The Games
Players – After The Event
“So you got
home from the station last night, Sir, and found them all in the living room?”
Detective
Sergeant Tom Dowling nodded as he sat at the kitchen table, the uniformed
officer making notes in his notepad. “I
got back about ten last night, and there they all were, the kids and my wife on
the floor, my mother in law on the couch.
All of them were bound with ropes – you’ve seen the photos I took for
evidence before I untied them – and they had tape over their mouths. When I peeled the tape away from Ella’s
mouth, she had a blue silk scarf in her mouth – Laura had a red one, and Eve
and Adam a folded handkerchief.”
As the officer
took another note, he said “so you took the photos, untied them, then called
the station?”
Tom nodded, and
continued “I then checked the house – jewellery had been taken, along with a
few other things. I then asked them what
had happened – but you need to hear from them again, so that it is an official
statement.”
“So you will
ask the questions, and I take the notes?”
“Please,” Tom
said as he stood up and stretched.
“Not much
sleep?”
“No – but they
slept right through,” he said as he left the room, coming back with a ten year
old girl and an eight year old boy. They
both had blonde hair, the boy’s hair cut short and the girl’s long, as he said
“Eve, Adam, this is Police Constable Thomas.
He’s going to write down what you tell me about yesterday, all right?”
“Okay daddy,”
Eve said as they sat at the table. She
was wearing a pair of pink pyjamas, Adam blue ones, but Constable Thomas could
see the faint rope marks on their wrists.
“Okay,” Tom
said as he sat down, “let’s talk about yesterday. I left for work about ten – can you tell
Constable Thomas what you were both wearing?”
Adam nodded as
he said “I had on a checked shirt over a white t-shirt, jeans, my brown
trainers.”
“I had on a
white top with my fur vest, and my jeans tucked into my brown high boots,” Eve
said, “and my big floral hairband. I
remember you going out to work, Daddy, while Mummy gave us a snack, and then
Granny came in.”
“Okay,” Tom
said with a smile, “so Mummy went to her job at the television station just
after that, probably. What happened
after that?”
“Granny made us
some lunch,” Adam said, “and then we went to our rooms to finish our
homework. I had my music on while I was
doing maths.”
“And you Eve?”
“I was writing
my English essay,” Eve said, “but I do remember hearing the doorbell ring at
about 2.30.”
Constable
Thomas looked at his pad and nodded as Tom said “okay, so when did you both
come downstairs?”
“I knocked on Adam’s
door at about 3.30, and we went down to see what granny was doing. We walked into the front room – and that was
when we saw them with Granny.”
“Where was you grandmother?”
“Granny was sitting on the couch,” Eve
said, “and she was smiling. But she also
had her hands behind her back, and we both saw the white band round her boots
at her ankles.”
“So you could see she was tied up?”
“We were not sure,” Adam said, “and I
was scared.”
“So was I,” Eve said, “but then Granny
smiled, and she told us we didn’t need to be scared. She looked at the man and woman, and told us
to listen to what they had to say.”
Tom and the constable exchanged a glass
before he said “so what did they say to you?”
“The woman came over and talked to us,”
Eve said, “she had a nice voice and a nice smile, even if it was covered. She told us she and her friend worked for a
group that help families to play special games – and they were there to play a
game of Hostages with us, Mummy and Granny.”
“Did you believe her?”
“I wasn’t sure,” Adam said, “but then
she told us it was you who had booked them to do this, Daddy, so we knew it
would be all right.”
Tom shook his head and smiled before he
said “okay – so what did she say next.”
“She told us we were all going to beheld
captive, but they would not hurt us – and we would be just like Granny. Granny then said it was all right, and they
would have fun together, so we both said we’d play as well.”
Adam nodded as Eve continued “the lady
gave us each a length of white rope to hold, and asked if it scared us. We both said it didn’t, so she used it to tie
our wrists together behind our backs. We
then both walked over and sat next to Granny, watching as she used some more
rope around our ankles. I remember giggling
as it sank into the brown stuff my boots are made from, but we could not move
them apart when she was done.”
“Were you scared then?”
“No Daddy – it was actually fun to be there
like that,” Adam said, “even when they rolled the scarf up, and made me open my
mouth before the woman pulled it into my mouth.”
“She made sure you stayed quiet?”
“All of us Daddy,” Eve said, “we all had
the scarf in our mouths as the man turned the television on, and we all watched
Paw Patrol.”
“We even saw Mummy on the television,”
Adam said, “before the man brought Pizza and drinks in. They let us all eat and drink before putting
the scarves back, and that was when Mummy came in.”
“I bet she was surprised to see you?”
“Oh yes,” Eve said, “but the man and
woman told her what was happening, and she asked if we were all right. We nodded and tried to talk, and then Mummy
asked if we could talk to her, so they took the scarves out.”
“They were very wet, and the lady gave
us all a drink,” Adam said, “and then we told them everything we had done while
the man tied Mummy’s hands behind her back.
Then he took a very long rope, and tied it round Mummy’s body so that
her arms were stuck to her sides.”
“The lady asked if we thought our Mummy
looked nice,” Eve said, “and I have to admit, she did with the white bands
round her chest. We then saw the man
doing the same thing to Granny, before the woman said she was going to do that
to us as well.”
“How did it feel?”
“Strange,” Eve said as she looked at her
father, “it was tight, but after a while, it was like you or Mummy hugging
me.” She looked at Adam, who nodded as
he said “the man then made Mummy sit on the floor, as he tied her ankles, and
then used more rope round her legs, below her knees.”
“We all had that extra rope,” Eve said,
“before the woman said she had to make sure we really stayed quiet and with
Mummy. We saw the man put something into
Mummy’s mouth, and then covered it with white tape, before the woman put a
folded hankie in our mouths, and put the tape over it.”
“How did the tape feel?”
“Soft,” Adam said, “but we really could
not talk as the man helped Mummy to lie down, then turned her over and pulled
her ankles back before he tied them to the ropes round her body.”
“What happened to granny?”
“Well, the lady helped us to lie next to
Mummy on either side,” Eve said, “and then made sure our ankles were like
hers. Granny was helped to lie on her
side – but she looked just like us, with the white tape over her mouth.”
“So what did the man and woman do?”
“They said they were going to wait in
the kitchen until you came home, Daddy – did you see them?”
Tom looked at Constable Thomas, before
he said “I’ll tell you later. Why don’t
you go back to Mummy, and ask Granny if she will come into the kitchen?”
“Okay Daddy,” Adam said as the kids
stood up and ran out, Constable Thomas saying “it sounds like them.”
“Yeah, it
does,” Tom said as his mother in law Laura came into the kitchen. The woman was in her late fifties, and was
wearing a blue dressing gown.
“Laura – have a
seat,” Tom said, “I need to hear from you what happened yesterday.”
“Yeah, I know,”
Laura said quietly as she held herself.
“Well, I got here at about one, and Ella went off to work. I gave the kids their lunch, and then they
went to their rooms while I washed up.”
“Forgive me,”
Constable Thomas said, “but can you tell me what you were wearing?”
“Details –
right…” Laura ran her hand through her
short blonde hair. “I had on a black
jacket with white polka dots over a black dress, and knee length black leather
boots. Anyway, I washed the dishes and
put them away, made myself a coffee, and went to sit in the living room.”
“So when did
the doorbell ring?”
“About 2.30 – I
went to see who it was, opened the door, and then walked backwards when I saw
the gun in his hand.”
“Can you describe
them?”
“A young couple
– man and a woman – about five nine or ten.
Both slim, dressed in black – the woman had knee length boots on – and
gloves on their hands. They both also
had stockings pulled down over their heads.”
Laura looked at Constable Thomas, before she said “he rubs off on
you. Anyway, I knew who they were – Ella
had told me about some of the stories she had heard but could not use in her
reports.”
“The Games
Players?”
Laura nodded as
she continued. “I was scared – I mean,
you hear what they have done, but still, to see them standing there… The man looked at me and told me to remain
calm – so long as we did what they said, nobody was going to get hurt. Well, I could hear the music upstairs, so I
nodded as went into the living room, and I sat on the couch.”
“The woman sat
down and looked at me as he walked behind me, and gently – yes, gently, took my
arms behind my back. I could feel him
using rope to tie them together, as the woman said they were here to rob the
house, and she knew there were children upstairs – but if I told them, and made
it clear to them this was all just a game their father had arranged, it would
not be something that scared them.
“Well, I wasn’t
going to see them upset, was I?”
Tom shook his
head as he said “I know you would not.
So the man tied rope round your ankles as well?”
Laura
nodded. “It felt strange sitting there –
but then we heard the footsteps, and they stood up as Adam and Eve came into
the front room.”
“They stood
there, looking at me, but I smiled and told them there was nothing to be scared
of – and that they should listen to the man and woman, who would explain what
was going on.”
“Was it the man
who talked to them?”
“No – the woman
walked over and talked to them, told them that this was all a special game you
had organized. They believed her – I
guess because they know what you do for a living.”
“I’ll give them
credit for that,” Tom said as he shook his head.
“Anyway, she
gave them some rope to hold, and then used that rope to tie their wrists
together behind their back. They then
came over and sat either side of me, and I watched as she tied rope round their
ankles as well. Eve seemed to be
fascinated by the way it looked round her boots as well.
“Then they
gagged us all with rolled up scarves, and we sat there watching television –
including the local news. Then they
actually helped us all to have some pizza and a drink before they put the
scarves back into out mouths. It was a
few minutes later when Ella came back in and found us.”
“I bet she was
surprised to see all three of you like that.”
“You
think?” Laura laughed before she
continued “the Games Players explained how this was all a surprise her husband
had organised, but I think she knew what was really going on. She asked us if we were all right, and I
tried to say we were, but – well, very wet scarf between my lips?”
“True – but
they took them out?”
“After Ella
asked them to. The woman gave us all a
drink, and the kids told her what had happened while the man took her hands
behind her back and then bound them together.
It was when he wound the rope round her to secure her arms that I knew
things were getting serious. I saw him
collect another rope from the bag she had carried in, and come behind me as I
felt my arms being forced against my sides.”
“Did the kids say
anything?”
“The woman
asked them if they thought Ella looked nice, and they both looked at me. She then said she was going to do the same to
them, and she picked two ropes up and walked behind us as the man came round
and helped Ella to sit on the floor.”
“Okay – then what
happened?”
“She tied the
ropes round both of them so that their arms were against their sides, just like
us, while he tied Ella’s ankles together – and then secured her legs below her
knees. The woman asked how it felt, and
Eve said it was all right – and then she tied our legs together below our knees
as well. She then said we all had to be
kept really quiet with Ella. We watched
as he folded a blue silk square and pushed it into Ella’s mouth, then covered
it with a wide strip of white tape.
“She then
folded a red silk square and put it in my mouth, before I felt the tape on my
chin. It really didn’t hurt, but it
really stopped me talking. We then
watched as Ella was helped to lie on her stomach, and then her legs were pulled
back, her ankles tied to the ropes round her chest.”
“They then made
sure the kids were the same as her?”
Laura nodded as
she said “yes – they were lying on their stomachs, either side of her, as I was
helped to lei on my side on the couch, my head on the armrest. They then said they were going to wait in the
kitchen until you came home, and we settled down as best we could.”
Tom nodded as
he said “so I came in…”
“You came in,
saw what had happened, and then took photos of us after you had taken the tape
and scarves out of our mouths. You know
the rest…”
Tom nodded as
he said “thanks, Laura – can you ask Ella to come in?”
“Sure,” Laura
said as she left, and then his wife came in.
She was wearing a blue tracksuit with a white t-shirt and trainers, and as
she sat down she said “you know I am going to be the headline this evening?”
“Yeah – I think
so. Tell us what happened after you came
back?”
Ella nodded as
she said “I got back about eight, after I had changed at work – I had on my
brown cardigan, blue top and white vest, my jeans tucked into my old brown
boots. I came in, took off the white
scarf round my neck and hung it up, walked into the front room, and there they
were – Eve, Laura and Adam, their hands behind their backs, ropes round their
ankles, and rolled up scarves between their lips.”
“That must have
been a shock.”
“Not as much as
the man and woman dressed in black standing there. I knew who they were – after all, I have
reported on some visits they had made – and I asked all three of them if they
were all right.”
“Who spoke
first?”
“The man – he
said they were all fine, and enjoying the surprised game my husband had booked
them to play with them. Well, they did
try to talk, but all I heard was the mumble, so I asked them if they could
remove the gags.”
“Which they
did?”
“Which they
did. The masked woman helped them to
have a drink, before she moved the glasses and pizza remains I could see to one
side. Adam and Eve then told us what had
happened – how they had come down to find Granny and the masked couple, and
they were told it was all a big game.
How they had been bound hand and foot, gagged with the scarves, watched
television and saw me – and had tea.
“At the same
time, the man came behind me, and whispered into my ear to keep the game up as
he tied my wrists together behind my back.”
Ella stopped for a moment, before she said “then he tied the ropes round
my arms and upper body, and I really could not do much more than twist round.
“Not that I
felt I could – I wanted the kids to keep thinking this was all a big game, as
he took more rope and walked behind Laura, binding her upper body in the same
way.”
“The kids said the
woman asked if you looked nice. How did
you feel?”
“Scared,
worried – but the ropes themselves did not hurt, actually, they were…” Ella blushed and then said “anyway, Eve said
I did, and then she said they were going to do the same thing to them. I was then helped to sit down, watching as
the man tied my ankles tightly together – and then secured my legs together
below my knees as well.”
“And the female
Games Players finished binding the kids?”
“Yeah – we all had
the ropes round our chest, round our ankles, round our legs. She asked Eve how it felt, and she said it
felt nice as the man held that folded scarf in his gloved hand. I knew I had no choice, so I opened my mouth,
let him push it in, and then he covered my mouth with the white tape.
“I had to watch
as the kids and Laura were gagged in the same way, before I was heled to lie on
my stomach, and he hogtied me. I could
feel the heels of my boots with my fingers, but nothing else. The women then helped Eve to lie on my left
hand side, Adam on my right, and they were hogtied as well while Laura was
helped to lie on her side.”
“What happened
then?”
“They said they
were going to wait in the kitchen until you came back, and left us there. Let me guess – they had gone when you finally
looked?”
Tom
nodded. “I came in…”
“You came in,
saw us there, and took those photos before you removed the tape and scarf from
my mouth. I told you – quietly – what had
happened, and the rest you know.”
Tom nodded as
Constable Thomas closed his notebook.
“Okay – I’ll be through in a minute, and we can all go out for lunch.”
“Sounds good,”
Ella said as she stood up and left, Tom looking at the constable.
“You’ll have
the transcripts sent to me later?”
“Yes Sir – will
we ever catch them?”
“One day –
hopefully…”
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