The Revelation Room (The Ben Whittle Investigation Series Book 1) (7 page)

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 had 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.

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.

‘How does that feel?’ Marcus asked him.

Like a bloody gorilla’s hugging me,
Ben thought. ‘I
can’t breathe.’

‘You’ll be fine once we get rolling,’ Ebb promised. ‘I’ll
open the window.’

Marcus slammed the door shut and went around to Maddie’s
side. Ben listened in disbelief as Maddie told Marcus that she couldn’t wait to
get going.

Ebb started the engine. ‘Is everyone set?’

The balaclava muffled Maddie’s voice. ‘Yes, Father.’  

Marcus jumped in the passenger seat and closed the door.

Ebb asked Ben if he was ready for “the journey”.

Ben struggled for breath. He wanted to rip the balaclava off
his head and run away as fast as his knackered knee would allow him.

‘Answer the Father,’ Marcus said.

Ben gasped for air. Why the hell hadn’t they cut out a hole
for the mouth?

To help you learn to keep your big mouth shut.

‘Brother Benjamin?’ Ebb prompted.

‘Yes. Father. I’m fine.’