The Jay Edwards Experience
“Maisie, do you have a minute?”
Karen Monroe
called up the stairs to her oldest daughter, while Sharon and Bobbie were
putting on their coats behind her. She
watched as Maisie came down, saying “Yes, Mum?”
Maisie was fourteen years old, and was
wearing a long sleeved top with black and white horizontal stripes, long white
sleeves and a white roll neck collar.
She had a pair of faded jeans on, and a pair of black lace up ankle
boots.
“I need to
take the girls into town to do a little shopping – if your dad calls, tell him
to call home before he leaves work. Do
you need anything while we’re out?”
“Can you pick
up a fresh bottle of shampoo for me,” she said as she ran her hands through her
long ash blonde hair.
“All right
then,” her mother said as she pulled on her black leather jacket, “we’ll see
you after lunchtime, all right?”
“See you all
later,” Maisie said as she watched them go out of the
front door, and then went back upstairs, determined to knock the stuffing out
of the history essay she was writing.
Looking at her bedside clock, she saw it was nine thirty, as she picked
up her pen and got to writing.
The next time
she looked at her clock, it was eleven and she had written six pages of the
essay. “Time for a break,” she said to
herself as she put her pen down, stood up and stretched, and made her way down
the stairs, her thoughts on the can of Coke that was in the fridge.
As she opened
the door and out her hand on the can, she heard the front door bell ring. “Great,” she said as she looked round and saw
the shadows on the other side of the glass door, “Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
Closing the
fridge door, she put the can down on the work surface and went towards the
door, rehearsing the usual speech in her mind.
Putting her hand on the door, she opened it and said “Yes, can I…”
She didn’t
get a chance to say another word, as she saw the four masked people standing in
the doorway. All of them were wearing
boiler suits, and had balaclavas covering their heads so that she could only
see their eyes and mouths. Two of them
had guns in their hands as the third man pushed her back into the house,
putting his fingers to his lips as he held her against the wall.
The most
stunning thing was the fourth person who walked in, carrying a large canvas
holdall – she could tell it was a woman, despite her dress being the same as
the other three.
“Good morning
Maisie,” the man holding her said in a Geordie
accent, “I take it no-one else is home at the moment?”
“No,” Maisie said quietly, “and how do you know my name?”
“OH we know a
great deal about you,” the man said as he reached into his pocket, and drew out
a length of rope in his gloved hand.
“Now, be a good girl and turn round, then put your hands behind your
back.”
“Oh god,” Maisie said, “please…”
“Don’t worry Maisie – we’re not going to hurt you,” the Geordie man said
“but we need to make sure you cannot warn your mother or your sisters we are
here, so please, do as we say.”
“All right,” Maisie said as she turned round, and allowed the man to tie
her wrists together behind her back, feeling the rope as it was pulled tightly
over the cuffs of her top. “Thank you,”
he said as he tied the last knot off, “now, why don’t we make you comfortable
in the front room?”
It was nearly
one by the time Karen pulled up into the driveway of her house, passing the
grey transit van that was parked just before the entrance off the main
road. As she turned off the engine, she
said over her shoulder “All right you two – you can watch television for a
little while, and then you need to get your homework done.”
“Yes Mum,”
Sharon and Bobbie said as they unclipped their seatbelts and went into the
house, Karen walking to the rear of the car and opening the boot. She retrieved the bags and closed the boot,
locking the car as she walked in, the heels of her knee length black leather
boots crunching the gravel as she went in.
Pushing the door closed as she came in, she put the bags down in the
hallway and said “Maisie, are you still upstairs?”
There was no
reply, and the only sound she could hear was the television in the front
room. Shrugging her shoulders, she
walked into the front room – and stopped still, her hands to her mouth as she
saw the scene before her.
Her youngest
daughter, Bobbie, was standing in front of a woman wearing a blue boiler suit
and a black balaclava covering her head.
Her eyes were wide open as she looked at her mother over the black
leather gloved hand that covered her mouth.
Sharon was
also standing in front of someone, a man this time, who had his gloved hand
over her mouth as he held the eleven year old by the shoulder. As for Maisie, she
was lying on her side on the couch, her arms pulled behind her back and her
ankles tied together with rope. A
knotted scarf had been pulled between her lips, as she mumbled “msrreemmm”
“Hello
Karen,” a Geordie male voice said from behind her, “I’m afraid we’re going to
be staying a little while, so the cooperation of you and your charming
daughters is appreciated.”
She turned slowly
to see a fourth man behind her, smiling as he pointed a gun at her. “Who… Who are you?” she finally stammered.
“My name is
Jay Edwards.”
“OH god,”
Karen whispered quietly, “please…”
“Stay calm,
Karen,” Jay said as he walked in, “we won’t hurt you, but we are holding you
hostage, as well as your family. It may
be best if you explained that to them now, but first kindly draw the curtains
in here.”
“Mmmmwhtshhpongn,” Sharon mumbled under the gloved hand as
she watched her mother walk over and pull the curtains closed over the large
bay windows. “Sharon, Bobbie,” she said
as she came back over, “these people are going to be staying a while. I need you – all of you,” she said as she
looked at Maisie, “to be very brave girls, and do
whatever they tell you to do, all right?”
The three
girls looked at their mother, then at each other, before they all nodded in
agreement. “Good,” Jay Edwards said with
a smile, “Mrs McPhee, if you will look after young Bobbie,
and Jack you look after Sharon, I will take care of their mother. Please, Sharon, remove
your jacket and place it on the chair over there, and then put your hands
behind your back.
“All right
Bobbie,” the woman said as she looked down at the nine year old, “if I take my
hand away, will you promise not to scream or shout out?”
Bobbie
nodded, and then gasped as the masked woman took her hand away. “All right,” she said in her soft Scottish
accent, “hop onto the seat there for me, will you?”
“Are you bad
people,” she said as she sat down and shuffled back, her lower legs hanging
over the edge of the seat.
“Well, I
guess we are, but I promise you do as we say, and we won’t hurt you. I like your top.”
“Thanks,”
Bobbie said despite her fear. The young
girl was wearing a blue smock dress with a floral pattern printed on it, and
horizontal multicoloured stripes on the top and long arms. She had a pair of blue leggings on under the
dress, and a pair of brown suede boots that came to just below her knees.
“Are you
going to do the same to me as the others,” she said as she watched Sharon and
Karen having their arms taken behind their backs.
“Not quite
the same, but I am going to stop you moving your arms and legs,” Mrs McPhee said with a smile.
“Now, put your hands together in front of you, as if you were praying at
school.”
“Like this,”
Bobbie said as she put her hands together, palm to palm, in front of her.
“That’s
right,” Mrs McPhee said as she showed Bobbie a length
of rope, and then wrapped it round her wrists, pulling them together as she
wrapped it around and between her arms, and then tying the ends off out of
reach of her fingers. “Now, does that
feel scary?”
“No – it
feels funny,” Bobbie said as she twisted her arms round, “but it’s more snug
than scary.”
“Good – now,
I’m going to do the same thing to your ankles, so sit still. You’ll feel the boots gripping your legs a
little more tightly, but that’s all,” Mrs McPhee said
as she tied Bobbie’s ankles tightly together, Bobbie watching as she saw the
boots being forced around her ankles.
While this
was going on, Karen felt her own wrists being crossed and tied behind her back
by Jay Edwards, while watching the same thing happen to Sharon. Her middle daughter was wearing a white round
necked top, the sleeves coming to just below her elbows, and a set of beads on
strings around her neck. She was also
wearing a yellow tiered and pleated skirt, with white lace trim on each tier,
and a pair of short brown felt boots.
“Why do you
have to do this to us,” she said as Jay Edwards tied some rope around her
waist, forcing her secured wrists against her back as she watched him tie it in
place.
“Our business
is with your husband, Karen,” Jay Edwards replied as he tied the rope off
between her arms and back, and she saw the same thing happen to Sharon. “Your role is to ensure he does what we want
him to do.”
She looked
over at Bobbie, who was watching Mrs McPhee as she
tied a length of rope around her legs below her knees. “Are you all right, darling,” she said as she
watched the masked woman tie the rope between her daughter’s legs, and then tie
her wrists down to it as well.
“I’m fine mum
– she’s not hurting me,” Bobbie replied as Mrs McPhee
took a longer length of rope, and said “I need to tie your arms to your sides
now Bobbie, so shuffle forward for me.”
As her
youngest daughter shuffled forward on the seat, Karen realised her own arms
were being pulled into her sides, as Jay Edwards wound rope around her upper
body, above and below her chest, pulling her own light blue jumper tighter over
her chest. The fourth masked intruder
had helped Maisie to sit up at one end of the couch
now, and was tying rope around her upper body in the same way, as was the man
with Sharon. She was trying hard not to
cry as the man helped her to sit at the opposite end of the couch from Maisie, while Karen sat in the other armchair.
“You’re doing
very well,” Jay said as he knelt to the side of Karen, and crossed her ankles
before starting to tie them together, the rope squeaking as it rubbed against
the black leather of her knee length boots.
“In fact, you all are.”
“We don’t
want to be hurt,” Sharon sobbed as she watched her own ankles being tied
together.
“Well, do as
we say and you won’t,” Jay said as he passed the rope between Karen’s legs,
tightening the ropes before he tied the ends off behind her legs. “We haven’t hurt you, have we Maisie?”
The fourteen year
old shook her head as she watched the legs of her mother and younger sister being
tied below their knees, and then the two masked men standing up. She knew what was coming, but stayed silent.
“We really
can’t move, can we,” Bobbie said as she looked at Mrs McPhee.
“No, and
that’s the idea, but I’m afraid we need to make it a bit difficult for you all
to talk as well,” she said as she produced a blue silk scarf and rolled it into
a band. “Open wide and I’ll put this
into your mouth and tie it round your head.”
“What will we
do to pass the time?”
“I’ll put a
DVD on for you to watch – want to pick one?”
“Can we watch
Despicable Me?”
“Yes of
course we can darling,” Karen said as she tied to move her legs, the crimson
dyed corduroy of her trousers squeaking as they rubbed against each other.
“Thanks Mum,”
Bobbie said before she opened her mouth, closing her teeth and lips over the
blue band as Mrs McPhee tied it round her head,
trapping her long curly brown hair underneath.
Sharon allowed
the masked man to pull a knotted scarf into her mouth, the green band holding
her long brown hair against her head, while Karen had a similar gag, her one
made from a larger brown scarf that pulled back on the corners of her mouth.
“All right
then,” Jay said as Mrs McPhee looked in a cabinet,
and found the DVD as he turned the player on, “here we go…”
The clock on
the wall showed the time as just before four as the film ended. Bobbie and Sharon had laughed during the film, their muffled cackles making both Maisie
and Karen relax a little more. They had
realised fairly quickly there was no way they were getting free, especially
with the one he had called Mrs McPhee and another of
the masked men sitting with them. Jay
himself and the other man had taken all the mobile phones and removed the
batteries, before sitting at the dining table at the back of the long room and
talking in low whispers.
“All right,”
Mrs McPhee said as the other two re-joined them, “I
imagine you would all like a drink?”
The four
captives looked at each other and nodded, before Bobbie said “Ceengttlt?”
“I’m sorry
Bobbie, what did you say,” Jay asked as he removed the scarf from her mouth,
the damp patch visible in the middle.
“Can I go to
the toilet, please,” she said as she looked at him.
“Of course –
Mrs McPhee will take you,” he said as he untied the young
girl, the masked woman taking her hand as they walked to the downstairs
toilet. “Does anyone else need a toilet
break?”
The other
three looked at each other and nodded as they heard the toilet flush, and saw
Bobbie come back in.
“All right
then – one at a time, Mrs McPhee,” he said quietly,
as each one of them was untied, their gag removed and a short trip to the
toilet allowed. As Karen left, Jay said
“Take Karen to the kitchen to sort some drinks out and bring them through, will
you Mrs McPhee?”
“Of course,”
the woman said as she took Karen to the toilet, the three girls now sitting
side by side on the couch as Jay looked at them.
“It’s all
right to be a little bit scared,” he said as he saw Maisie
and Sharon rubbing their wrists. “I know
this can seem like a terrifying thing, but we’ll try and make it as much fun as
possible. Did you enjoy watching the
film?”
“They sounded
funny laughing along with it, that’s true,” Maisie
said, which made the other two giggle.
“But did you have to tie us up and gag us?”
“Well, I’m
afraid we did,” Jay said as he nodded, “and I need to tell you now, it will not
be the last time. But was it really that
scary?”
“It was at
first,” Sharon said, “but once I realised all you were doing was making sure we
stayed in one place, I relaxed and it wasn’t so bad.”
“Well, that
is the point,” Jay said, “so later, when we do it
again, you know we’re not going to let you come to any harm. Think of it as an adventure to tell your
friends about.”
“But
why?”
“Why,
Bobbie? Well, we need your daddy to do
something for us, and I’m afraid the way we do that is to make sure you and
your mummy stay with us until he does it.
Don’t worry, we won’t hurt him either, but I’m afraid it’s what we do.”
He watched as
the youngest girl nodded, and then watched as her mother and Mrs McPhee brought in some glasses of squash and some biscuits.
“There we
go,” she said as she handed the glasses out, “take your time drinking them,
girls. It’ll be a while before you get
to go to the toilet again.”
“So what
happens now,” Karen said as she sat down.
“When do you
expect your husband to call?”
Before Karen
could answer, the front doorbell rang.
“Whoever it is, get rid of them,” Jay whispered as his three companions
hand gagged the three girls, Karen standing up and walking to the door. They listened for a few minutes, the girls
looking at each other, before Karen closed the door and came back in, carrying
a brown parcel.
“Amazon
delivery,” she said as she put it down, and the gloved hands were removed. “Sorry about that girls, but better safe than
sorry,” Jay said as they started to drink again.
“He’ll call
before he comes back,” Karen said as she sat back down.
“Good – well,
when he comes in, is he expecting dinner to be ready for him?”
Karen nodded
as she looked at the girls. “why?”
“You’ll see,
Karen, you’ll see…”
It was half
past six as Duncan Monroe walked up the garden path, and let himself in the
front door, hearing the sound of the television and smiling to himself.
“Karen, kids,
I’m home,” he said as he put down his briefcase, and took off his jacket,
hanging it on the coat rack next to Karen’s leather jacket. “So how has your day be…”
“Good
evening, Duncan,” he heard Jay say from behind him as he stared at the dining
table, “you’re just in time for dinner.”
Bobbie,
Sharon and Maisie looked over and said “Hllddd” through the strips of silver tape that covered
their mouths. They were each seated in a
dining chair, their arms through the gaps in the chair back and their wrists
held together with a plastic zip tie.
Duncan could see that their legs were tied to the front legs of the
chair with ropes around their ankles and knees, while a length of rope held
them to the chair around their stomach.
“Your family
is quite safe, Duncan. You just need to
cooperate as they have all day. You
understand that don’t you?”
“Who are
you?”
“My name is
Jay Edwards – perhaps you have heard of me?”
Duncan nodded
– he had heard of him and his gang, as he said “Where’s Karen?”
“Nhrrr.”
“Shall we,”
Jay said as he took Duncan’s arm and walked him past his three daughters, the
other two masked and armed men watching over them, and then into the kitchen, where
Mrs McPhee was helping Karen. She turned and tried to smile at her husband,
despite the silver tape covering her mouth making it very difficult.
“Are you all
alright,” he said, relaxing a little as Karen nodded.
“Why don’t
you take a seat at the table,” Jay said as he took Duncan back in, “and you can
have your dinner together as a family tonight.”
Duncan slowly
nodded as he sat down, saying “Long day” to the three girls as he removed his
tie. They all nodded as they wriggled a
little in the chair, watching as the food was brought in, and their mother
allowed to sit down.
Their hands
were then cut free, as Jay said “You may remove the tape. I advise you to do it quickly – it will hurt
less.” Duncan watched as they all peeled
the silver tape away from their mouths, handing the strips to one of the masked
men before they said “Hello Dad.”
“If you had
harmed them…”
“Duncan,
Duncan, Duncan – if you have heard of us, you know we don’t harm the families
we visit. All you have to do is do
exactly what we say, and they will be just fine.”
“And what is
it you want?”
“We’ll
discuss that later – would you like some mashed potato?”
It was
possibly the most bizarre dinner time the Monroe family had ever had – with
four masked and uninvited guests, they talked about homework, music and other things,
while eating the meal prepared by Mrs McPhee and
Karen.
Eventually,
however, one of the other two masked men cleared the plates away with Karen
while Mrs McPhee untied and escorted the three girls
back into the front room with the final intruder.
“Now,
Duncan,” Jay Edwards said as he looked across the table at the man, “we need
you to accompany one of my friends back to your offices, and there extract
certain information from your files. We
know what we are looking for, so there will be no attempts to obfuscate our
goal. At all times, I am a phone call away,
and any attempt to stop us or to call the police will not mean good times for
your charming wife and daughters. I
trust I make myself perfectly clear.”
Duncan nodded
slowly as he looked over at the three girls, who were sitting around a low
table as Mrs McPhee set out a Monopoly board. “You promise they will not be harmed if I do
what you ask?”
“You have my
word of honour. We will make them
comfortable in their beds, and make sure they cannot raise the alarm, but that
is all.”
“all right then,” Duncan said as he looked at the masked gang
leader. “When do we go?”
“Later – we
have time for coffee and to watch the game,” Jay said as he stood up. “Put your hands behind your back, please – a
necessary precaution.”
Duncan watched as Mrs McPhee
tied Bobbie’s wrists together in front of her, the others waiting their turn,
before he nodded and allowed Jay to bind his own wrists behind his back.
Karen was
eventually brought in, her wrists tied together in front of her as well, and
sat down to play the game with the girls as Duncan looked on. If it had not been for the ropes around their
wrists, it would have been perfectly normal.
Eventually,
however, Jay said “It’s time – I’m afraid your father has to step out for a few
hours, but you will see him again in the morning. Jack, will you come with us please?”
He helped
Duncan to stand up as one of the masked men followed the two of them out, Karen
watching before she said “Daddy’s going to be all right, Girls – let’s continue
playing the game.”
They all
nodded as they heard their father talking quietly, before he looked in, wearing
his jacket as he said “Be good, girls, and I’ll see you all in the morning.”
“See you,
Dad,” Maisie said as she watched the man that had
been called Jack take her father’s arm and walk him out of the house. They listened to the car moving off, before
Karen said “My turn,” picked up the dice in her hands and threw them onto the
board.
Eventually,
Jay and Mrs McPhee looked at each other, and then at
the clock. “All right,” Jay said, “we
need to get you all ready for bed. Mrs McPhee, would you please take Bobbie upstairs with you to
get washed, brush her teeth, and make sure Bobbie is ready for bed?”
“Of course,” Mrs
McPhee said as Bobbie stood up. “Come with me dear.”
“What are you
going to do to us when we go to bed,” Maisie said as
she looked at Jay.
“Make sure
you are comfortable, and cannot raise the alarm. So long as you stay calm and don’t struggle,
you will be just fine, I promise you,” Jay said with a smile as they sat there,
looking at each other.
A few minutes
later, Bobbie came back with Mrs McPhee, wearing a
pair of pink and purple pyjamas with a rose motif that had gold edges on the
clothes and flower. Karen saw that she
also had a pair of white sports socks pulled over her fists, and taped to the
sleeves of her tape with silver duct tape.
“Your turn,
Sharon,” Jay said as Mrs McPhee took the eleven year
old by the arm and walked her up the stairs.
“What did
they do to your hands,” Maisie said as she looked at
her youngest sister.
“She gave me
a couple of sponges to hold, then used the silver tape
to make fists,” Bobbie said as she waved her hands around. “The socks went over that, and she taped them
to my top. Don’t know why though.”
“I think I
can guess,” Karen said as she looked at Jay, who said nothing. A few minutes later, Sharon returned, now
wearing a short sleeved purple nightshirt that came down over her knees. The nightshirt had a picture of Snoopy
holding a phone, and “NO WAY” written across her right chest. She also had a pair of socks on her hands,
the top taped to her arms just below her elbows.
Maisie was next, changing into a pair of pyjamas
with a light pink long sleeved top that had a darker pink dog at her
chest. Her bottoms were that darker
shade of pink, with lighter animal prints on it – but her hands were also
covered with the socks.
“Please take
Karen upstairs with you,” Jay said to Mrs McPhee,
“and then bring her down here. Why don’t you,” he then said to the other
masked man, “go and get three glasses of milk, and three straws, and bring them
in here.”
“What’s that
for,” Maisie said as she held her hands up.
“Bedtime drink,”
Jay said with a smile, “but you won’t be able to hold the glass, so you need
the straws.”
As Karen came
back down, she saw the three girls leaning forward, drinking milk from glasses
through the straws, and had to laugh at the sight. She was wearing a brown silk nightdress, held
up by thin straps over her shoulders and with a white lace trim at her bust,
but she also had her hands rendered useless by the combination of sponges, tape
and socks. The one difference is she had
a pair of long brown socks over her hands.
“So what
happens now,” she said as she looked at the three girls.
“We allow the
girls to finish their drinks,” Mrs McPhee said, “and
then we all go upstairs together.
Bobbie, you and Sharon are going to share a bed tonight, so that I can
keep an eye on both of you, and Maisie will be in her
own room. Mummy will go to her own bed as
well, all right?”
The three
girls nodded as Jay picked up the canvas bag, waiting until all three had
finished before he said “all right – let’s all go upstairs.”
He allowed
Mrs McPhee to climb the stairs with Bobbie, the
others following before him and the third man, and they all walked into
Sharon’s room. She had a large double
bed, and looked at Jay as he closed the door.
“Right. Bobbie,” Mrs McPhee
said, “can you sit on the bed for me, and put your
arms by your side?”
“The rest of
you,” Jay said as Bobbie jumped onto the bed, “put your hands behind your
back.”
“Stay calm,
girls,” Karen said as she felt the rope encircling her crossed wrist and
pulling them together, watching Mrs McPhee as she
wrapped some rope around Bobbie’s arms and upper body, fixing her arms to her
side as she did so by winding it around her arms and her stomach.
“There we
go,” Mrs McPhee said as the other three felt the rope
around their waists, holding their wrists firmly against their backs. “why don’t you lie
down, Bobbie, make yourself comfortable, and then I’m going to cross your
wrists on your tummy and tie them together.”
“All right,”
Bobbie sais as she did that, resting her head on a
pillow as her wrists were crossed and tied together in front of her.
“Maisie, Karen, will you please stand against the
wall?” As the mother and oldest daughter
moved back, they watched Jay as he doubled over a long length of rope, and
started to bind Sharon’s arms tightly to her side, taking the rope over her
stomach and across her shoulders. At the
same time, Mrs McPhee tied Bobbie’s legs together
below her knees, and then a length of rope from her wrists to hat band, before
she secured her ankles together.
“Scared,” she
said to Bobbie as Sharon felt the rope tighten over her body, forcing her arms
into her sides. “Sit down,” she heard
Jay say as she walked over to the bed and sat down, watching as he knelt down
and started to bind her ankles together.
“Now,
Bobbie,” Mrs McPhee said, “I’m afraid we really need to
make sure you cannot make any noise during the night, so I’m going to put a
folded hankie in your mouth, and then put some special tape over it. It will stop you talking, but so long as you
don’t struggle, and breath through your nose, you’ll
be fine. That’s the other reason you’ll
share with Sharon tonight – to keep an eye on each other, all right?”
“All right,”
Bobbie said as she looked up at the masked woman. “Will it hurt?”
“You may feel
a little tugging around your mouth, but it’s only a nuisance,” Mrs McPhee said as she held the folded cloth in her gloved
hand. “Ready?”
As Kay tied
Sharon’s legs together below her knees, Mrs McPhee
pushed the cloth into Bobbie’s mouth, waiting as she closed her lips over it
before she smoothed a length of white tape from cheek to cheek, the tape
sticking to her face as the outline of her lips appeared under it.
“You as well,
Sharon,” Jay said as he took a clean hankie from the bag, “but we’re going to
wrap the tape around your head, to make it a little more secure. It won’t damage your hair, all right?”
Sharon nodded
as she allowed the cloth to go in, and then Jay wrapped the tape around her
head, making a funny squelching noise as it stuck to her skin. Tearing it loose and smoothing it down, he
helped Sharon to lie down next to her younger sister, Sharon one her side as
she looked at Mrs McPhee.
“Now, let’s
find a story to read,” she said as Jay and the other man took Maisie and Karen out of the room, going into Maisie’s bedroom.
“Right then,”
Jay said as he took more rope out, “your turn young lady.” Karen watched as her older daughter was
tightly bound, the rope sitting above and below her chest before he tied two
shorter lengths under her arms to make it tighter still.
Sitting on
her bed, she watched as her ankles and legs were secured, and then allowed Jay
to push a folded cloth in – but this one was a folded silk scarf from her
mother’s cupboard. She closed her mouth,
expecting the tape, but was surprised when Jay looked in her wardrobe, took out
one of her red and black school ties and tied a knot in the middle of it, and
pulled that knot into her mouth as well, tying the tie around her head before
then wrapping the tape around her head.
Laying her on
her side, Jay then pulled her legs back so her feet were parallel to her body,
and tied her ankles to the ropes around her chest, before saying to the other
intruder “Watch her,” as he took Karen into her bedroom.
“So it’s my
turn now,” she said as he started to pull her arms into her sides with more
rope, watching it as it forced her chest up and out. “what happens next?”
“You relax,
and the chances are after today you’re going to sleep,” Jay said as he
carefully fed the rope under one arm, pulling it up as he took it round the
back of her neck and down under the other arm, tying it off behind her as she
moved round. “Your husband does what
he’s told to, we leave here, and you will be freed eventually – but we need to
be sure we can make our escape.”
“I can
understand that, even if I don’t like the fact we’re been held hostage in our
own home,” Karen said as she sat on the bed, swinging her legs up and placing
her feet flat on the cover as she watched him binding her ankles and legs
together. “I should say thank you, for
making it less scary.”
“I know it’s
scared all of you,” Jay said as he passed the rope between her legs and tied it
off, “but hopefully not too scary. Mrs McPhee will stay with Bobbie and Sharon until they sleep,
and we’ll check on you regularly before we leave.”
“So I guess I
get to stop talking now?”
“You do,” Jay
said as he walked to a cupboard and took out a blue silk square as well as red
and gold headscarf. Rolling the latter
into a band and tying a knot in the middle, he said “Open wide please – and
thank you.”
Karen nodded
as she was gagged, the tape going around her head as well to cover the knotted
band, and then she lay down, her head resting on the pillow as he gently pulled
her ankles back and tied them to her chest ropes.
She could already
feel her eyes closing, the adrenaline of the day wearing off as she succumbed
to exhaustion, the last thing she saw Jay Edwards as he stood in the doorway….
“Karen! Oh god, are you all right?”
Karen opened
her eyes to see Duncan and a police officer standing there.
“Don’t move
darling,” her husband said as she felt a cold scissor blade at the side of her
head, and then the tape been cutaway, revealing the soaked gag in her
mouth. As it was loosened and eased out,
she pushed out the second scarf with her tongue and said “the girls…”
“They’re been
freed now,” Duncan said as Karen felt the ropes loosening, “I’m so sorry you
went through this.”
“It’s all
right – we didn’t have a choice,” she said as she stretched her legs out, and
felt Duncan’s embrace as he helped her to sit up.
“Hi mum,”
Bobbie said as she looked in, “I slept all night, did you?”
“Yes,” Karen
said with a smile, “yes I did. You girls
go downstairs, Daddy and I will be down in a
minute.” A little tear appeared in her
eye as she said “The gang?”
“Melted
into the night – all of them.”
Karen nodded
– at least they had got through the night in one piece.
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