Shirley grabbed her purse and started walking to her friend's house. Since she couldn't drive she had to walk to most places. It was only a 20 minute walk to her friend's house so she really didn't mind. It was a pleasant summer evening, warm but not super hot, with a slight cool breeze. She was on her way to a night she wouldn't soon forget.

"Ok, John you have all the rope?" asked Jessica.
"Yeah, I have it all right here. How are we going to get Shirley to let us tie her up?"
"It shouldn't be too hard if she goes along with the game. I'll tell you more in a little while. Just remember, we can't tell mom and dad."
"Right sarge!" both of Jessica's siblings answered in unison.

Downstairs the front door opened, as Jane's husband returned home. He looked at the clock. 6:30.
"Honey, I'm back."
"Great, come one, and hurry because you only have a half hour to get ready!"
"I know, but traffic was crazy. It won't take me long."

Time passed by, and soon the doorbell rang. Shirley was here. They visited for a few minutes. Jane and her husband left after about 5 minutes of small talk. Shirley put her purse on the coffee table in the living room and sat down for a little rest. She saw the kids come in from the kitchen.
"Hi guys, how are you?" she asked in her thick Scottish dialect.
"We're good. You?" Jessica answered.
"Just fine, thanks. Did you guys have supper yet?"
"Yeah a little while ago. We're all set."
Shirley saw that John was wearing a backpack. "Hey John, what's the pack for?" Shirley asked.
"Well, we wanted to know if you wanted to play a game with us outside for a little while," Jessica said.
"And what game would that be?"
"Cops and robbers," added John.
"Well I suppose, for a little while. I'll be right out guys."
"Cool," Jessica said as she went towards the back door.

Shirley slipped her sandals back on and headed outside. She did love the fact that the house had such a large backyard, and since it was the last house on the block, there were no neighbors right next to the house. She stepped onto grass and sat down next to the kids.
"So how do we play this game?" she asked.
"Well you're the robber, and we're the cops. You have to hide so we can't find you, but if we do you are our prisoner. Then we bring you back to jail," Jessica said.
"How come I'm the only robber?" Shirley asked.
"Um, well if you get caught then you're a cop on the next turn," John answered quickly.
"Fair enough, how many seconds do I have to hide?"
"You get one minute to hide. You have to stay out here though. No going back inside."
"Ok, got it. Here I go," Shirley said as she stood up and half ran towards the shed.

Shirley knew there weren't many places to hide in the backyard, there was a small section of woods, and she decided that it would be the best spot to hide. She found a large tree and sat behind it.
"Ok, John go look in the shed, Mary come with me we're going to look in the woods. Come find us if she isn't in the shed."
"Got it sarge. Let's go!"
John ran to the shed as Mary and Jessica ran towards the woods. John arrived at the shed door, but saw that it was still padlocked. He knew she couldn't be there, but just to make sure he checked behind it before he went to the woods to meet his sisters. Meanwhile Jessica and Mary were looking behind all the trees they could see, and under any bushes. But they hadn't found her yet. Jessica saw John and pointed to the right, she nodded and motion for him to check that area. He started looking to his right; there were bigger trees in this area.

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