The Revelation Room (The Ben Whittle Investigation Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Rapture?’
    ‘Some religious nonsense. It’s got something to do with the
end of time. A spaceship is supposed to be coming down from Heaven to pick up
the good and the great or some such rubbish.’
    ‘A spaceship?’
    ‘It’s utter hogwash. The cult is trying to extort money from
its members. If you ask me, they’ve all been brainwashed.’
    Ben saw an opening. ‘This money that Emily asked for? Where
are you supposed to send it?’
    Annabelle pulled at the sleeve of her cardigan. ‘I haven’t
got to send it anywhere. They’re going to send someone to pick it up.’
    ‘Was there a postmark on the envelope to say where it was
posted?’ Ben asked.
    ‘No. It was hand-delivered. Do you want to see it?’
    Ben nodded. ‘If that’s all right.’
    ‘She asks for quite a considerable sum of money. Two hundred
thousand pounds.’
    Ben abandoned discretion. ‘Bloody hell! How much?’
    ‘I’ll fetch the letter.’
    Annabelle returned a few minutes later with the letter. She
handed it to Ben. ‘I gave her everything, Mr Whittle. All of me. You look too
young to have children, but one day you’ll understand. You’ll understand that
there is no greater love than the one you have for your child.’
    Ben took the letter from the envelope and read:
     
    Dear Mother,
    It’s been a while. Hope you are well. I would ask about
Father, but I expect him to be floating on his usual bed of cholesterol. It’s
been hectic here. We’ve been working hard making preparations for The Rapture.
For our glorious union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
    I know Father will dismiss this letter. But I speak the
truth. The universal truth of Jesus Christ. I shall pray for Father that he
might see the error of his ways. I know that he can’t see what he is. That is
one consequence of bigotry. The Lord will judge him accordingly.
    We are The Chosen. We are to meet with the Lord on The
Final Day of Reckoning. To help us achieve this glorious dream, we need a vast
sum of money to construct a spaceship. All members of The Sons and Daughters of
Salvation are being asked to contribute the sum of two hundred thousand pounds.
Please don’t tell me you cannot afford this, because I know that you can, with
plenty left over to indulge your extravagant lifestyle.
    Please look upon this as my inheritance. What is due to
me. I shall spend it wisely, for there is no greater purpose than serving the
Lord. We shall be resurrected, as was Jesus after the Crucifixion. The Lord is
our salvation. He, and He alone is our keeper.
    A motorcycle courier will collect the sum of two hundred
thousand pounds from you on a date which will be specified in my next letter.
You are to hand it to him in Daddy’s brown leather briefcase. Please don’t
think about having him followed.
    Your loving daughter,
    Emily.
     
    Ben put the letter down on the coffee table. ‘Have you had
any more contact with your daughter since this letter?’
    ‘Nothing.’
    ‘When did the letter arrive?’
    ‘Easter.’
    ‘Three months ago? That’s quite a while.’
    ‘We called your father soon after that.’
    Ben recapped. ‘So all you know is that your daughter met a
busker in Oxford called Marcus and then she joined this cult?’
    ‘That’s about it.’
    ‘What were you going to do if my father located Emily?’
    ‘I don’t know. Barnaby was talking about getting her back.
Forcibly, if need be. He claims to know people . It’s probably all talk.
Most things are with him.’
    ‘Have you got a photograph of Emily that I could borrow?’
    ‘I’ve got nothing up to date. Your father took the last
school photo. Emily hated having her picture taken. I’ll see what I can find.’
    Annabelle returned five minutes later with a six by four
photo taken on a beach. ‘This was taken on our last family holiday together.’
    Ben took the photo. Emily’s brown eyes looked blank. Her
lips were compressed into a thin line. Her dark hair was scraped back from her
forehead and tied in a