by Mark Tilbury
Maddie’s lips went numb. Why were her lips numb? ‘He won’t. I won’t let him.’
‘Satan already controls your tongue, child.’
‘I—’
‘Silence, Satan. Be still.’
‘I wanna go-wome,’ Maddie slurred.
‘You’ll be going back to the flames of Hell where you belong.’
Maddie closed her eyes. An image of her father flashed in her mind’s eye. Pastor Tom, with his smiling blue eyes shadowed by his trilby hat and his arthritic hands drawn together in a gesture of prayer.
Chapter eighteen
Ben watched Ebb return to the barn. An Alsatian walked on Ebb’s right-hand side. The dog wasn’t on a leash. It kept in perfect step with its master. Ebb stopped a few feet in front of the cross and snapped his fingers. The dog sat down and regarded Ben with alert brown eyes.
Ebb grinned up at Ben. ‘I’d like you to meet Max.’
Ben wondered if he should introduce himself to the dog. Hi, Max, I’m Ben, and I’m in a stack of shit right now, so please excuse me if I don’t shake you by the paw.
‘Madeline thought Max was a boy.’
How stupid of her, Ben thought. Whatever was she thinking of?
‘Just so you don’t make the same mistake, Max is very much a girl, Benjamin. She’s called Maxine.’
Ben didn’t give a fig which sex the dog was. He was more concerned with why Ebb had brought the blasted thing into the barn.
Ebb looked at Ben. ‘Do you know that a dog can sniff out a single drop of blood in thousands of litres of water?’
‘No.’
‘They can sniff out drugs. Cancer, even. Were you aware of that?’
‘I know they use them for drugs.’
‘Dogs are the most marvellous creatures, don’t you agree? I was telling Madeline about the virtues of dogs half an hour ago.’
‘Where is Maddie?’
‘Madeline is fine. She’s having a little nap at the moment. She likes dogs. She had an Andrex puppy when she was a little girl. Bought for her by her over-indulgent parents.’
If you’ve done anything to her...
Ebb reached down and patted Max’s head. ‘Do you know the most remarkable thing about Maxine?’
‘No.’
‘She can smell evil.’
Really? How come she isn’t going wild being near you, then?
Ebb clicked his fingers. ‘Can’t you, girl?’
Max barked. The sound echoed around the barn like a gunshot. Saliva dribbled from her muzzle.
‘What do you think, Benjamin? Can Maxine can flush Satan out of you?’
Ben shook his head. ‘I’m not evil.’
Ebb grinned. ‘I don’t expect Satan to announce himself.’
‘I’m not Satan,’ Ben shouted.
Ebb turned around and addressed the group. ‘The imposter speaks.’
Tweezer stepped forward. ‘We must flush him out, Father.’
Ebb turned back to Ben. ‘During the war, Russian guards would starve their dogs. Do you know why?’
Ben didn’t. He didn’t want to know, either.
‘Go on. Take a guess.’
‘Not enough food?’
Ebb laughed. ‘No. It was to ensure those dogs were hungry. Not just grumbly tummy hungry, Pixie-pea. Not just get to bed without any supper hungry. Not just mummy’s drank the dinner money again hungry. No, sir. Not on your high heels. Those dogs were rip your arm off and shit your fingers hungry. That way, when they stood those insubordinate prisoners naked in the quadrangle and covered their frozen bodies with hot goulash, those dogs would be ready to eat them alive.’
Ben’s mind refused to process any more information. A tear slipped down his cheek. He looked at the other members of The Sons and Daughters of Salvation standing in a line a few yards away from the cross. How could they believe in such a crazy crock of shit? How could they stand there and do nothing?
Ebb continued: ‘By the time two or three of those prisoners were turned into dog meat, the rest of them were ready to sing like birds.’
‘Praise Jesus,’ Tweezer said, as if by default.
‘Praise Jesus,’ Ebb agreed. ‘I would say there’s nowhere for Satan to hide when confronted with man’s best friend.’
Ben’s stomach lurched. What was Ebb going to do? Cover him with food and set his own dog upon him to eat him alive?
Ebb held up a hand and smiled. ‘Luckily for you, Benjamin, we do not condone such barbarity. Not even in pursuit of Satan himself.’
Tweezer studied Ben for a moment. ‘Satan mocks you, Father.’
Ebb tightened his robe. ‘He tries, Brother. He tries. But my patience is bolstered by the fortitude of Jesus Christ Himself. I’m in no rush. Satan will come out.’
Tweezer punched the air. ‘Praise Jesus.’
Ebb raised both hands in the air. ‘The mockers and the counterfeiters will all be brought to justice in the court of the Lord Jesus Christ. The highest court in the universe. The Court of Correction.’
‘Amen,’ Tweezer rapped.
‘Sinners shall be burned alive. No one shall be spared. It is written in the stars. We must build our spaceship and be ready. The old and the young shall be called unto Him.’
‘The oldest is the youngest and the youngest is the oldest,’ Tweezer shouted.
Ebb addressed the group again. ‘The pimp and the paedophile might hide in the carcass of an old man, but does that mean we should take pity upon his frailty?’
‘No, Father,’ the group chanted.
Ben noticed Bubba staring at him. There was something in the big man’s eyes. A fleeting flash of something that Ben couldn’t quite put his finger on. Compassion? Fear? Understanding? And then it was gone again as Bubba looked at the ground.
Ebb rattled on: ‘Should we spare the child who shall grow into an adult and cause misery to the world?’
Like you, Ben thought.
‘No, Father,’ the group chanted.
‘What should we do?’ Ebb asked his followers.
‘Destroy him, Father.’
Ebb nodded triumphantly. He paced up and down like a victorious sportsman basking in the glory of victory. ‘Satan comes in many guises. The poet, the politician, the thief, the vagrant. He hides like a sneak-thief in an alleyway at night. Just like he does in this poor wretch on the cross.’
Tweezer agreed. ‘I smell Satan oozing from every pore.’
‘He hopes we take pity on him. But do we take pity?’
‘No, Father,’ the group chimed.
‘Do we turn a blind eye because this sad, pathetic man does not look capable of causing harm?’
‘No, Father.’
Ebb stopped pacing and cocked his head to one side. ‘Damn right, we don’t. Because that would be as stupid as eating a raw chicken and wondering why you had a dodgy belly. The most deadly spider on the planet isn’t any bigger than a two-pence piece, but we don’t invite it to stretch its legs on our arm, do we?’
‘No, Father.’
‘We don’t allow ourselves to be fooled by these things, any more than we allow ourselves to be fooled by this sad wretch on the cross.’
Ben looked at the group. In the eerie yellow light cast by the lanterns, he couldn’t distinguish their features. The lack of identity made them seem even more sinister. ‘I haven’t done nothing.’
Ebb turned his attention back to Ben. ‘We hear your words, Satan. We hear them like wind on a hilltop. But we don’t believe you.’
Ben took a deep breath. ‘I’m… just… me…’
Ebb ignored him. ‘Max! Heel!’
Max stood up and fell into line beside her master. Ebb walked right up in front of the cross with the dog at his side. He ran his hands slowly across Ben’s legs like a faith-healer in the midst of a healing session. ‘I feel Satan’s vibration.’
Tweezer crossed himself. ‘May the Lord Jesus Christ protect us.’
Ebb finished his bizarre exercise. He then turned to the dog. ‘Max!
Seek.’
Max sniffed Ben’s feet and shins. Her tail swished in the dusty air. The leather restraints suppressed Ben’s natural urge to kick out. Max paid particular attention to Ben’s right knee. She sniffed it for several seconds and then stepped back and barked.
Ebb hunkered down. ‘What is it, girl?’
Max wasn’t saying. She panted. Droplets of saliva fell on the dry earth floor.
Ebb put his hands either side of the dog’s head and stared into her eyes. After several moments of what appeared to be deep contemplation, Ebb stood up. ‘She smells Satan.’
Max barked, as if acknowledging Ebb’s claim.
Ebb ruffled Max’s head. ‘Good girl, Max.’ He then turned to Tweezer. ‘Take Maxine to her kennel. There are treats in the kitchen under the sink. Give her two and make sure her water bowl is filled.’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘Just two treats, mind. There’s a thin line between reward and spoiling.’
‘Yes, Father.’
Ebb pursed his lips. ‘Bring the blow torch back with you. I think it might be prudent to drive Satan from his hidey-hole.’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘Blow torch?’ Ben shouted. ‘Oh, God, no. This can’t be happening.’
Ebb grinned. It was a grin that belonged on the back of a Wild West wagon selling snake oil. ‘I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of fire, Satan.’
Ben shook his head and moaned. His hands and shoulders felt as if they were already engulfed in flames.
‘A nice hot fire should be right up your alley.’
‘Please don’t burn me,’ Ben pleaded.
Ebb squinted up at Ben. ‘Save your pitiful whimpering for the imps. It’s the only feasible way of getting you out.’
‘There’s nothing in me,’ Ben shouted.
‘You can’t have “nothing” in you. That’s impossible unless you’re hollow.’
‘I mean Satan. Satan’s not inside me.’
‘Denial is always the first port of call for the guilty. Your flagrant disregard for my authority tells me exactly who’s sailing your ship. Max has confirmed Satan’s presence. Now we must act.’
Ben tried to push up and relieve the pressure on his shoulders. A flare went off in his knee. He screamed and gasped for air.
Ebb was unimpressed. ‘Spare me the amateur dramatics. Your pathetic attempts to garner sympathy are wearing thin.’
‘I’m not—’
Ebb pointed a finger at Ben. ‘You’d do well to speak only when spoken to.’
Ben closed his eyes. His head felt as if a marching band was stomping all over his brain. He silently recited the Lord’s Prayer and asked Pastor Tom’s God to spare him.
Ebb addressed the group. ‘See how Satan controls Benjamin?’
‘Yes, Father.’
Ben thought they would all agree to worship a billy goat if Ebb asked them to.
‘See how Satan distorts the truth?’
‘Yes, Father,’ the group chorused.
‘Leave m-me alone, you f-f-f-fucking idiot,’ Ben shouted.
Ebb turned back to Ben. ‘It’s clear to anyone with ears that Satan decorates your tongue with profanity. But hear this: I’m not listening, Pixie-pea.’
Ben twisted his head from side to side as a firecracker exploded in his right knee. He wanted to reach out and rip Ebb’s tongue from his mouth. Poke out his eyes. Wrap his hands around his neck and squeeze the life out of him. But poor old Stutter-buck didn’t even have the guts to say boo to a bat. He was born a coward, and he would die a coward. And Maddie would die right along with him because he didn’t even have the balls to come here on his own.
‘I’m a c-c-coward.’
‘You’ve got that one right,’ Ebb agreed. ‘We shall wait for Brother Tweezer to come back, and then we’ll see what you’ve got to say for yourself.’
Chapter nineteen
Maddie was still half asleep when Tweezer came into the room. For a few seconds, as her brain scrambled to distinguish the difference between imagination and reality, she thought she was in hospital and Tweezer’s robe was a surgical gown.
Tweezer smiled at her and stroked his goatee. ‘How are you feeling?’
Maddie pushed herself up. One of the cuffs jarred her right wrist. ‘What?’
‘Sorry, did I wake you?’
Maddie shook her head as her mind fell into line with her eyes. ‘What do you want?’
Tweezer sat down on the bed. ‘I was just wondering if there was anything I could get you?’
‘The key to these handcuffs?’
Tweezer shook his head. ‘Sorry, sister. That’s more than my life’s worth.’
‘And what is your life worth?’
‘Pardon me?’
‘What is your life worth? It’s a simple question.’
‘I’m only trying to be friendly.’
‘Are you? I’d hate to see you when you’re trying to be nasty.’
‘I’m not nasty.’
‘Really? So what do you call killing a man with a hammer? A friendly pat on the head?’
‘That was a long time ago.’
‘And that makes it all right, does it?’
‘God has forgiven me.’
Maddie rolled her eyes. ‘He told you that, did He?’
Tweezer smiled. ‘He came to the Father in a vision and told him so.’
‘And you believe that?’
Tweezer shook his head. ‘I don’t believe it. I know it.’
Maddie looked away. ‘Of course you do.’
‘Anyway, this isn’t about me, Madeline. It’s all about you and what lives inside you.’
‘There’s nothing inside me.’
‘You and Benjamin must be purged.’
‘Where is Ben?’
Tweezer smiled. ‘About to be exorcised.’
Maddie felt as if someone had dropped several ice cubes in her blood. ‘What do you mean, “exorcised”?’
‘That’s not for you to worry your pretty little head over. It’s all going to be finished with by morning. You two will have plenty of time to catch up later.’
‘Why am I handcuffed to the bed?’
Tweezer moved a little closer. ‘You know why, Madeline. For your inauguration.’
Maddie could smell tobacco on his breath. ‘But what’s going to happen to me?’
Tweezer seemed to consider this for a while. And then: ‘The Father will plant his seed in you.’
Maddie pushed back against the head rail. ‘I’m not letting him do that.’
Tweezer grinned. ‘Pride is a sin, sister.’
‘It’s got nothing to do with pride. It’s my body.’
Tweezer shook his head. ‘Not anymore it’s not. You gave your body to The Sons and Daughters of Salvation the minute you arrived at Penghilly’s Farm.’
Maddie set her jaw and pushed harder into the head rail. ‘He’s not touching me.’
‘Resistance is pointless, Madeline. Brother Gerald would testify to that – if he could.’
Maddie twisted her head to one side and closed her eyes. Maybe this would go away if she never opened them again. Just like when she was a little girl and she used to shut her eyes to wish away the wicked witch with the tombstone eyes and the goo-green face hiding under her bed.
‘You want my advice?’ Tweezer asked.
The pungent smell of tobacco wafted up Maddie’s nose, making her feel sick. She held her breath.
Tweezer carried on, seemingly oblivious to Maddie’s disgust. ‘Just do as you’re told. It’s the best thing you can do.’
Maddie knew that the witch under the bed had a huge wart on the end of her hooked nose. A wart oozing pus. One night, convinced that the witch’s bony fingers had reached out and touched her, Maddie had screamed for her mother to come and rescue her. Screamed all the way to Rwanda. But her mother was dead. Dead and buried in the hard earth with a simple wooden cross and a few pebbles to decorate her grave. Screaming for help now was as pointles
s as screaming for her mother all those years ago. Except this time the source of her terror was not a figment of her imagination.
‘Do you want a drink?’
Her father had taken her to Rwanda once when she was twelve years old. Back to the village where her mother had died. She’d wanted to cry as she’d looked at the pregnant swell of earth marking her mother’s grave. But no tears would come. Her only emotion had been anger. Anger at all the things she’d missed out on, like her mother brushing her hair at night and putting her to bed with a kiss. Picking her up from school and reading with her. Simple things that most kids at school took for granted.
‘Madeline?’
Her father had fixed a picture of his wife to the wooden cross. He always told Maddie that she had her mother’s lovely green eyes and long straight nose. Except that was silly. Maddie had her own eyes and nose.
‘The world is evil,’ Maddie whispered.
Tweezer agreed. ‘Profoundly evil.’
‘How could anyone do such a thing?’
Tweezer reached out and touched Maddie’s arm. ‘How could anyone do what, love?’
Maddie didn’t feel his hand on her arm. She was back at the grave in Rwanda. Her father had said a prayer, giving thanks and praising Jesus. Maddie didn’t know what there was to be thankful for. As far as she was concerned, Jesus was just a big, fat selfish liar.
Tweezer rubbed her arm in small circular motions. Saliva bubbled in the corner of his mouth as he snorkelled air through his bent and flattened nose. If Maddie had looked into that face, she might have seen a witch with a goo-green face and tombstone eyes.
Maddie looked up at the skylight. ‘Why does God let so many bad things happen?’
Tweezer’s hand moved down to Maddie’s leg. ‘God isn’t responsible for what people do. He’s our judge, not our instigator.’
Maddie didn’t hear him. ‘Maybe God’s deaf, dumb and blind.’
Tweezer squeezed her thigh. ‘God sees us, sister. God hears us. God knows us.’
‘Maybe he’s dead.’
‘God isn’t dead. He’s immortal.’
Maddie suddenly realised Tweezer’s hand was on her leg. She shook her arms and kicked out. The handcuffs clanged against the brass head rail. ‘Get your hands off me.’
Tweezer jumped back and withdrew his hand. ‘No need to be like that. I’m trying to help.’
