'I have. It's most impressive. Tell me, how did you come up with the idea for the film?'

Roth shrugged. 'It wasn't that complicated really. So much of the film is in the direction, so much was improvised. It's all down to Leonard really. I just provided a frame for him to work within. We had to have a story that promoted FOCAL, that would inspire others to go out and live a pure life dedicated to helping others through personal gain. The "man in hell" concept came to me quite easily, to be honest.'

The Doctor looked content with this answer. 'I see. So you're something of an expert on FOCAL's religious persuasions?'

Roth let out a high-pitched chuckle. 'Well, I hear as much as the rest of us do and follow Brother Reinert's instructions, but not as much as De Sande would like. Very few of us do. I mean, come on, let's face it... Knowing De Sande, knowing half the others here... it's all networking, isn't it? I'm quite prepared to change my religion if it means I skip a few rungs on the Hollywood ladder, if you know what I mean. I'm sure you've noticed that expertise in our religious beliefs is hardly a pre-requisite for joining this lot.'

The Doctor let out a false laugh and jokingly nudged Roth in the ribs with his elbow. 'Indeed, Mr Roth. Indeed.'

Ben was about to ask the Doctor how much longer he was going to spend hobnobbing with the Hollywood brass when his attention was grabbed by the noise of raised voices coming from the back of the auditorium. He and the Doctor, and most of the other people in the room, turned to find out what was going on and saw Captain Wallis standing in front of De Sande waving a white piece of paper in the air.

'Excuse me,' the Doctor said to Roth, before scurrying off in De Sande's direction. Ben followed and soon they were within earshot of De Sande's ranting.

'How can he be alive?' the director yelled. 'What the hell has happened here?'

Wallis seemed to notice people looking at them and fell silent. De Sande turned to the crowd, took a deep breath, then straightened his tuxedo and stormed off towards the front of the room. A raised stage area contained a circular stone stage and a lectern. De Sande hurried behind the lectern, switched on the microphone and cleared his throat.

'Lights please,' he called. The moment he'd spoken the crowd silenced and the lights dimmed. A spotlight burst on to the stage, simultaneously illuminating De Sande's face and casting deep shadows across it. A brief silence, and then he began.

'My friends,' he said gravely. 'I'm afraid I have to interrupt the evening's festivities to bring you some terrible news that our friend in the LAPD has just brought to my attention. It is my sad duty to report a terrible incident, one that I'm sure will cause great sadness to all our members. We assumed he had gone on vacation, but today forensic scientists matched the dental records from a body found in a local arson attack to Martin Revere.' The crowd gasped and began to murmur among themselves.

De Sande continued his announcement. 'The full details of what occurred are still unclear, but it does seem as if he was murdered by the same person who killed Harold Reitman a madman who was believed to have been killed in the arson attack until today's results proved that the body isn't his, that the killer is still very much alive and at large. This is a great tragedy, and one which we must not let get in the way of our work.

Martin would want us to move on, to keep pursuing those goals that we all know are so important. But we must be wary It seems that someone has a grudge against our organisation for some unfathomable reason, and thus it is imperative that we keep our guard up. Be strong and be brave. I have assurances from Captain Wallis that everything possible is being done to catch this madman before he hurts us any more. And now, let us mourn this sombre news and continue with the evening's discussions.' He glanced at his watch. 'The Initiation will take place in thirty minutes.'

He stepped down from the stage and the lighting in the auditorium returned to normal.

'Who's Revere?' the Doctor asked, sidling up to De Sande.

'Someone who should never have got involved with this bastard,' a voice said from the shadows. A glamorous girl with shoulder-length brown hair and a face made up so well that she glowed stepped into the light.

'Rachel!' De Sande said. 'What are you doing here?'

'Shut the hell up, Leonard. I heard what you just said. What are you trying to pull with all that poor Martin stuff? You don't give a damn that he's dead.'

'Rachel!' De Sande said in a patronising tone. 'You're upset.

You shouldn't be here. Charles said you were told this morning about Martin's death. We thought you'd stay at home tonight.'

'You're a bastard, De Sande. Martin was a million times the man you are and he deserved better than to get caught up in your stupid little games. If he hadn't started running your little errands he'd never have got out of his depth with that punk Chate.'

'Rachel, I...'

'Yeah, that's right. I know all about your little deal with Martin.'

'What are you talking about?' sighed De Sande. 'I had no deal with Martin.'

'Oh yeah?' Rachel sneered. 'No deal saying that if he offs Chate you get Wallis to cut your brother free from the caboose.

He told me all about it which means that in my book, as you were the one who sent Martin to find Chate, you were the one who killed him.'

'You're wrong, Rachel,' De Sande insisted.

The expression on Rachel's face was pure anger. 'Liar,' she muttered, before throwing her drink at De Sande and running out of the room.

Ben glanced at the wine-soaked De Sande and decided to go after the woman. He saw her darting up a flight of stairs and followed her into a plush boudoir where she collapsed on a large four-poster bed, crying into a pillow.

'Easy,' Ben said, cautiously sitting next to her on the bed.

'Don't cry, you'll be OK.'

Rachel looked up, confused. 'Who are you?' she asked.

'My name's Ben. I'm new here.'

A silence followed, one that Ben found strangely comfortable.

'So had you been married long?' he asked eventually.

Rachel shrugged. 'Three years, give or take.'

'And you loved him?'

She nodded. 'I guess so. As much as any couple in LA at least.'

'I'm sorry,' Ben said softly.

'It's not your fault,' Rachel said bitterly. 'It's the fault of Leonard De Sande. Him and that Wallis guy. They let Chate live to kill my Martin. They should have cut him down when they wanted to originally.'

'What do you mean?' asked Ben.

She waved an arm half-heartedly around the room. 'Me and Martin came here last week sometime. He left me in here to sleep but I weren't tired. I went downstairs and heard him, Leonard and that Wallis guy talking. They didn't see me, but I got the gist of what was going on.'

'Which was?'

'They were deciding whether to kill this Chate guy or not.

They seemed mighty displeased with him. I think he'd seen something he shouldn't have.'

'What do you mean? What did he see?'

'I dunno.' Rachel pouted her bottom lip. 'They kept mentioning murder. I guess Wallis must have killed someone or something. The cop didn't want to kill Chate, but did say they should arrange to have Chate locked up. Set him up as a murderer, then lock him up and throw away the key. Wallis is close buddies with the DA, so he could stop Chate from getting the death penalty.'

'Bloody hell,' Ben said, 'the Doctor's going to love this.'

Rachel looked at Ben sternly. 'Be careful, yeah? I never liked De Sande, and now Martin's dead... I just wanted to confront him, to let him know that I was unhappy.'

Ben nodded. 'Don't worry, love, I can keep my trap shut.'

This made Rachel chuckle, and as she did so she took Ben's hand in hers and squeezed it. 'Look, you'd better get back to the party. I've said my piece now.'

Ben let go of her hand and stood up. 'Will you be OK?' he asked.

Rachel nodded. 'I'm fine, just give me a few minutes. I'm getting out of here before the ceremony. I can't stand this place any more. Martin used to bring me along for the socialising, but I'm not exactly on good terms with his friends. Anyway, it's been nice meeting you, Ben.'

Ben smiled. 'It's been nice to meet you too.'

Chapter Seventeen.

Ben went back downstairs to the FOCAL gathering and found the Doctor talking to De Sande, who appeared to have changed into a different tuxedo from the one Rachel had thrown her drink over.

'Doctor,' Ben said, 'can I have a word?'

'Ah, Ben!' De Sande said. 'How is Mrs Revere?'

'She's fine,' Ben replied, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

'I'm sorry,' De Sande said. 'That woman is quite upset at the moment. Prone to rambling, I'm afraid.'

'Don't worry,' Ben said. 'She wasn't saying much at all when I saw her.'

De Sande appeared to relax. 'That's how it should be,' he said solemnly. 'She needs all the rest she can get.'

Ben nodded, and pulled the Doctor aside on the pretext of wanting to show him one of the paintings at the edge of the auditorium. He described what Rachel had told him, and the Doctor was clearly impressed with his friend's findings.

'There's only one thing to do now,' the Doctor said. 'Let's ask Wallis what really went on that night.'

'Doctor, are you sure that's wise? They're holding a ceremony or something in a minute. Shouldn't we wait until later, or until the morning?'

The Doctor looked unfazed. 'Oh no, no time like the present.'

He marched over to another corner of the auditorium where Wallis was sitting in front of a buffet table chatting to a group of businessmen, explaining the reasons for the recent drop in the city's crime rate.

The Doctor crept up close behind him.

'Hello, Captain Wallis,' he said in the policeman's ear. Wallis spun around, clasping his chest.

'Don't do that,' he said angrily. 'You scared the life out of me!'

'Oh, I'm sorry,' the Doctor said, pouring himself a glass of bright red punch. 'I hope there's still some left.'

Wallis looked uneasy. He'd blatantly been avoiding the Doctor all night. He stuttered, trying to find something to say that would disguise his clear dislike for the two newcomers. He waved away the men he was talking to, then led the Doctor aside. 'So tell me,' he asked. 'How are you finding FOCAL?'

The Doctor ignored Wallis's words. 'You must be relieved to learn your son is still alive, Captain.' Wallis scowled.

'It's certainly unexpected.'

'Indeed,' agreed the Doctor, 'though I would expect you to be a little more pleased with the news.'

'As you know,' Wallis said, shrugging, 'I don't get on with that man, and I also don't think it's appropriate to go showing my emotions off in public.'

'Of course,' the Doctor said. 'I understand.' He looked down and began examining the food on the table intently, as if searching for a clue in the quiche. 'Ah,' he said finally, picking up a bread roll. 'Here we are.'

He began to munch noisily on the roll, swallowed a mouthful, then washed it down with a swig of punch.

'So go on, then,' Wallis said. 'How are you finding us?'

'Oh, it's a very interesting set-up you've got here. You all seem very friendly. . I can't quite believe what Mr De Sande was saying, that the man who killed your friend holds a grudge against your organisation? Tell me, what exactly did he mean by that? You claim Chate's the killer. Do you really think your own son has a vendetta against your organisation? Or is it just you he dislikes?'

Wallis sighed, then shook his head. 'Who knows?'

'But aren't you eager to learn which it is?'

The policeman shrugged. 'Doctor, I'm just going to keep doing my job. It's all I can do if I want to stay safe. Getting too worried about my lunatic son will only end with me going down the same path. No, Doctor, there's one thing you learn when you serve the LAPD for twenty-five years, and that's to keep your head above water, stay away from places you really don't want to go to and to keep telling everyone else what they want to hear.'

'Oh really?' the Doctor said, smiling. 'And what is it that I want to hear?'

Wallis turned and stared up at a painting on a wall. 'I didn't kill Revere, if that's what you think.'

The Doctor peered round to look at the expression on his face. 'No, you didn't, did you?' he said, intrigued.

Smiling, the Doctor began to rub his hands together. He rolled his eyes skyward, clearly connecting the pieces of the puzzle in his mind. 'My, my, this is interesting. For all your bluster about Chate, for all your accusations, I don't think you ever believed he was the killer. But now... He's the only one who could have murdered Revere, and the very prospect of this has knocked your world out of balance. Everything you thought you knew was wrong, as they say.'

Wallis turned to face the Doctor and Ben, fire in his eyes, anger bubbling up through his voice. 'No,' he said quietly.

'Robert can't have been the killer.'

The Doctor nodded his head and backed away slightly. 'And that, Captain Wallis, is all I needed to hear.'

Wallis looked perplexed as the Doctor continued his explanation.

'You don't believe Chate could kill, thus you can't believe he killed Reitman, and my theory still stands. You did it, didn't you?

You killed Harold?'