‘We’re all pretty shocked,’ Carl told Granger. ‘I guess Season and Vee are both going to feel like a good hot soak in the tub, and we’re all going to need a brandy. You’ll have to forgive us if we act a little odd. I thought we were all going to die for a moment there, and what these girls have been through doesn’t bear thinking about.’

‘I’d like to stay and help, if I can,’ said Granger. ‘But won’t you think about coming down to join us? From what I hear, there are mobs attacking private houses all over. We saw five or six houses burning along Topanga Canyon alone.’

‘Is it really that serious?’ asked Vee, unsteadily.

‘Oh, it’s serious all right,’ nodded Granger. ‘And by the looks of it, it’s going to get a whole lot worse. Have you heard the news about all food less than three weeks old being contaminated? And I mean, all food.’

‘We heard it on the news,’ said Carl. ‘They said it was only a rumour – unconfirmed.’

‘I don’t think so,’ said Granger, shaking his head. ‘I wish it were.’

Carl said: ‘So what’s your congregation going to do? Pool their food? Try to survive by sticking together?’

‘That’s right,’ said Granger. ‘From what I hear, groups of people are getting together all over the country for their mutual protection. I mean, Carl, there aren’t just Angels out there now, there are organised mobs of looters. And our particular advantage at the Church of the Practical Miracle is that one of my oldest friends is Mike Bull, who runs the Hughes supermarket on Highland. He has a whole stockroom of food down there which he managed to keep out of the hands of the looters. He called me last night and asked if I could get together about a hundred really trustworthy and responsible people, so that we could barricade ourselves in with all that food and try to weather this whole crisis through.’

‘What about the contaminated food?’ asked Vee.

‘That’s easy. Mike’s a supermarket manager, so he knows all the dating codes. He won’t feed us with anything risky.’

Season stood up. She was very pale, and for the first time she felt the acute muscular pain of what Oxnard had done to her. Reality was just beginning to jangle through the soundproofing of shock. ‘Can we really justify shutting ourselves in with all that food, while other people starve?’ she asked Granger. ‘Is that really what Christ would have advocated?’

Granger stared at her for a long moment. ‘Christ said. There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake. Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.’