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

by Mark Tilbury

  Ben wanted to tell his father about Old Joe and Pastor Tom, and how Pastor Tom had taught him to throw his voice, but he didn’t want to talk about his childhood. Not now. Perhaps never. ‘I don’t know. It was just a spur of the moment thing, really. I knew how much that dog meant to him, so I thought it might distract him if he believed the dog was still alive.’

  ‘It was nothing short of heroic, son. Bloody heroic.’

  Ben looked away. ‘Thanks.’

  Geoff changed the subject. ‘You look like a pirate with that patch. How long are you going to have to wear it for?’

  ‘Just until the swelling goes down.’

  ‘Thank God he didn’t blind you.’

  Ben looked at his hands. The hands that had attacked Edward Ebb. He still couldn’t believe that he’d found the courage to do it.

  ‘Look, son, I’m not going to beat about the bush. We’ve got to face facts. I might never walk again.’

  ‘You don’t know that, Dad.’

  Geoff held up a hand. ‘Whatever happens, I’m not going to be fit enough to go out on operations anymore. My days of climbing trees are well and truly behind me. I’m in my mid-fifties as it is. To tell you the truth, I’ve been wanting to hand over the reins for a long time, but I didn’t think you were up to it.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘But I was wrong. I never gave you the chance to prove yourself. Ever since you could talk I was telling you to shut up. I thought I could mould you into a man, just like my father did to me. But I was wrong. You were different to me and Granddad. We both thrived on discipline. You seem to have more of your mother’s genes in you.’

  Ben grinned. ‘Are you saying I’m a girl?’

  ‘I’m just saying you’re sensitive. But that doesn’t make you any less of a man. Maybe it makes you more of a man. Anyway, you’ve shown me you’re more than capable of stepping into the breach. The job’s yours if you want it.’

  ‘But what are you going to do?’

  ‘I’ll run the office and do what I can once I’m in better shape.’

  Ben looked at his hands. His mind was caught in a no-man’s-land between elation and doubt.

  ‘You don’t have to tell me right away. Take your time and have a think about it. I’m not pressurising you into doing anything. I’ve done enough of that up to now.’

  ‘I don’t need to think about it. It would be an honour to work as a private investigator for Whittle Investigations.’

  ‘Good. Now bugger off. I need to rest. Take that young lady out for a meal. On me.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Of course I’m bloody sure. Why else would I have said it?’

  Ben didn’t walk out of ward 5C. He floated out on legs filled with helium. He took a lift down to level two and found Maddie in the League of Friends canteen. Maddie waved. At him! How cool was that? Her hair was swept back and secured in its customary ponytail.

  Ben grinned. ‘Do you fancy going out for a meal?’

  ‘I’m a bit skint.’

  ‘Don’t worry about that. It’s on the old man.’

  ‘Then I’d love to.’

  ‘Italian?’

  ‘Italian would be great.’

  They left the canteen and took the stairs down to ground level. They walked out of the hospital into a beautiful warm summer afternoon. Ben stopped and turned to Maddie. ‘How do you fancy working with me?’

  Maddie frowned. ‘Doing what?’

  ‘My dad’s put me in charge of investigations. I wondered if you wanted to help? Be my assistant? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.’

  Maddie smiled and poured sunshine into those beautiful green eyes. ‘I’d love to, Ben.’

  Ben wanted to kiss her. He wanted to hug her tight and declare his undying love from the rooftops.

  ‘Cool,’ he said, before almost walking into a bollard and stubbing his toe on the kerb.

  THE END

  Note From the Author

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to say a huge thank you to all those who have helped with the creation and promotion of The Revelation Room.

  Thanks to Lesley Jones who proofread and edited the first draft and helped me to see how the story could be improved.

  Special thanks to Maggie James who gave her time to beta read the book. She has contributed massively to the marketing and editing of this book.

  Also, a huge thank you to my girlfriend, Cassie, who helps with all aspects of social media and the production of images for my blog.

  Thank you for reading The Revelation Room, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If you did enjoy it please could I ask you to take a couple of minutes to write a review on Amazon? Reviews are helpful for both readers and authors.

  I write an author blog called Mark my Words: http://www.marktilbury.com and you can also find me across social media:

  Twitter: @MTilburyAuthor

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  E-mail mark@marktilbury.com