Fellow feeling

"Hang on a minute," Margaret cut in. "What's the connection between you and Hewson, then? Just because you're both shopkeepers, why would you and him have anything to do with each other?"

"Business Fellowship..." said Alice tentatively, looking at Molly, who nodded.

"Business Fellowship?" asked Margaret. "What's that got to do with the price of eggs?"

Molly made a 'calm down' gesture with her hands and said, "perhaps we'd better let Mr Armstrong tell us all about it, don't you think?"

Realising all eyes were on him again, Phil continued.

"Yes, that's right. We're both in the Business Fellowship. Hewson's head of the group, as a matter of fact. There's nothing funny about it, not secretive or anything. It's just a way of getting to know other business owners, the odd social, doing a bit of collecting for charity, that kind of thing.

"Well it used to be, anyway. But over the past year or so ... well, you don't know what it's like to see the people you know, people who are your friends, just go to the wall like that."

He paused, took a sip of his tea.

"So that night Hewson came along with his idea, well we were more than ready to listen. All of us knew that it could be any one of us next. And with odds like that, what he was suggesting didn't seem that bad, to be honest."

When he stopped again to drink his tea, Molly interrupted.

"So it was then," she said, "that you found God?"



Part Three begins here.