The Revelation Room (The Ben Whittle Investigation Series Book 1) (15 page)

Ben watched the group fuss around
their leader. He turned his head towards Bubba. ‘Please help me.’

Bubba stared ahead, silent and still as a tombstone.

Sister Alice took charge of the situation. ‘Get back and let
the Father breathe.’

‘What’s up with him?’ Sister Dixie asked.

Sister Alice regarded her impatiently. ‘He’s obviously
having an epileptic fit.’

Dixie studied Ebb for a few moments. ‘A fit? He looks more
like someone’s plugged him into the mains.’

Alice knelt beside Ebb. ‘Don’t be so disrespectful.’

‘I’m not being disrespectful. You’re just too sensitive.’

Alice ignored her. She grabbed Ebb’s arms and pinned them
down. ‘It’s okay, Father. It’s okay.’

Ben pleaded with Bubba again. ‘Please get me down from
here.’

Bubba looked at him. He mouthed something unintelligible.

‘He’s going to kill me.’

Bubba shook his head. He reached out and touched Ben’s
shoulder. The gesture spoke louder than any words.

‘Will you help me?’

Bubba took his hand away.

‘Why can’t you talk?’

Bubba didn’t answer.

‘Sorry. Dumb question. Can you sign? I can do a bit.’

Bubba stared ahead.

Ebb ceased thrashing about on the floor.

Alice turned to Emily. ‘Fetch the Father some water.’

Emily scurried from the barn, her bare feet kicking up tiny
puffs of dust.

Ebb peered up at Sister Alice. ‘Where’s the shovel?’

Sister Alice wiped his forehead with a white lace
handkerchief. ‘Shovel? What shovel, Father?’

Ebb pushed her hand away. ‘Who are you? Declare yourself.’

‘I’m Sister Alice, Father. You had a – turn.’

Ebb sat up and looked about him. ‘I was attacked.’

Sister Alice moved away from Ebb. ‘Attacked, Father?’

‘By Satan himself.’

For the next five minutes, Ben watched the group fuss around
Ebb, hanging onto his every word like medieval servants in the presence of a
great messiah. Ben wouldn’t have been too surprised if they’d all fallen to
their knees and fought over the exclusive right to kiss his feet.  

Ebb allowed Dixie and Alice to help him to his feet. He
dusted himself down and tightened the black sash securing his robe. ‘Get back
into line. We need to drive Satan out. The sooner we get to grips with this,
the better it will be for everyone.’

As the group reassembled behind him, Ebb pulled the hatpin
from his pocket and walked over to the cross. ‘Benjamin?’

Ben looked away.

Ebb turned back to the group. ‘Satan scurries around inside
Benjamin like a cornered rat. But let me tell you, he cannot escape the
judgement of God.’

‘Satan isn’t inside me,’ Ben shouted.

Ebb examined the pin. ‘Satan is inside all sinners,
Benjamin. And you are a sinner.’

‘I’m not,’ Ben protested.

‘The first step towards salvation is admitting your guilt,
Benjamin.’

‘How the fuck can I admit to something when I don’t even
know what it is?’

Ebb waved a hand. ‘Blah, blah, blah. I expect nothing better
than puerile denial and profanity from you. Let me help you. You have many
things to choose from. Let’s start with gluttony.’

Ben stared at the hatpin. ‘Gluttony?’

‘Are you guilty of the sin of gluttony?’

Ben shook his head. ‘I don’t know.’

Ebb looked him up and down. ‘Judging by the look of you,
probably not. You look like a bag of bones after the butcher’s dog has finished
with them.’

Ben’s mind refused point blank to think. He watched Ebb wave
the hatpin in the air like someone attempting to cast spells.

Ebb held the pin up and placed his other hand on his chest.
‘I admit to being guilty of the sin of gluttony once. I, too, have sinned. But
let me tell you, as God is my witness, I opened my heart to Jesus. The Lord
Jesus Christ brought me into the light.’

‘Praise Jesus,’ Sister Alice shouted.

Ebb turned to face the group. ‘What was your sin, Sister
Dixie?’

‘Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have committed the
sin of lust.’

‘Are you now cured of the sin of lust?’

Dixie bowed her head. ‘Yes, Father.’

Ebb looked at Sister Emily. ‘And you, child?’

‘Forgive me, Father, for I am guilty of the sin of sloth.’

‘How so, sister?’

Emily stared straight ahead with those expressionless eyes.
‘I was lazy of mind, Father. I did not stand up for the things I believed in. I
allowed myself to be led along a path which was not of my own choosing.’

‘Are you now cured of the sin of sloth, Sister Emily?’

Emily nodded. ‘Yes, Father.’

Ebb addressed Alice next. ‘Sister?’

‘Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have committed the
sin of avarice. I longed for the attainment of wealth and jewels and material
possessions.’

‘Are you now cured of the sin of avarice?’

Alice bowed as if to a king. ‘Yes, Father.’

Ebb turned around and addressed Bubba. ‘Brother Bubba was
guilty of the sin of pride, weren’t you, my friend?’

Bubba nodded his head.

‘Brother Bubba is now cured of his sin, aren’t you,
Brother?’

Bubba nodded, eyes staring straight ahead.

Ebb looked at Ben. ‘Brother Tweezer was guilty of the sin of
wrath. Brother Marcus, sloth. Lazy as a leech in a blood bank, that one.
Brother Gerald carried the sin of envy. Do you see where we’re going with this,
Benjamin?’

Up shit creek without a teaspoon
, Ben thought.

Ebb pursed his lips. ‘First thing you need to do is fess up,
as our colourful American cousins might say.’

Ben looked from Ebb to the hatpin. He was willing to “fess
up” to anything right now. Anything to make this lunatic go away. But his mind
refused to help him out.

Ebb took a deep breath. ‘Gluttony, sloth, envy, avarice,
pride, wrath or lust? Take your pick, Benjamin.’

‘I am guilty of the sin of sloth, Father.’

‘A lazy spirit?’

Ben agreed.

‘Guilty of picking fruit from another man’s tree?’

‘Yes, Father.’

‘Bathing in the sweat of his labour?’

‘Yes, Father.’

‘Climbing on the back of the weary traveller?’

Ben struggled for breath. ‘Yes, Father.’

‘Stealing a poor man’s bread, that he should starve whilst
you fill your bloated belly.’

Ben looked at his stomach and almost laughed. ‘Yes, Father.’

Ebb bent over in front of Ben. ‘Then we must purge you of
your sin, Benjamin.’

‘Please. I—’

Ebb jabbed the hatpin into the sole of Ben’s right foot.
Right in. Tweezer-deep, you might say.

Ben screamed. Molten lava flowed through his foot. His
shoulders erupted in a fresh ball of flame.

Ebb stood up. ‘You are guilty of the sin of sloth. May the
Lord Jesus Christ forgive you.’

Ben gasped for air and writhed on the cross.  

Ebb paced back and forth like an evangelist on a stage.
‘Admission to sin is the first step on the road to redemption. Let it be known
that Benjamin has now confessed to the sin of sloth. Now we can exorcise Satan
from his body.’

‘Satan’s not in me,’ Ben shouted.

Ebb stopped pacing and held up a hand. ‘Words are just
wrappings for poisonous minds, Benjamin.’

‘I’m telling the truth.’

Ebb waved the hatpin in the air. ‘Your truth and my truth
hail from different continents, Benjamin.’

Ben was about to protest, but arguing with Ebb was like
arguing with fog.

 ‘You are no better than the mealy-mouthed scum who
litter the streets on a Friday night,’ Ebb continued. ‘They all talk a good
fight, fuelled by the demon drink, but put them in a uniform and ask them to
fight for Queen and Country and they’d piss their pants at the whine of a
bullet.’

Ben tried to keep still. The slightest movement set off
flares in his body. ‘Can I please have some water?’

Ebb shook his head. ‘You are in a period of fasting,
Benjamin.’

‘I feel sick.’

‘You’re bound to be queasy. Satan is like a rotten tooth.
Your natural instinct is to resist the dentist even though you know extraction
will make you better in the long run.’

Ben groaned. ‘I just want some water.’

Ebb turned away and addressed the group. ‘He will resist,
but we shall be strong. Satan’s instinct is to procure sympathy. But we must
never be fooled by his foolery.’

‘I’m not trying to fool any—’

Ebb turned around and clapped his hands at Ben like a
teacher trying to form order in a classroom. ‘Silence. I’ve suffered enough of
your insubordination. Speak only when spoken to.’

Ben shut his mouth. His heart banged in his chest.

Ebb turned to Alice. ‘Sister?’

‘Yes, Father.’

‘I want you to fetch a lighter, a flannel, and a bowl of
antiseptic liquid.’

‘Yes, Father.’

‘What are you going to do?’ Ben demanded.

Ebb turned around again. ‘Do you think I want to give Satan
prior knowledge of my intentions?’

Ben closed his eyes. He prayed to Pastor Tom’s god. A god
with compassion. A god who represented the power of good. A god that would
surely condemn Edward Ebb to the flames of Hell one day.

 Ebb closed his eyes. ‘I ask you to guide me, Lord, as
we seek to remove Satan from this wretched mortal being. I ask you to help me
cleanse Benjamin’s soul, that he may be pure and whole and ready to serve you.’

Ben watched Ebb screw his eyes up and mouth something
unintelligible. Folds of flesh swallowed his eyes. His bald head looked like a
glass dome in the glow of the lanterns. He still had the hatpin clutched in one
hand. His robe was open at the top, revealing a crop of black hair sprouting
from his flabby chest. Ben wondered what Pastor Tom would make of Edward Ebb’s
brand of fanaticism masquerading as religion.

Sister Alice returned five minutes later with a bowl of
steaming water. She placed the bowl on the ground in front of the cross and
then took a disposable lighter from the pocket of her robe. She handed it to
Ebb. The smell of Dettol wafted up to Ben, reminding him of his mother’s
obsession with the stuff when he was a kid. Every cut and scrape would bring
forth the Dettol, complete with cotton wool balls and a
put-Humpty-together-again smile.

Ebb gave an exaggerated bow. ‘Thank you, Sister Alice.
Please join Sister Dixie and Sister Emily.’

 Ben watched the three women link arms, Sister Alice in
the middle. Ebb then instructed Bubba to stand in position beside the cross and
remain vigilant. Ben wondered what the hell for; he was hardly going to slip
out of his restraints and spring from the cross like David Blaine, was he?

Ebb stood in front of Ben. ‘Are you prepared?’

‘How the fuck can I be prepared? I don’t even know what
you’re going to do to me.’

‘The Devil makes a fine fork of toasting your tongue,
Benjamin. But taking hostage of your tongue will serve no purpose other than to
strengthen my resolve. Is that clear to both of you?’

Ben silently asked Pastor Tom’s God to strike Ebb down and
reduce him to ash. Unfortunately, Pastor Tom’s God wasn’t listening.

Ebb looked up at the rafters. ‘This sinner has confessed to
the sin of sloth, Lord. A weak spirit who leeches upon the blood of others. He
has shown a flagrant disregard for the welfare of others and a propensity
towards self-obsession. What shall be his punishment?’

Ben followed Ebb’s gaze, half-expecting to see the Devil
himself straddling one of the beams. Apart from dozens of cobwebs hanging from
the rafters like ghostly hammocks, the beams were as bare as Ben’s tortured
body.

Ebb clasped his hands in front of him. ‘I ask you to guide
us with your everlasting light, Lord. Guide us as we endeavour to drive Satan
from Benjamin’s body.’

‘Let me go,’ Ben shouted.

Ebb opened his eyes and pointed a finger at Ben. ‘By order
of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to be silent, Satan.’

Ben shut his mouth. He tried to push up and relieve the
unbearable pressure on his shoulders, but his right knee refused to help. It
throbbed and pulsed and threatened to collapse.

Ebb fell to his knees and bowed his head right down to the
ground.

For one crazy moment, Ben thought that God had answered his
prayers and struck the bastard down with a heart attack.

Ebb stayed this way for almost ten minutes, occasionally
bobbing his head up and down like a chicken pecking corn. He then climbed to
his feet and addressed the three women. ‘Jesus has spoken.’

‘Praise Jesus,’ Sister Alice shouted.

Tears shimmered in Ebb’s bloodshot eyes. ‘Jesus has accepted
Benjamin’s confession. Praise Jesus.’

‘Praise Jesus,’ the three women agreed.

‘But Jesus has told me to be wary. Very wary indeed. The
lazy are inclined towards deception. We must leave no stone unturned in
Benjamin’s rehabilitation.’

Ben shut his eyes.

‘Are you ready to reject the ways of Satan?’

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil
, Ben’s mind
chanted like a mantra.

‘Answer the Father,’ Sister Alice said.

Ben thought about his dead baby brother. What was his name?
Why couldn’t he remember his name? His mother had said there was a star up in
the sky named after him. The star of…

Ebb rambled on: ‘Jesus has told me you are to complete
fourteen days hard labour and fourteen days of fasting following the Night of
Naked Reconciliation. Do you accept Jesus’s ruling?’

The name began with D. Darren? David? No. It was a longer
name than that. Donovan?

Ebb stood in front of the cross, the hatpin held out in
front of him like a sparkler on Bonfire Night. He heated up the tip of the
hatpin with the lighter.

‘Dominic,’ Ben shouted, as he remembered his baby brother’s
name.

Ebb nodded. ‘Demonic, indeed, Benjamin.’