The Revelation Room (The Ben Whittle Investigation Series Book 1)

by Mark Tilbury

Anne didn’t seem to hear him. ‘He took you out in the garden one night, all wrapped up in a blanket. It was black as coal, and there were lots of stars in the sky. He pointed up at the brightest star and told you it was called the Star of Dominic. He said the Star of Dominic would always be up there, shining bright and looking over you, protecting you. He said that the Star of Dominic was your guiding light, and that no matter where you went, if you ever got lost the Star of Dominic would show you the way home.’

  ‘Obviously I can’t remember that.’

  ‘You were such a beautiful baby. You never cried. You slept through the night most nights. Sometimes I used to take you out of the crib at night just to hold you in my arms. Babies have such a lovely smell, Ben.’

  ‘Yeah. Like dirty nappies and puke.’

  Anne ignored him. ‘It’s like love and talcum powder. Can you imagine that? Love and talcum powder?’

  Ben shook his head.

  ‘You will one day. When you have children of your own. I used to sit with you for hours in the rocking chair, just rocking back and forth and watching you as you slept. Do you remember the rocking chair?’

  Ben didn’t.

  ‘It went to a charity shop when you were about nine or ten. Your father said it was taking up too much room when we got the new bedroom furniture. I wish I’d kept it now.’

  ‘Then you should have.’

  Anne nodded. ‘Yes, I should. Your Nana used to sit in that chair with me when I was little.’

  ‘I’ll have to go in a minute, Mum.’

  ‘Sometimes at night, when I can’t sleep, I go into the spare room and sit by the window. I look at the Star of Dominic and say a little prayer.’

  Something pricked the backs of Ben’s eyes.

  ‘It’s still shining bright. Maybe you’ll be able to see it when you’re away from home.’

  ‘Maybe I will,’ Ben agreed.

  ‘They let me hold him after the birth. They let me have a cuddle. Just for a little while. Then they took him away.’

  Ben’s initial anger melted away. It must have been so hard for his mother. His father, too. Maybe it went some of the way to explaining his father’s uncompromising attitude. He put the locket in his jeans pocket and then held out his arms.

  His mother held him close. ‘You mean the world to me, Ben.’

  Ben thought of talcum powder and love. His eyes were stinging like a bitch. All the air felt as if it had been sucked out of the room. ‘I know.’

  ‘Take care, son.’

  Ben wondered if he’d ever see his mother again. ‘I will.’

  Chapter ten

  Halfway to Oxford on the bus, Maddie turned to Ben and smiled. ‘You’re quiet.’

  Ben took a deep breath and then told Maddie what his mother had told him about his baby brother.

  Maddie listened. And then: ‘Oh, Ben, that’s so sad.’

  ‘I can’t believe they never told me.’

  Maddie rubbed his arm. ‘I’m so sorry.’

  Ben looked out the window. He felt cheated. Cheated of having an older brother. Someone to talk to after the lights went out. Someone to share his dreams with. An older brother that could stand up for him when the other kids were ribbing the hell out of him for having a stupid stammer. Or frizzy hair. Or a hooked nose. Or for daring to breathe the same air as them. God, he even wished he’d had a brother to fight and squabble with.

  ‘What was his name?’ Maddie asked.

  ‘Dominic. She gave me a locket.’

  ‘What have you done with the locket?’

  ‘It’s in my pocket.’

  ‘Can I have a look?’

  Ben fished it out and handed it to Maddie. She opened the tiny clasp to expose a few strands of blond hair. ‘Bless him.’

  Ben squinted at the locket. ‘What’s inside it? I can’t see too well without my glasses.’

  Maddie raised her eyebrows. ‘You wear glasses?’

  ‘Just for close-up stuff.’

  ‘Where are they?’

  ‘At home somewhere. I keep forgetting to put them on.’

  ‘That’s why you get so many headaches.’

  Ben nodded. That sounded a lot better than his own belief he might have a brain tumour.

  Maddie closed the locket. ‘Do you want to put it on?’

  ‘No.’

  Maddie handed it back to him. ‘Are you all right?’

  Ben put the locket back in his pocket. How the hell was he supposed to feel? Other than cheated.

  ‘Your mum’s had to put up with a lot.’

  ‘That’s all we ever do, isn’t it? Put up with everything. Take it on the chin and have a nice cup of tea.’

  ‘Not always, Ben.’

  ‘No? That’s what it feels like from where I’m standing.’

  ‘We’re going to help your dad. That’s doing something positive.’

  Ben wanted to stay positive, but all he could think of was failure. Failure and getting them both killed. They spent the rest of the journey going over their cover stories. It took Ben’s mind away from trying to make sense of his baby brother dying before he’d even lived.

  ‘What if they ask us something we don’t know the answer to?’ Ben said.

  ‘There’s not much we can do about that, is there? We can’t pre-empt everything they may or may not say. We’re just going to have to blag it.’

  ‘I’m not good at blagging.’

  ‘I find it works best to say the first thing that comes into your head.’

  Ben picked at his jeans. ‘That won’t get me very far. My head’s empty.’

  ‘Then just act dumb.’

  ‘Sounds more natural.’

  Maddie smiled. The sun had reddened her face. Her blonde hair looked bleached white.

  Ben wanted to take that smile and keep it forever. ‘Why do you think people join cults?’

  ‘I don’t know. Bad childhoods? Who knows?’

  ‘What’s the difference between a cult and a church?’

  Maddie frowned. ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘As far as I can see, they’re both two sides of the same coin.’

  ‘Two sides, perhaps. The same coin? No. Not really.’

  ‘Religion’s just a leap of faith,’ Ben said. ‘No one knows for sure that God exists, do they?’

  ‘True.’

  Ben tried to order his thoughts. ‘This Rapture thing isn’t any more daft than the idea of Heaven and Hell is it?’

  Maddie pursed her lips. ‘It seems a lot more dangerous.’

  ‘Can I ask you a question?’

  Maddie nodded. ‘Of course.’

  ‘Do you believe in God?’

  ‘I don’t know. I sometimes think God is our conscience. That way he’s in every single one of us. That way he watches everything we do.’

  ‘If God’s inside everyone, how come there’s so many evil people in the world, then?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Why are there so many wars? So many earthquakes? So many people suffering?’

  ‘I don’t know, Ben. I’ve asked my dad that question a dozen times. He seems to believe it’s all some kind of test.’

  ‘Some bloody test.’

  ‘But that doesn’t mean we just give up, does it? We have to keep trying whether we want to or not.’

  ‘Even when all your instincts are screaming “no”?’

  ‘Especially then.’

  ‘Even when you know your best isn’t good enough?’

  ‘You’d be surprised what you can do when you have to.’

  ‘You’d be surprised what I can’t do.’

  ‘Stop putting yourself down.’

  Ben looked at her. He loved the way her green eyes made him think of shady trees. ‘What if we don’t make it, Maddie?’

  ‘We will.’

  ‘You don’t know that.’

  Maddie took his hand. ‘We can be strong together.’

  Ben wanted to believe her, but he was just the kid in the conker tree who barely h
ad the strength to tie his own shoelaces. ‘What about your dad? What’s he going to do if anything happens to you?’

  ‘My dad’s strong.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean it won’t tear his world apart.’

  ‘I’m probably in more danger crossing the road.’

  ‘I doubt it.’

  Maddie stood up. ‘Come on, it’s our stop.’

  Ben followed her off the bus and into the bustling street. As they neared the meeting point with Marcus, Ben dodged out of the main throng and stepped into the doorway of a newsagent’s.

  Maddie joined him. ‘Ben?’

  ‘We should just forget about this and go home before it’s too late.’

  ‘We can’t just forget about your dad, can we?’

  ‘He’s probably already dead.’

  ‘You don’t know that.’

  Ben looked at the ground. ‘Maybe I don’t care.’

  ‘If you didn’t care you wouldn’t even be here now.’

  ‘I spent all of my childhood trying to be good. Eating up all my dinner. Folding away my clothes at night. Making my bed in the morning. Being good at school. Learning all my sums. Trotting out my times tables like a p-parrot. He never once gave me a single word of praise.’

  ‘Men don’t always show their emotions, Ben.’

  ‘I won a prize once for painting. Guess what he said?’ Ben didn’t wait for an answer. ‘Nothing. He didn’t even acknowledge it.’

  ‘You’re reading too much into it.’

  ‘I couldn’t do anything to please him. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s reminded me I was two years old before I walked.’

  ‘He might be pulling your leg.’

  ‘He probably blames me for Dominic dying.’

  ‘Now you’re being plain daft.’

  ‘Am I? It makes perfect sense to me. I bet he thinks Dominic would have grown up to be all the things I’m not. Captain of the rugger team. Head boy at school. The perfect heir to Whittle Investigations.’

  ‘And who did he call when he needed someone to help him?’

  Ben scoffed. ‘A useless idiot that couldn’t catch a cold.’

  ‘He called you because he trusts you. Does that sound like someone who thinks you’re useless?’

  Ben sighed. His knee was hurting almost as bad as his head. ‘It sounds like someone who’s run out of options.’

  ‘It’s easy to label people, Ben. I’ve often thought my dad was selfish.’

  Ben laughed. ‘Pastor Tom? He’s just about the most unselfish man I’ve ever met.’

  ‘So unselfish that he risked the lives of his wife and daughter in a war-torn part of Africa?’

  ‘At least your father had a good reason. At least he was trying to help people.’

  ‘And got my mother killed in the process.’

  ‘I’m sure he never meant that to happen.’

  ‘But it still happened, didn’t it? I’ve still grown up without my mum.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Do you know what it’s like having to figure out everything for yourself? All the girl stuff? There’s a gap a hundred miles wide in my life where my mum should be. And before you say it, talking to my dad about certain things isn’t the same, no matter how well-meaning he might be.’

  Ben looked away. ‘I’m sure it must have been hard for you.’

  ‘But I still love him, Ben. Love him with all my heart. I have to accept that he’s just as fallible as the next man.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Whatever you think about your dad, Ben, he’s just a bundle of contradictions like everyone else. He’s a product of his own upbringing and the things that have happened to him. He’s made good decisions and bad decisions, just like my father. Being a parent doesn’t come with a manual. It comes with a whole load of challenges, and most of them we’re not qualified for.’

  Ben looked at the ground. Maddie seemed so wise for someone so young, but that didn’t mean he agreed with her. His father was an arrogant man. A self-righteous man with little compassion.

  ‘It’s all about forgiveness,’ Maddie said. ‘You need to forgive your father for his inadequacies. What you have to remember is he didn’t choose them, did he? He’s what he is. Just like I am. Like you are. Like everyone is.’

  Ben wasn’t in any mood to forgive anyone. He wanted to take to his heels and run. Run and never stop.

  Maddie grabbed his hand. ‘Come on. Let’s go and find your dad.’

  Go and get ourselves killed, more like, Ben thought, as Maddie dragged him along the High Street towards their meeting place with Marcus.

  Chapter eleven

  Marcus was standing outside Marks and Spencer talking to a scruffy looking youth in baggy jeans and a tee-shirt with the word ‘Dope’ printed on the front in red lettering. Marcus handed the kid something. They touched knuckles. As the youth walked away, he squinted at Ben with bloodshot eyes.

  In spite of the heat, Marcus was wearing a long trench coat that reached right down to his knees. He grinned at Maddie. ‘Hey, good to see you.’

  Maddie accepted Marcus’s outstretched hand and shook it. ‘Good to see you, too.’

  Marcus tipped back his straw hat. ‘I’ll cut straight to the chase. I’ve had a word with our illustrious leader, and he says he’s willing to give you guys a go.’

  Maddie punched the air. ‘That’s brilliant news.’

  Ben felt sick.

  Marcus let go of Maddie’s hand and grinned. ‘Yep. It sure is.’

  ‘We spent last night in a shitty alleyway,’ Maddie said. ‘I got woke up about a hundred times by a bloody tomcat.’

  ‘Edward doesn’t like cats.’

  ‘Nor do I, now,’ Maddie said.

  ‘He says they’re devious. He’s got a dog. Max. An Alsatian. Do you like dogs, Ben?’

  ‘I don’t mind them,’ Ben lied. Aunt Mary had owned an Alsatian when he was about six or seven. It was the nearest thing he’d seen to a bona-fide monster. He remembered being terrified of it every time they visited.

  ‘You might get to walk him.’

  Ben shuddered. ‘Cool.’

  ‘There’s loads of land at the farm. I hope you’re fit. Anyway, we’d better get going. Edward’s waiting for us.’

  Ben and Maddie followed Marcus through a series of alleyways and shortcuts which led them through a car park and into a narrow tree-lined street. An assortment of large detached and semi-detached houses sat back from the road. Some of them had “vacancies” signs hanging in the front windows.

  There was a red Land Rover 90 parked a hundred yards up the road. Marcus pointed to it. ‘There’s Edward.’

  Ben’s stomach lurched.

  ‘But you make sure you address him as “Father”. And only speak to him when he speaks to you. Okay?’

  Maddie nodded.

  ‘Be respectful at all times,’ Marcus warned.

  Ben’s feet felt as if they were wading through treacle. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The air was thick and heavy. Maddie reached out and grabbed his hand. She squeezed it once and then let go. Ben wiped his sweating palms on the front of his jeans.

  As they came to within a few feet of the Land Rover, a short, bald, overweight man dressed in a white cotton shirt and matching trousers stepped out onto the pavement. He dabbed his forehead with a red handkerchief. ‘This must be Ben and Maddie?’

  Marcus bowed. ‘Yes, Father.’

  Edward Ebb stuffed his handkerchief into his trouser pocket and held out his hand to Ben. ‘I’m Edward. Edward Ebb. Delighted to meet you, Ben.’

  Ben shook Ebb’s hand and told the biggest lie he’d ever told in his life: ‘Pleased to meet you.’

  ‘Father,’ Marcus prompted.

  ‘Father.’

  Ebb turned to Maddie and shook her hand. ‘You have lovely eyes, Madeline.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Creep, Ben thought.

  ‘Marcus tells me you’ve been sleeping rough.’

 
Maddie nodded. ‘Yes, Father.’

  Ebb pursed his lips and studied Maddie. ‘You’ll be pleased to know those days are behind you now.’

  Maddie curtsied. ‘Thank you, Father.’

  Ebb smiled. ‘You’re welcome, Madeline. Before we get going, I’ll have to ask you both to put on a blindfold.’

  Ben’s stomach flipped over. ‘Why?’

  Ebb smiled at him. It was a smile that reminded Ben of sugar-coated doughnuts for some inexplicable reason. ‘It’s nothing personal, Ben. Far from it. It’s just a security measure.’

  Ben frowned. ‘I don’t get it.’

  ‘There are those who seek to destroy us. I know that sounds hard to believe in the twenty-first century. You’d think that such bigotry was dead and buried along with dinosaur bones. But bigotry is our greatest enemy. One we have to fight on a daily basis.’

  ‘Amen,’ Marcus chirped.

  Ebb inclined his head. ‘Should anyone decide to leave us, we like to be assured that our location remains a secret.’

  My father found you easily enough, Ben thought. And so did we.

  ‘What you don’t know, you can’t tell,’ Maddie said.

  Ebb grinned. ‘Precisely, Madeline. We try to go about our business and avoid confrontation. We’re just a peace loving group of people trying to do what is right in an emotionally bankrupt world.’

  ‘Amen,’ Marcus chirped again.

  Ebb pursed his lips and gazed off into the distance. ‘From the minute you leave the cradle, the bigots have got their claws in you. I hope in the coming months you will come to recognise the hypocrisy that dominates the so-called free world. See it for what it is and rise up against it.’

  A shiver rippled through Ben’s body.

  ‘If you both want to jump in the back, Marcus will sort out the blindfolds for you once you are comfortable.’

  Marcus held the door open as Ben and Maddie clambered inside. He then walked to the front of the vehicle and returned with two balaclavas. Neither had eye-holes. There was just a small slit in the middle to accommodate the nose.

  Ben tried not to panic as his world was plunged into darkness. Marcus leaned across him and buckled his seatbelt. He could smell stale tobacco and garlic on Marcus’s breath. He imagined those rotting front teeth sinking into his flesh like a vampire’s, sucking the last drops of life from his body.