Crime School – Home Visits

April 1974

“Phlssshdhdnhtrthtm.”

“then show us where your valuables are lady.”

Anouska Gray looked on the bed as the two girls struggled and tried to call for help. Gail was fifteen, her long dark hair falling over the shoulders of the blue denim dress she was wearing, with a white blouse underneath. Her wrists were secured together with brown rope and were now above her head, secured to the headboard as she twisted round. The young girl was also wearing a pair of tight over the knee red leather boots, which were squeaking as she twisted her legs round, her ankles secured together with the same type of rope as were her legs above and below her knees. The thin and long paisley scarf she had worn round her neck was now pulled between her lips, forcing back the corners of her mouth as she tried to speak

As she twisted her thirteen year old sister Anni also had to move – the rope that was tied round their waists meant they were held together there. She had short lighter brown hair, and was wearing glasses -but her eyes were wide with fear, the rolled up cloth sticking out from her lips as it filled her mouth. Her wrists were also secured above her head, the sleeves of her chocolate brown jumper slipping down, and there were ropes around her rankles and legs above and below her knees. She was wearing a lighter brown pleated skirt and white go-go boots.

“mmhhmdhnnhtghh…”

“She’ll be fine,” the masked man said as Anouska nodded. They had surprised the family when they returned from a shopping trip, and secured her daughters on the bed even as her own wrists had been tied together behind her back, the thin brown rope rubbing on her wrists. She was wearing a grey pinafore dress with a white roll neck sweater underneath, the top of the dress designed to look like a waistcoat. She was also wearing over the knee black leather boots, in the same style and fit as Gail, with a strap and buckle at the top – but she also had bands of the brown rope framing her chest and holding her arms against her sides.

“Let’s go.”

Anouska said “bebbhrff” before she was frogmarched out of the bedroom, and walked to her own room. Once inside, she looked at the two men – wearing suits, shirts, ties and masks, as they ransacked the drawers and cupboards, then secured her legs together in the same way as her daughters. She had a white scarf pulled between her lips, which was getting noticeable darker at the corners of her mouth as she looked at the vanity mirror – and then she was made to lie face down, her ankles pulled back and secured to her wrists.

As she rolled back onto her side, she watched the two men leave, the radio turned up high as she tried to call for help…

St Blazius School for Girls

“It was hours before Daddy came home and found us,” Gail said as she sat on her dorm room, her trunk open at the foot of her bed. The Whitsun term was starting the next day, and the girls were gathering again after the break.

“How was Anni?”

“Stiff -she was scared as well, but our lessons at least paid off for me,” Gail sighed.

“Me too.”

Gail looked at the redhaired girl on the next bed, and said quietly “you as well, Dot?”

“Oh yes, me as well…”

“what do you think Mother will have prepared for tea?”

“Whatever it is, I’m ready to eat it,” Abigail Du Pont said with a smile as she looked at her sister. The eighteen year old was wearing a cream coloured woollen vest over a floral print mini-dress, and over the knee black patent leather boots. Dorothy – Dot for short – was fifteen, and had on a black sweater with a knee length grey skirt, and black Frye boots that came up to just below her knees.

Abigail brought her Hillman Imp to a stop outside their house and turned off the ignition, before both girls got out and walked to the front door. “!A quiet night in before the fete tomorrow?”

“Oh yes,” Dot said as they walked in – and then raised their hands in the air as they saw the balaclava masked man pointing a sawn off shotgun at both of them.

“You two – in here,” he said as he moved the shotgun to the door, Dot and Abigail looking at each other before they slowly walked into the room.

“HMMGHDDDD!”

They saw their mother lying across a leather couch, wearing a blue floral print mini-dress, white tights and black knee length boots – but he had bands of rope round her upper body, legs and ankles, her hands were behind her back, and a strip of brown sticking plaster was pressed firmly down over her mouth.

There was a second masked and armed man standing over her, looking at the two girls as he said “kneel down in front of your ma – and to a word out of either of you.”

“Phlssdhnhtrhtm,” their mother said as she twisted round, Dot and Abigail nodding as they knelt down and the second man picked up some lengths of rope. He knelt behind dot and pulled her hands behind her back, before she felt the rope rubbing on her wrists as they were secured tightly together. She glanced to her side as Abigail had her wrists secured as well, and then heard the squeak as her ankles were forced together.

A few minutes later, she was forced to sit back to back with her sister, seeing the tight band of rope that held her ankles together as her legs were secured below her knees. She was then pulled tight against Abigail’s rope was passed round both of them before her sister let out a muffled grunt.

The reason it was muffled became clear to Dot as she watched the masked intruder peel a length of browns ticking plaster from a roll, and then press it firmly down over her mouth, effectively silencing her. She looked down, twisting her legs from side to side, but she was stuck there, and then she felt her sister grip her fingers in her own hands.

“Thmmfhrlhsshns?”

Dot nodded; it was time to put those lessons to good use…

“I swear, I thought they were just a dubious thing, but now I’m glad we did have to do those lessons.”

“Which ones?”

“Welcome back, Ruth,” Dot said as she and Gail looked over, “we were just sharing holiday stories?”

“Anything interesting?”

Gail looked at Dot, before she said “we both ended up being part of a robbery.”

“Oh – I’ll see you a robbery at home and raise you with a robbery at an office?”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope – me, my cousin and my aunt…”

“Can you take these files to the storage cupboard and put them in the right place, Kate?”

“Sure Mum,” Chris said. “Come and give me a hand, Ruth?”

“Why not,” the dark haired girl said as they each picked up a pile of folders and left Chris’ mother in her office. The forty year old was wearing a checked slip dress, and white knee length boots. Chris was wearing a long white cardigan over a pale blue sweater, a long black skirt with a grey fern print, and black suede boots. She was fifteen years old, as was Ruth – her cousin was wearing a white jumper over a black blouse, tight black corduroy pants and over the knee tan leather boots, a long paisley scarf wrapped loosely round her neck.

“I’m glad you could help out today,” Chris said as they walked into the filing room. “Put them down there, then look for the label on the tray.”

“Gotcha,” Ruth said as she picked up the first one, then pulled out a frame and searched for the correct holder. “Why does your mum keep all this?”

“she has to – part of being a lawyer, I suspect,” Chris said as she looked to the door – and then looked again, her eyes wide open.

“Chris?”

“Hello.”

Ruth turned to see a woman standing there, wearing a tight jumper., leggings and short boots – and a domino mask over her eyes.

“Seriously?”

“Oh yes,” she said as she raised her gloved hands – a gun in one, and several lengths of white rope in the other. Looking at Chris, she said “my friend is with your mother - you get to tie your cousin’s wrists together behind her back while I make sure you do it right.”

“It’s all right, Chris,” Ruth said quietly, “she has a gun, so do it.” She put down the file she was holding, and turned, crossing her wrists behind her back as Chris took one of the lengths from the masked woman, and then bound her cousin’s wrists tightly together.

“Good – sit down Kid, your cousin is going to tie your ankles, and then I’ll tie her up.”

“Does it hurt,” Chris asked as Ruth sat on the floor and she bound her ankles together.

“Not really -and the boots protect our ankles, so be grateful for that.”

Chris nodded as she pulled the rope tight and tied the ends off, then put her own hands behind her back as the masked woman bound her wrists and ankles as well. She managed to sit next to Ruth, as the masked woman unwound her scarf – and then gagged her with it. She then picked up a roll of packing tape, and pressed several layers over Ruth’s mouth to keep her quiet.

She then walked out, leaving the two girls to look at each other.

“Whthhsghnnhhn?”

“Hhffnhhdee,” Ruth said as she felt the tape pulling on her skin. She could see Chris start to cry, so she rubbed her cheek on her cousin’s shoulder and said “whhlbhhlrhhttt.”

“GHRHLLSSS!”

They both looked up to see Chris’ mother standing there, staring at them over the black scarf that sat between her lips. Her hands were behind her back, and rope held her ankles together as she stared at them.

“She told me another woman had tied her up in her office, then raided her safe before they both went off,” Ruth said as she put her clothes away.

Outside the room, Miss Davis, the from head was listening to the girls talking.to each other. There had obviously been a lot happening during the Easter break – as her mind went back to her own experiences…

Jacqui Davis smiled as she at and looked over at her twin nieces. Her long black hair was over the shoulders of her herring bone tweed jacket with matching skirt, the white jumper under the jacket with a thick rolled collar.

She was also wearing a pair of keen length sheepskin boots, tightly laced up the front with the cream knee length socks visible at the top. Her nieces were eighteen – Zoe was wearing a long sleeved peach coloured woollen jersey, a checked mini skirt and over the knee tight black leather boots, while Chloe was in a mustard coloured jumper with a wide brown leather belt, a brown suede mini skirt and knee length laced brown leather boots.

“We’ll be at my place soon,” she said as the black cab turned off the main road, “when we get in, you two head into the main room, and I’ll sort out some drinks and snacks.”

“All right, Aunt Jacqui,” Zoe said as the cab drew out outside a terraced house. The girls jumped out, talking to each other as they went into the house. Jacqui paid the cabbie and went in herself, closing the door behind her as she made her way to the kitchen at the rear.

Smiling to herself, she found a tray and put some glasses on it, then went to the large refrigerator. She drew from that some bottles of Coca Cola, and put them on the tray as well, before taking some biscuits and placing them on a plate. Finally, she put some crisps into a bowl, and then picked up the tray, carrying it carefully to the front room.

“Well, I hope you are…”

“We are – slowly, put that tray down on the coffee table, and then put your hands on your head.”

It wasn’t Zoe or Chloe who spoke – neither of them could, as they had silver tape pressed down over their mouths, their hands behind their backs as two men were wrapping ropes around their arms and upper bodies. The men were taller than them, wearing boiler suits, and with stockings pulled down over their heads.

“You heard him,” one of them said as he pulled the ropes tighter round Chloe’s chest, “put the tray down.”

Jacqui slowly lowered the tray and set it down, before her own hands were pulled behind her back, and she felt the rope rubbing on her wrists as they were secured together. One of the other two men came over, tearing strips of tape from a roll and pressing them down over her mouth as her nieces watched.

She couldn’t offer any words of comfort as they were then frog marched out of the room. She turned her head and watched them being walked up the stairs, before she grunted as her own arms were forced against her sides, the bands framing her chest as he r jacket was forced open, her chest forced out.

“Now,” the man behind her said as the ropes were tied off, “let’s go round the house, you show me where any valuables are, we take them – then you join your little relatives.”

Jacqui slowly nodded as she was taken from room to room, feeling she had no choice but to show the man what to steal and watch as he placed item after item into a large canvas bag. They started on the ground floor, and then made their way up to the bedrooms, before she was marched into her own.

Zoe and Chloe were lying on the bed, looking at each other with their ankles and legs secured, their legs bent back and their ankles secured to their chest ropes.

“Shttchlmghrls,” Jacqui said as the girls softly sobbed, and she was made to lei face down on the floor. She felt the rope round her ankles as they were bound together, and then her legs below her knees, before her legs were bent back and she felt the soles of her boots with her fingers as she was placed in a tight hogtie as well.

She looked up, but could not see the girls as her binder slapped her on the bottom, and then left them there to try and get free.

“Miss Davis?”

Jacqui turned and saw the headmistress standing behind her. Mrs Tennant was in her late fifties, with short greying hair, wearing a dark jersey dress and heels.

“Oh sorry, Mrs Tennant – I was listening to their stories. Seems I was not the only one to have an unfortunate encounter.”

“Indeed – which is why we do these lessons for the girls,” Miss Tennant said. “Having said which, I trust you are recovered?”

“Getting there – I guess they were lucky.”

“Indeed – my daughters, on the other hand… Well, I only heard the story afterwards. Come with me – I’ll make some tea and tell you…”

Sixteen year old Vera and seventeen year old Agnes Tennant were not having a good day. They were casually dressed – Vera in a grey jumper over a white blouse, a grey suede skirt, tights and knee length black leather boots, and Agnes in a black silk blouse, blue denim skirt and dark brown leather boots. While Vera wore glasses, Agnes had a locket hanging down her front – but both of them were in no position to do much else.

They were sat side by side on two chairs from a dining table, their arms taken round the backs of the chairs and then their wrists tied together and to a centre spar of the chair back. Long ropes were also holding their bodies against the chair backs, snaking through the wooden latticework and around them to make sure they could not move.

As for their ankles, the leather squeaked as they tried to move them, but with their ankles tied to the front legs of the chair it was all they could do. They could not even voice their fears – the thick rolled up napkins pulled between their lips and tied round their heads prevented that.

Also, their focus was on their older sister. Sharon Tennant was twenty two years old, with blonde hair cut in a classic style, and she was wearing a black romper suit with white polka dots, the top half buttoned up the front and the hot pants hugging her thighs, the black leather boots almost a second skin over the lower halves of her legs.

The man who had tied both of them up was securing her wrists behind her back, before he wrapped a longer length of rope round her upper body, forcing her arms against her sides and framing her chest as she tried to speak – only the napkin also pulled between her lips was muffling her words, the red stains from her lipstick on the cloth where they touched the cotton.

Vera and Agnes looked at each other, as the man tied off the ropes round Sharon, and then walked over to the two of them.

“Whtthrudhhhhnn?”

“You don’t need to see this,” the man said as he tied a woollen scarf round the head of both girls, blindfolding them. They then heard Sharon give a yelp, and then her soft crying as the sound of rope rubbing on leather – a sound they knew from their won struggles – made hem both realist her ankles and legs were ben secured as well.

There was then a grunt and footsteps, the two girls calling for help…

As the girls filed into the assembly hall, Miss Davis looked out. From what Mrs Tennant had said, she found her oldest daughter much more - restrictively bound, in her bedroom, and she had to release and comfort her before her other two daughters.

The room fell silent as Miss Tennant walked to the front.

“Welcome back to St Blazius ladies – I wanted to inform you that the after school clubs will start over the week, and the mandatory lessons in self-defence and escape will start again next week. We do this for your protection…”

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