necked top that stretched over my
bump, a black leather jacket over that, and leather pants with brown over the
knee suede boots.
So I walked
into the front room of our house, and there he was – dressed in black, and as
shocked to see me as I was to see him.
He spoke first, however, saying he had no desire to harm me, especially
“given my condition” as he put it, but he had to make sure I could not raise
the alarm. So he asked me to take my
jacket off and place it somewhere – the back of an armchair – and then he told
me to lie on my back on the long couch, and then to put my hands together in
prayer in front of me.
When I did
this, he took out of his pocket a reel of red ribbon, and made a loop at one
end which he used to pull my wrists together in front of me. He then wound the ribbon around and between
my arms, before he laid them don on my bump and then wound the ribbon around my
legs below my knees. He then secured my
ankles together in the same way, before he brought the ribbon back up and tied
it between my wrists again.
He then made
his way to the kitchen and brought a glass of water through with a straw,
allowing me to take a sip before he asked me where he could find my
jewellery. Well, he had been so kind,
and I didn’t want to upset him, so I told him, then watched as he left the
room.
I never knew
ribbon could be so tight, or so difficult to try and undo! I could not get free before he came back, one
of my black scarves in his hand which he had rolled into a band and then tied a
knot in the middle. A knot that he eased
between my teeth and lips before I closed them over the cloth, raising my head
slightly so that he could tie it round my head.
I relaxed as
much as I could as he left the house – I was more worried for the baby than me
– until my husband came back and found me…
Robert – not his real name – faced a
similar situation when he entered a flat in the Knightsbridge area of London…
It was
mid-morning on a Friday, and I had being casing this particular flat for some
time, working out when it was most likely there would be nobody home. This seemed the most opportune moment, as I
made my way up the fire escape and then managed to open the kitchen window as a
way in.
The people
living there certainly had taste – the kitchen was like a farmhouse one, but I
didn’t really have time to admire the décor, making my way into the front room
and starting to search through the cabinets that were there. The last thing I expected was to be interrupted
by someone saying “what the…”
I turned to see
a woman with long dark hair, wearing a white top, crimson pants, and a pair of
fawn coloured knee length leather boots – and a very obvious bump in her
stomach. She had a denim jacket in her
hand, and a very worried expression on her face.
So I kept my
calm, and asked why she was home. “Duh,”
was her response as she looked down, and I realised my mistake. I had not
checked the lady of the house was pregnant, or considered the small matter of
maternity leave.
Nevertheless, I
had to do something, so I pulled a chair from a dining table and asked her to
sit down, and keep her hands where I could see them. I then looked in the rucksack I was carrying,
and took out a roll of silver tape.
She noticed
that, and said she’d just sit quietly – but I had to tell her I needed to make
sure she did, as I tore the end of the roll free, knelt down and put her left
ankle against the front leg of the chair, before using the tape to secure the
two together.
Moving over to
the other side, I secured her other leg in the same way, before I asked her to
put her arms at the side of the chair, and hold the chairback. When she did this, I taped her wrists to the
chair back, and then wrapped the tape round her legs and the chair seat.
If this had being
any other time, I would have also taped her upper body to the chair back – but
that was obviously not going to eb good for her, so I didn’t do that. In fact, I didn’t even stuff her mouth, but
simply taped it over with strips of the black tape, completed my search, and
got out as quickly as I could.
I called the police
later, so that she would be found…
Claire is fourteen years old, and was at
home with her younger sister and her mother when they had some unexpected
visitors…
My sister Annie
is eleven, and we were watching television while Mum prepared out lunch. We were actually taking about the fact that,
three months from now, there were going to eb three of us, and were excited
about that.
I have light brown
hair like Mum, while Annie’s hair is darker like Dad’s, but we both had long
hair, and we liked to dress alike – that day, it was a white top, jeans and
trainers, with a cropped hoodie over our t-shirts. Mine was dark brown, Annie’s light brown.
As for Mum, she
was also wearing a chocolate brown V-necked top with jeans and trainers – but
she was in the kitchen, so she wasn’t there at first when the two men walked
in.
They were both
wearing black jumpers and pants, and had masks covering their eyes – and Annie
would have screamed if one of them had not put a white gloved hand over her
mouth, while the other one warned me and her not to say a word. I told him we would both eb quiet, which made
him chuckle as Annie came to join me on the couch.
He then told us
both to sit forward, and put our hands behind our back – and I watched him take
two lengths of rope from his pocket. The
other man watched as I felt my hands been taken behind my back, and then the
rope around my wrists as they were tied together.
Annie was
starting to cry, so I told her to be brave, and maybe we could try and get free
together later. That seemed to cheer her
up a little as the man tied the rope off behind me, and then I watched as he
took Annie’s wrists behind her back and started to tie them together with the second
length of rope as well.
He had just
finished when the door opened, and Mum came in carrying a tray with some
sandwiches and cartons of juice. She
just stared at us, as the second man took the tray from her and put it down on
the coffee table, and then took her hands behind her back as well, before he
took a length of rope out of his pocket.
She looked at
us, and told us we both had to be brave as she stood still. The man behind us then said we would be just
fine, so long as Mum did what he said.
She said she would, as the second man finished tying her wrists
together. He then knelt down, taking
some more ropes from his pocket as he tied my ankles together, and then
Annie’s.
He then picked
up a sandwich in each hand, and allowed us to start eating them as his friend took
Mum out of the room. I had to admit, I
was hungry, so even though we were been fed by a man who had tied us up I ate
the sandwich – as did Annie – and then we both had the drinks as he held the
cartons for us.
He then said we
would both need to be kept quiet, as he took out of another pocket two white handkerchiefs,
and balled them up. He told me to open
my mouth as wide as I could, and then he put one of the hankies in there. I closed my mouth, thinking it tasted a bit
funny, as I watched him put the second cloth into my sister’s mouth. He made us both promise not to push them out,
and then he turned the television over to the Disney channel.
When Mum came
back in, she had a rope tied round her waist, like a belt, and she had a rolled
up towel tied round her head and between her lips. The man made her sit down between us, and
then tied her ankles together as well while we watched him.
They then left
us alone, Mum leaning over and rubbing her cheek on our heads before I looked
at Annie, Annie looked at me, and we started to try and get free…
Claudia worked for a jewellery vendor,
but it was on her day off to attend a maternity appointment she was taken by
surprise…
It happened
just after I left the grounds of the hospital, while I was pulling my denim
jacket on over my white ribbed maternity jumper. The legs of my jeans were tucked into over
the knee black felt boots, perfect for the winter weather.
What wasn’t
perfect for my health was to when the car pulled up, the man got out, and then
forced me at gunpoint to get in beside him.
I had no idea what was going on, but when they pulled the hood down over
my head, and ‘I felt the pressure in my side, I had to keep myself calm.
When we
stopped, I was made to walk somewhere, and then sat down. Whoever had kidnapped me then put my arms on
some sort of rests, and I heard a ripping sound as something sticky was wrapped
round my wrists and whatever my arms were eon.
I then felt
them taping my legs together at my ankles, as well as above and below my knees,
before the hood was pulled off. Two men
were standing there, as one of them demanded I tell them how to get into my
place of work.
I was
terrified, but then the second man spoke softly, told me to calm down, that
they were not going to hurt me. All I
needed to do was tell them how to get in, and that was it, they would leave me
alone.
Well, once I
managed to calm myself down, and I saw the silver bands on my arms and legs, I
nodded and told them the entry codes – my safety, my unborn child’s safety was more
important that any job.
When they were
done, they actually said “thank you” – and then pulled the hood over my head
again. I heard the footsteps walking
off, and then doors opening and closing – then, nothing.
Nothing for a
good hour. But then, I didn’t expect
them to come back.
Not when the
codes I gave them would trip the silent alarm…
When Laura
woke up in her bed, she found she was not alone…
I guess I had
not realised just how tired I really was that afternoon. I had been out meeting friends, and when I
came home I went up to my room to put my head down for just a few minutes. I didn’t even take my brown leather boots off
as I lay down, still wearing my jeans, white top and white cardigan.
I only intended
to take a short nap when I closed my eyes – and truth to tell, I still don’t
know how long I was asleep. But I must
have slept soundly – because when I heard someone softly closing my name, I
thought it was my boyfriend.
I smiled and
opened my eyes slowly – and then saw the man standing there with a stocking
pulled down over his head, covering his face and distorting his features. I tried to get up – but something was holding
my wrists above my head!
And that
something was actually two lengths of rope, which were tied on one end to my
wrists and on the other end to the top of my bed. I pulled on them, but it was no use – I was
held fast.
Then I looked
down my body – and I saw my ankles were tied to the foot of the bed in the same
way. I was being robbed?
That turned out
to be the truth, as I watched the masked man empty the contents of my jewellery
boxes into a bag, and then produce a roll of white tape. I shook my head as he came over, the tape in
his gloved hands – and then he told me to close my eyes.
I felt I had no
choice, so I did as he asked, feeling him press the tape down over my eyelids,
blindfolding me. I tried opening my
eyes, but it was too tight – the tape that is.
So I was tied to the bed, helpless, wondering what he was going to do
next.
And then I felt
his lips on mine, gently kissing them, lovingly kissing them. But that couldn’t be - only one person would…
“Did you like
the kiss?”
I nodded, and
said “who are you, that you can kiss me like that?”
“Who do you
think?”
I recognised
the voice now, and the taste of his lips as he kissed me, the feel of his hands
as he stroked my cheek. I was so going
to kill him once he freed me – what a trick for a boyfriend to play…
Finally for
this edition, a country tale…
My husband was
out in the fields as I sat in the front room.
It was a warm summer’s day, and I was wearing a white lace dress over a
white slip one, with white sandals. My
bump was so big, and I wanted to rest, because that special day was coming
nearer.
So the last
thing I expected to happen was the gloved hand over my mouth, as the female
voice said “oh my dear, are we all alone?
All the better for me.”
“Hrruhuh?”
“Oh that’s not important
– just do as I say. And what I say now
is close your eyes.”
I slowly nodded
as the hand was removed, and I felt some sort of cloth been tied round my head,
covering my eyes. The next thing I knew,
my hands were being put together, palm to palm, and a band of material was being
used to tie my wrists together. It felt
like silk, but it was strong, and when the woman had finished I could not move
them apart.
She did the
same thing to my ankles, so that I was left struggling in the chair as I heard
her moving round. I was beginning to get
afraid now, scared that something might happen.
And then it did
– just not something I was expecting, as I suddenly felt very damp between my
legs.
“Hey – did you
just pour some water on me or something?”
I heard the
footsteps, and then silence for a moment before the woman said “Ah – don’t
move, and if you start to feel some cramps, breath through them.”
“Cramps – why
would I…” And that was when the first
cramps hit me, and I realised what was happening.
“Hello? I need an ambulance at this location – I
think a woman has gone into labour, a lot of water appeared under her…
“Thank you.
“I am going to
leave you – good luck.”
“Hey – what Uhnnnnn….”
The ambulance
turned up ten minutes later, and they untied me – but she had gone.
No matter –
little Abby arrived that night…
That’s all
from this edition of In Their Own Words – until next time…
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