'It can't hurt to try anyway,' Ben pointed out.

The secretary at the desk closest to the front of the office hung up the phone she'd been chattering into and looked up expectantly at the visitors. 'Can I help you?' she asked.

'Hello,' the Doctor said. 'We're related to Harold Reitman and we were wondering if we could talk to someone dealing with his estate.'

The secretary nodded and called to a bespectacled potbellied man who was poring over a newspaper at the back of the room.

The man scuttled across and peered over his glasses at the Doctor. 'Richard Nathanson,' he said. 'What can I do for you?'

The Doctor smiled. 'I'm the Doctor, and these are Polly and Ben. We're members of Harold Reitman's family and we were wondering if he had left anything to us in his will? I can't help thinking that if there was something it would ease our pain at this sad time.'

'I'm sorry, Doctor,' Nathanson said, 'he didn't leave any of you anything.'

'Nothing?'

The lawyer shook his head. 'I'm sorry.'

'But that can't be!' Polly said. 'Surely he must have done?'

She slouched down in a chair, put her head in her hands and started to sob. 'Oh, Uncle Harold, what have they done?'

'It's hard, I know,' Nathanson said, 'but I'm afraid that's the way it is. He never mentioned you to me, I must say.'

'Mr Nathanson, are you sure about this?' the Doctor asked.

'I don't suppose we could take a look at the will, to see for ourselves that you're not mistaken?'

Nathanson shrugged. 'I'm sorry, Doctor. That will is confidential.'

'Oh go on,' the Doctor pleaded. 'Look at poor Polly.'

Polly looked up, her eyes red. 'Someone changed it, they must have done. Harold would never have done that.'

Nathanson shook his head and sighed. 'I suppose it won't do too much harm.' He lowered his voice. 'Just don't tell anyone I showed it to you.' He stood up and walked over to a filing cabinet, opened it, sifted through a row of folders then retrieved a document which he placed in front of the Doctor.

'Let me see,' Polly said, looking over the Doctor's shoulder.

'I'm afraid he's right, Polly,' the Doctor said, inspecting the will. 'It's all been left to the Friends of the Community of Los Angeles.' He looked up at Nathanson and smiled. 'Ah, of course. FOCAL must be a nickname.'

He flicked through the will to the last page, smiled then handed it back to Nathanson. 'Thank you,' he said. 'You've been most helpful. I'm sorry for taking up your time.'

Nathanson shrugged. 'Death is never pleasant, Doctor. It's a very tense time for the family. Mr Reitman paid us to administer his estate and part of that included making sure the relatives are informed. Just don't go spreading it around that I showed you that will. I've done you a massive favour, you know.' The Doctor nodded and began to walk out of the office. 'Thank you very much.'

'Did you see that?' he asked once he and his companions were out of earshot and on their way back to the car. 'At the bottom of the will was a signature. A signature from an independent witness, the only person other than the lawyer who could know the contents of the will. A signature belonging to a "C. Wallis".'

Chapter Eleven.

The house, in a quiet part of the San Fernando valley, was a small one-storey building covered in greying white paint that had peeled off the timber walls revealing a layer of mould underneath. Mosquitoes hovered around the overgrown garden, and a sign saying NO TRESPASSERS had long been trampled into the browny-green undergrowth.

'Here we are then,' said Maria, as she slid her key into the door.

Chate shook his head in disbelief as he stepped over the threshold. He'd seen Maria's old house on Wilshire, or at least seen photos of it. The giant stone walls surrounding the building meant it was very difficult for the public to get a good view of the place an enormous mansion guarded by a gang of very unfriendly bulldogs. This house, this out-of-town shack, was about as far removed from that one as Chate could imagine. He just couldn't connect his image of Maria Coleman, glamorous multimillionairess, with this dive.

They walked into the house and Maria flicked on the lights, filling the room with a warm yellow glow.

'Do you live here?' was all Chate could think of to say as he stared at the fading paintwork and dust-covered antique furniture.

'For now,' Maria told him, her voice slightly tinged with sadness. She sat down in a large armchair and gestured for Chate to sit as well. 'I wasn't joking about being on the nut you know.'

Chate knew she was bankrupt, but he just couldn't imagine her living this kind of life. She was a movie star, she was meant to be a movie star for the rest of her life. It just wasn't right that she should spend her life as an everyday citizen.

'So how long have you been here?' he asked.

'About six months now. I've lived in three places over the last two years, each less glamorous than the last. I had to get away, you know? I had to leave LA, leave the people, leave my failed career.'

'Leave your debts?' Chate blurted it out before he could stop himself.

'Possibly,' Maria said, glaring at him. 'Anyway, I've purposely been lying low. I'm surprised you found me.'

Chate smiled. 'It took a bit of work. So why don't you move out? Now that you're back in business, so to speak.'

Maria shrugged. 'This place used to belong to my grandparents, you know. I inherited it when they died, but never had any use for it until now. I don't know, I kind of like it here I guess. I'd had enough of Hollywood, and this place just seems to suit me. At least until the hype for my new pictures starts to build, then I'll no doubt be forced back to the city by my job and will soon forget this rural idyll.' She let out a light chuckle.

'Excuse me,' she said before standing up and disappearing into a side room that looked like a kitchen.

Chate glanced around, admiring the furniture. His attention was caught by a few tiny plastic bags on a desk at the side of the room. Bags of white powder, sitting next to a couple of medical syringes.

Before he could worry about what he'd seen, Maria returned from the kitchen carrying two glasses that brimmed with dark red wine.

'Here,' she said, handing one to Chate. 'A toast to our new friendship.'

Chate raised his glass. 'To our new friendship. And to your future success.'

Tasting the wine, he was surprised to find that it was quite bitter. He associated everything about Maria with being sweet, and had even expected her wine to be the same.

'So about that box,' Chate said, finally deciding to broach the subject. 'Have you decided to ask the Star Light people what it is?'

Maria looked at him as if he'd asked the most ridiculous question possible. 'Why would I? When I connect with them, I know all I need to know. There's no point in trying to find out anything else when you have total knowledge.'

'Them?'

'Them. It. The magic, the fairies. Whatever the hell it is that makes that box such a wonderful thing to own. And there's more, you know.' Once again, Maria stood up. This time she beckoned for Chate to follow her into the kitchen.

She reached into a cupboard and pulled out a large clay jar.

She unscrewed the lid, and handed the jar to Chate. 'Be careful,'

she said, 'I'd hate for you to drop that.'

Chate looked inside the jar and saw a swirling pool of light, like white-hot volcanic lava, swimming and sloshing around inside it. Was this the same stuff that had been in the box or was it more than that? Specks of gold jumped up in the air from time to time, and Chate was sure he could hear the liquid crackling.

'Look closer,' Maria said. 'You'll see what I mean. What I showed you earlier was just a talisman, a confidence-booster.

This is the real stuff, this is the natural form of the raw material the box was coated with.'

Chate was barely aware of Maria's words: they were only drifting around the edges of his consciousness.

'Drink it,' she said. 'Go on.'

He did, and felt a warming and empowering sensation like nothing he'd ever felt before. He could feel an abundance of energy flowing through his body as the liquid went deeper into his system. He could feel the weight of all his problems just drifting away. 'Careful,' Maria said.

Chate took one last sip, then placed the jar back down on the table. He could feel the liquid darting around his body nipping and tucking all the problems and nags, warming the places where he was cold and soothing the anger in his soul. He felt like he had a new sense of purpose. He could taste the feeling of heading for a new destiny.

He had a vision of Revere's villa. Of the body lying on the floor. He laughed as he realised that he'd won. Today the world thought he was dead. Tomorrow they'd check the dental records and realise he hadn't died in the fire, sure, but for today he was free and, more than that, he was complete. He knew now that it didn't matter if Reitman's death, Revere's death or any other crime was pinned on him. He was beyond that, he was better than that. He could bend anyone to believe what he wanted them to. The golden liquid made him feel untouchable. It made him feel alive. It made him feel invincible, like he could live for ever. One simple drink, one moment in time when he could have been doing a million and one other things, and his life had completely turned around.

'I think I love you,' he told Maria, without even thinking about it.

Maria smiled, and moved closer to him. Chate reached out and put his arms around her. They kissed for a few moments, then Maria separated their embrace. Chate pulled her closer to him, then felt her gently pushing him away. 'Later,' she said softly, 'I think you ought to see the effect my gift has on the public at large. See how much they love you.'

'I don't understand,' Chate said, wondering what Maria was implying.

'Let's go to Star Light,' she suggested. 'You can meet some of my friends. Then tomorrow we'll go back to the Moon Beam, have a few drinks, and plan the future.'

'You like that bar, huh?'

Maria nodded. 'They love me at that place, and I'm sure they'll soon love you just as much.'

Chate grinned. 'Sounds like fun.'

'So is that OK then?' Maria asked, pointing to the jar.

'You're going to help me and my friends to help others discover the light we've found?'

Chate nodded. 'Oh God, yes. We'll work together, you and me. We'll spread the word, we'll make millions happy. We'll be worshipped, loved and adored for all time.'

Maria grinned. 'Do you know what, Robert?' She paused, then reached down, picked up the jar and began to walk towards the door. 'I think I love you too.'

Robert Chate knew then that this was the happiest moment of his life.

Chapter Twelve.

The bad weather that had plagued the city had finally ceased and golden-yellow sunlight blazed through the window of Captain Charles Wallis's office. The light reflected off the brown oak panelling and exposed for all to see the dust particles that filled the air.

From a comfortable chair in front of Wallis's desk Ben sat watching the grizzled policeman, who shielded his eyes as he looked out on the busy street five storeys below.

Wallis took a sip of his coffee and smiled.

'This is the best bit of my job, you know,' he told Ben and the Doctor. 'That time when I can just look out across the city and know that I'm the one in charge. All the criminals, all the fraudsters, all the Communists... Slowly but surely they're all being rounded up. Somewhere in this city, my boys are making a difference.'

'Yes,' the Doctor said quietly. 'But are your boys making a good difference or a bad difference? Is justice really being served, or are innocent people getting harmed?'

'We're the LAPD, Doctor. We protect the innocent.'

The Doctor smiled. 'Do you know, Captain, I'm so pleased to hear that, because that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.'

'Yeah, well, it had better be good, because I only have a few spare minutes, and after the way you interfered in the operation at Silent Gold I really should have you locked up, you know?'

'Hey,' Ben said, his first words since sitting down, 'that's not fair. If it wasn't for the Doctor, loads more people might have been injured.'

The Doctor shot Ben a Look that told him to be quiet.

Wallis sighed. 'Spill then, and quick.'

'I've come here about a film,' the Doctor announced. 'A film I believe you might have heard of.'

Wallis turned away from the Doctor and returned to his window-gazing. 'I don't go to the movies. Waste of time, waste of money.'

'Well, putting aside your personal prejudices, there's one film you really should be looking into. It's a film that I suspect could be part of a conspiracy to exert mind control over the people of this city. You must force the production company to submit all their documents for inspection. We have to be sure that there's nothing untoward about the film. If possible, I think it would be wise to contact the MPPDA and ask them to halt the film's distribution until we're sure that its safe.'

Wallis's face was a picture of bemusement. When the Doctor had said his piece, the policeman could no longer withhold his emotion and burst out laughing. 'Come on, Doctor!' he said. 'Mind control? I think you've perhaps been to the movies one too many times!'

'Oi,' Ben snapped. 'Hear him out.'

'I like you,' Wallis said, with a hint of intentional menace.