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

by Mark Tilbury

  A ripple of dutiful laughter.

  Ebb raised his hand. I know. I should’ve been a stand-up comedian. ‘Bubba used to work for Brother Cyril right back when Penghilly’s Farm was a working farm.’ Ebb paused and looked at Bubba. ‘Eggs and potatoes, if memory serves me?’

  Bubba nodded. The corner of one eye twitched. It looked as if the big man was winking at Ebb.

  Ebb continued. ‘Brother Cyril was the original owner of Penghilly’s Farm. Sadly, Brother Cyril is no longer among us. He had an accident with a tractor when we were felling trees. The Lord took him to eat at His table, folks. May God rest his soul.’

  ‘God rest his soul,’ Tweezer echoed.

  ‘A sad day, indeed. But who are we to question the Lord’s intentions? We are here to serve. But let it be known we are all grateful for Brother Cyril’s contribution to The Sons and Daughters of Salvation.’

  Bubba stared at the table. He seemed to mouth something. A silent prayer, perhaps?

  ‘Bubba has been a good and loyal servant. I felt it my duty to help him. To understand him. To take him into my care and show compassion.’

  Tweezer held up a hand. ‘A most gracious act, Father.’

  Ebb agreed. ‘We are nothing without benevolence, folks. Nothing but empty shells. Bubba has proved to be a selfless worker. An honest man who has given himself without complaint to the Lord. He speaks volumes without words. The Lord is proud of you, Brother Bubba.’

  Bubba nodded and studied the table.

  ‘Brother Cyril came to me in a dream and spoke of his love for you, Brother Bubba.’

  Bubba chewed his bottom lip and bowed his head further.

  Ebb smiled and told Bubba to sit down. He then treated Ben and Maddie to a slippery grin. ‘Okay, that’s the introductions over. Have you guys got any questions?’

  There were a dozen or so perched on Ben’s tongue like birds on a telephone wire. ‘No, Father.’

  ‘What happens now?’ Maddie asked.

  Ebb smiled. ‘You will both be indoctrinated into the group.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Address the Father properly,’ Tweezer shouted.

  Ebb waved a hand. ‘All in good time, Madeline. All in good time. Sister Alice?’

  ‘Yes, Father?’

  ‘Show Madeline to her quarters.’

  Alice stood up and inclined her head. ‘Yes, Father.’

  Maddie walked out of the room behind Sister Alice. She didn’t look back at Ben. She put him in mind of a prisoner being escorted to her cell.

  Ebb turned to Tweezer. ‘Take Benjamin to his quarters and go through one or two of the house rules with him.’

  Tweezer stood up. ‘Yes, Father.’

  Ben followed Tweezer out of the kitchen, along the hall and up a flight of stairs to a first floor landing. So this was it. No going back now. They would either find his father and escape, or they would die trying. It was as simple as that.

  Chapter fourteen

  Tweezer led Ben into a ten-feet-square room with a brass plaque on the door proclaiming Brothers. Two pine bunk beds dominated one side of the room, with matching wardrobes pushed against the opposite wall. Bare floorboards threatened Ben’s feet with splinters.

  Tweezer pointed at the bunk bed on the left. ‘You can have the top bunk above Bubba. Brother Marcus occupies the other bottom bunk. He’s tetchy about anyone sleeping above him. He reckons I disturbed him when I slept in here. I’ve got my own room now, so I don’t have to listen to his moaning anymore, thank God.’

  Ben looked at the thin blue mattress. It looked about as comfortable as a bed of nails. There was a blue sleeping bag rolled up and placed on a lumpy pillow at the top of the bed.

  Tweezer sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his hand. ‘The wardrobe on the left belongs to Marcus. He’s got more clothes than the rest of us put together. You’ll have to share with Bubba. You’ll find underpants and vests in the drawer underneath. Socks and winter boots are in the Mud Room downstairs. They’re for winter use. All soiled laundry goes in the laundry bin in the bathroom. Emily takes care of the laundry. You’ll have all this explained to you after your inauguration.’

  Ben looked at Tweezer for signs of humanity. ‘Inauguration?’

  ‘Induction into the group.’

  Ben looked around the room at the dirty cream walls. The paint was cracked and peeling in places. Sunlight speared the grime on a window next to his bunk.

  Tweezer looked at his watch. ‘Supper’s at seven. There’s a bathroom along the landing if you want a scrub-up first. I wouldn’t bother with the shower, though. I could piss faster than that thing.’

  Ben nodded. ‘Okay.’

  Tweezer stroked his beard. ‘I’ll give you one or two ground rules. Nothing too heavy. Just an idea of how we expect members to behave. First off, there is no talking allowed after nine at night. You may read the Bible and pray, but conversation is banned. I’d advise you to pay attention to this. Sometimes the Father will ask for chores to be carried out, but again, silence must be observed at all times.’

  ‘What sort of chores?’

  ‘Sometimes things need mending. Sometimes you might be on kitchen duty preparing food for the next day. There’s always a stack of cleaning to do. And then there’s the goats, but Bubba does most of the outside work.’

  ‘Why doesn’t he speak?’ Ben asked.

  ‘Search me. Like the Father says, he was here when the farm was built.’

  ‘How does anyone know his name, then?’

  Tweezer looked at Ben. He had the same shadow lurking in his eyes that Ben had seen in Ebb’s earlier. ‘That’s a lot of questions, Benjamin. Remember what curiosity did to the cat?’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘If you must know, he tried to say “Brother” at his inauguration, and could only manage Bubba.’

  ‘I wonder what’s wrong with him?’

  ‘You’re not here to wonder, Benjamin. You’re here to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.’

  Ben looked out the window and fought an urge to run and jump out of it. ‘Sorry.’

  Tweezer sneezed and wiped his nose. ‘Bloody hay fever. I’ll be glad when winter’s here.’

  ‘Antihistamines are good for hay fever. My mum suffers from hay fever.’

  ‘We don’t allow medicine here. The Father says it interferes with God’s will.’

  Ben tried to reconcile this information with his need for painkillers. ‘How does it interfere with God’s will?’

  Tweezer ignored the question. ‘You’re not any good with plumbing by any chance?’

  Ben shook his head. Outside of putting a plug in the sink, his plumbing skills were zero. ‘No. Sorry.’

  ‘Have you got any specialist skills?’

  Ben didn’t think he specialised in much. Not unless buggering things up counted as a skill. ‘Not really.’

  ‘Please address me properly. I’m willing to cut you some slack because I know this takes a bit of getting used to. I took a while to get into the swing of things, but I can tell you from my own experience, it pays to learn quickly.’

  Ben nodded. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Brother Tweezer.’

  ‘Brother Tweezer,’ Ben repeated.

  Tweezer smiled. ‘Good man. Right, where were we? Ground rules. No one may leave the farm other than the Father and Brother Marcus. That rule is rigid unless the Father gives special consent. To be honest, if you want my advice, forget the outside world. It’s full of contamination and corruption anyway.’

  Ben wondered how Marcus and Ebb avoided such widespread contamination and corruption. Were they immune to it? Vaccinated against it?

  Tweezer rattled on. ‘The Devil stalks the streets, Benjamin. None of us are safe. Even Brother Gerald fell foul to temptation.’

  Ben remembered Ebb’s offer to give him Brother Gerald’s overalls. ‘What happened to him?’

  ‘It was a personal matter between the Father and Brother Gerald. It was dealt with. Now, where were we? Ground rules
. We don’t believe in hospital treatment. Medicine violates God’s will.’

  ‘Isn’t that similar to what Jehovah’s Witnesses believe?’

  Tweezer crossed himself. ‘The Sons and Daughters of Salvation may have certain similarities to other religious groups, but we are unique. It’s important that you never refer to any other religious groups in the presence of the Father. Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes, Brother Tweezer.’

  ‘We believe that the body is a holy temple. We do not permit abuse of that temple with tobacco or alcohol. Do you smoke or drink alcohol?’

  ‘I drink sometimes, but I don’t smoke.’

  ‘Then abstinence should come easy to you.’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘You need to address me properly.’

  ‘Brother Tweezer.’

  ‘Don’t be so flippant around the Father. Make sure you address him properly at all times.’

  ‘Yes, Brother Tweezer.’

  Tweezer sneezed four times and then pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger for a few seconds. ‘Saturday is our day of rest. That’s not to say you won’t be called upon to perform tasks, but as a rule, you are free to rest. Our motto is work, rest and pray. A simple philosophy that has served us well.’

  Ben was certainly ready to pray. Pray with all his heart and soul to any God that would have him.

  ‘All men are to remain celibate. Procreation by anyone outside of the Father will be dealt with by castration. It might sound a barbaric measure, but it is designed with compliance in mind. In short, Benjamin, keep it in your trousers.’

  ‘Yes, Brother Tweezer.’

  ‘Everything is God and God is everything. All reality is part of the whole,’ Tweezer babbled, ‘man is part of God, and man never dies.’

  Ben wondered who occupied all the graveyards in the real world if man never died.

  ‘No contact is allowed with the outside world, other than to procure funds.’

  Ben remembered Emily Hunt’s demands for money. ‘Funds?’

  Tweezer ignored him. ‘You must never question the Father, or those designated to act as leader in his absence. Doing so is tantamount to disagreeing with God Himself.’

  Ben nodded. ‘Yes, Brother Tweezer.’

  ‘That’s about it for now. The Father will fill you in on the finer details later, but that’s the gist of it. Any questions?’

  ‘No, Brother Tweezer.’

  ‘We sound a bell for supper at seven. Attend as soon as you hear it. The Father doesn’t tolerate slack behaviour.’

  ‘Yes, Brother Tweezer.’

  Tweezer walked out of the room and closed the door. Ben took a deep breath. The air was stale. It smelled of old socks and bad breath. Dust swirled in shafts of sunlight. He walked over to the window and peered through the grime at a back garden overgrown with weeds and brambles. Beyond the garden, a field stretched off into the distance. The brick-built tower loomed over the courtyard like a prisoner of war guard tower.

  Ben tried to lift the sash window, but it was either stuck or locked. A splinter jabbed into his thumb. Did The Sons and Daughters of Salvation permit the removal of splinters? Or would that be classed as interfering with God’s will? What about if you cut yourself? Were you allowed to put a plaster on the wound?

  Ben pressed his nose up against the glass. He could see the shape of someone in yellow overalls standing behind the guardrail at the top of the tower. It was impossible to tell for sure who it was, but considering Ebb had told Marcus to relieve Tweezer, Ben didn’t need a pair of binoculars to confirm who it was. Marcus was holding a rifle. Sunlight glinted off the barrel like a Devil’s wink.

  Ben’s breath fogged up the window. He wiped it clean with his sleeve and looked out again. The rifle seemed to be pointing at him. Ben ducked down out of view.

  ‘What have I done?’ Ben asked the empty room. One look into Edward Ebb’s eyes had been enough to tell him that his father was already dead. And one look at that tower was enough to tell him he would suffer the same fate.

  He sat on the floor with his back against the wall. He thought about Pastor Tom and his mother. He closed his eyes and wished with all his heart he’d never come anywhere near this god-awful place.

  Chapter fifteen

  Ben sat at the kitchen table sandwiched between Bubba and Tweezer. There was a plastic dinner plate and a plastic tumbler on the table in front of him, along with a plastic knife and fork. The tableware reminded Ben of a children’s party. Even though he’d not eaten since early morning, his appetite flatly refused to be tempted by the food.

  Dixie and Alice sat opposite Ben, with Ebb in his rightful place at the head of the table. Emily was busy setting bowls of salad and new potatoes on the table. There was a huge plastic jug of lemon juice in the middle of the table.

  Ben looked at Ebb. ‘Where’s Maddie?’

  Tweezer nudged him in the ribs. Hard. It was a nudge that said shut up right now!

  Ebb stood up and clasped his hands in front of him. He was wearing a white robe tied around the middle with a black sash. He looked dressed for martial arts. ‘Since you ask, Benjamin, Madeline is preparing for inauguration.’

  ‘What do you mean, “preparing”?’ Ben asked.

  Tweezer rounded on him. ‘Be quiet.’

  Ebb waved a hand. ‘She’s resting.’

  Tweezer looked at Ebb. ‘I apologise for Benjamin’s manners, Father.’

  Ebb smiled that greasy doughnut smile dusted with too much sugar. ‘He will learn, Brother. He will learn.’

  They sat in silence as Emily finished laying the table. Emily then took her seat alongside Alice and Dixie.

  Ebb raised a hand and looked around the table at each member in turn. He then closed his eyes and bowed his head. ‘Oh merciful Lord, we give thanks for this wonderful meal which You have so generously provided. We are not worthy of Your kindness and Your bountiful provision, Lord.’

  ‘We are not worthy,’ the group chanted.

  ‘We are Your humble servants, Lord.’

  Tweezer raised his hands and looked up at the ceiling. ‘Praise Jesus.’

  ‘Praise Jesus,’ the group chimed.

  Ebb opened his eyes and added a squirt of syrup to that doughnut smile. ‘I’m ravenous. Pass the sweet potatoes, please, Sister Alice.’

  They ate in silence. Ben noticed that most of the members looked at their food as if mesmerised by it. Next to Ben, Tweezer sniffed and munched. If Ben’s father had been seated at the table, he might have told Tweezer to close his mouth while he was eating. He might also have told Bubba to tuck his elbows in, and Ebb to mop a yellow streak of butter from his chin.

  Ben forced food into his mouth and chewed. He hated salad at the best of times. Thoughts of Maddie dominated his mind. What did “preparing for inauguration” mean? It sounded creepy and full of menace.

  Ebb finished his meal and belched. He wiped grease from his mouth with a paper napkin. ‘That was a fine meal, Sister Emily.’

  Sister Emily inclined her head. ‘Thank you, Father. Shall I clear the table now, Father?’

  ‘Yes. Thank you, Sister Emily.’

  Ben watched Emily walk around the table and clear the plates. He wanted to reach out and grab her by the arm, ask her if her name was Emily Hunt. The Emily Hunt. He searched her face for tell-tale signs of the girl he’d seen in the photograph. There were none. Could four years change a person so much? The only thing Sister Emily shared with photo-Emily was the lack of expression on her face.

  It’s because her hair’s been cropped, Ben thought, clutching at straws. It makes her face appear much more severe. Angry, almost. Angry with a hint of sorrow.

  But everything else fitted. Marcus. The cult. The names. Everything. As for Ebb, he looked more than capable of killing someone. Enjoying it, even. And Tweezer had already confessed to killing a man with a hammer.

  With the table cleared, Ebb told Sister Emily to pour drinks. She dutifully obliged, filling each member’s plastic
beaker from the jug of iced lemon. Ebb raised his glass. ‘To our merciful Lord.’

  ‘Our merciful Lord,’ the rest of the group chimed.

  Ebb drained his drink in one long draught and banged his beaker down on the table. The rest of the group followed suit. After a few moments, Ebb stood up and clapped his hands together like a teacher bringing a class to attention. ‘I’d like to welcome our good friend, Benjamin, to The Sons and Daughters of Salvation.’

  ‘Welcome, Benjamin,’ Tweezer said.

  ‘Welcome, Benjamin,’ the rest of the group chanted.

  Ben wanted to scream from the top of his lungs that his name was Ben, not Benjamin. A short and simple name with no fancy frills. Just like him. He looked at the table. Next to him, Bubba mumbled something unintelligible.

  Ebb moved away from the table and stood with his hands resting on the back of his chair. ‘It’s been an eventful day, brothers and sisters, indeed it has. A day to be thankful. It’s not often we get to welcome two new members into our fold. We thank You, Lord, for bringing Madeline and Benjamin to The Sons and Daughters of Salvation.’

  ‘Praise Jesus,’ Tweezer said.

  Ebb smiled and inclined his head. ‘Praise Jesus, indeed.’

  Did you smile like that when you killed my father? Ben thought. Did you grin like that while dear old Brother Tweezer smashed his skull to a pulp with a hammer?

  Ebb looked at his watch. ‘How the time flies. Jesus must have given it wings today.’

  The group responded with polite laughter.

  Ebb raised a hand. ‘It’s nearly seven-thirty. Benjamin’s inauguration will take place at nine prompt. I believe Sister Alice has prepared the robes?’

  Alice bowed her head. ‘All done, Father.’

  ‘Thank you, Sister Alice. You are commended for doing such a wonderful job at such short notice. Sunday will indeed be a day of rest for you.’

  Sister Alice thanked him as if he’d just offered her a detached cottage in the countryside complete with housemaids and gardeners.

  Ebb dabbed his forehead with the same napkin he’d used to wipe his mouth. He turned his attention to Bubba. ‘Your task is to erect the apparatus for Benjamin’s inauguration in the Gathering Barn, okay?’