Ben shrugged. 'Maybe they're old pals. You know... bigwig director like that, probably always dealing with the cops.'

'Maybe,' the Doctor said, but he didn't seem convinced.

'Look at what they're wearing. Do you see anything strange?'

Ben looked hard but couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary.

'Look at their lapels,' said the Doctor.

'Oh yeah,' said Ben, noticing that both men were wearing a small dark purple rose in their lapels. 'Maybe it's the fashion?'

'Or a signal,' the Doctor said with a slight smile, pleased at his powers of observation.

He suddenly flattened himself against the pillar, and pulled Ben back to do the same. The two men had finished their conversation and were walking away in different directions. De Sande passed the Doctor's hiding place, but didn't notice the eavesdroppers.

Once he was out of sight, the Doctor relaxed and moved out into the corridor.

'Yes, there's something going on here, I'm sure. Those roses must be a signal, but a signal for what?' He rolled his eyes skyward in thought and began tapping his chin. 'Do you know what, Ben, I think I'm going to enjoy that party tomorrow!'

Chapter Six.

Bathed in ripples of moonlight reflected off the crashing ocean waves, Sunset Mansion stood like a lonely watchman looking out over Marina Del Ray. As the limousine carrying the Doctor, Ben and Polly drove along the narrow road leading to the house, the driver explained that the building dated from the turn of the century. Leonard De Sande had purchased it in order to thoroughly renovate the place and had turned it into a luxury mansion.

After sleeping in until late, the Doctor and his friends had spent a few hours seeing one or two tourist attractions before preparing for the party, and at seven o'clock the car had arrived at their hotel to pick them up.

As the limo drove through the heavy iron gates in front of the building and up the long gravel driveway, Ben noticed that the mansion was surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens.

They seemed out of place when juxtaposed against the almost sinister architecture of the house itself, which reminded him of something out of a Dracula film.

The limo driver stopped the car and the passengers got out to find themselves being welcomed by De Sande's butler. He escorted them through to an elaborately decorated entrance hall, where a large number of well-dressed people were exchanging gossip and small talk whilst drinking glasses of champagne and picking at bits of smoked salmon from plates being circulated by several waitresses.

'What do you reckon to this then, Doctor?' Ben said. 'Bit posh, isn't it?'

The Doctor smiled as a waitress handed him a glass of champagne. 'It is indeed,' he replied, passing the glass to Polly, 'I think Mr De Sande just wants to make sure we get the right impression of him. The hospitality here certainly seems very friendly.'

Ben looked around at the various other party guests, but saw no one he recognised or who looked remotely interesting.

'I do hope you're enjoying yourselves!' a voice boomed. It was De Sande.

'Yeah,' Ben said, turning to face the man. 'Amazing place you've got here. Surprised someone as flush as you wants to mix with the likes of us.'

De Sande looked hurt. 'I've had to work hard for my wealth, you know. I'm from a very poor background originally. My brother was even sent to prison because he had to steal to feed his family. No, I've seen hardship, and now that I've achieved success I don't think there's any harm in enjoying it, do you?'

Ben shrugged. 'I suppose not.'

De Sande turned to the Doctor, who was busy examining a shelled prawn as if he'd never seen one in his life. 'So good of you to accept my invitation, Doctor. I do hope you and your friends enjoy the evening.'

'Why, thank you,' the Doctor said, 'I'm looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us.'

The smile on De Sande's lips was conspiratorial. 'And I'm sure you'll change your tune about what movies can be like.

Now if you'll excuse me...'

He scuttled over to a table of food and picked up a fork which he tapped several times on the base of his champagne glass, attracting everyone's attention. 'Ladies and gentlemen,' he announced loudly, 'if you 'd like to make your way through to the screening room, tonight's presentation will begin very shortly. If you could all sign the nondisclosure forms my staff have prepared, on your way in, I'd be pretty grateful. It's just a formality but, hey, I don't have to tell you people that you can never be too careful in this town.' A ripple of polite laughter spread through the crowd.

The screening room had been converted from an old dining hall into a cinema complete with screen, aisles and seats. At the front a podium had been erected, behind which stood De Sande, ready to introduce his film once everyone was seated.

'And now,' the director announced, a wide grin smeared across his face, 'may I present my proudest work yet. I don't want to say anything about it now, I just want you to watch, enjoy and hopefully take away with you this evening something that you will always remember.'

The lights dimmed and the noise of a whirring projector could be heard from the back of the auditorium.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' De Sande said, 'my new picture.' He paused for dramatic effect. ' Dying Dying...' Another pause. '... in the Sun in the Sun!'

The film began with an aerial view of a city street and at first appeared unremarkable, but as the plot unfolded the audience found themselves more and more involved in the action. It was a story about a man who saw monsters. At first only out of the corner of his eye, and eventually face to face, he saw terrifying beasts killing innocent people, yet he was the only one who could see them and no one would believe him when he told them about the creatures. The film explored the man's torment, his quest to find out whether he was insane or not.

As Ben watched it he found himself carried away to another world. The film contained incredible effects, unlike anything he'd ever seen before, and his concentration was only broken by the occasional sound of sobbing from other audience members.

He couldn't believe the way the film was engaging with his emotions, was affecting him. This truly was a masterpiece.

Towards the end of the film the man finally confronted one of the monsters, facing demons in reality and in his soul. He ended his relationship with his girlfriend in a tearful but peaceful farewell, then ran away down a city street, chased by a terrifying demon that seemed to fly not only after the protagonist but also out towards the audience, making everyone gasp. 'Araka na kana arakah!' the demon cried. Ben had never seen a three-dimensional effect quite like it. As the man ran he looked back at the demon, every so often raising an eyebrow and muttering a witty one-liner. At one point a cop tried to stop his progress but he punched him in the face, knocking him out of the way. After he had finally defeated the monster, the city scene melted away to reveal that the man was actually in a Dantean vision of hell.

Not just a studio set but a place unlike anywhere on Earth, filled with volcanoes, torture racks and demons. As he moved through hell, with no memory of his former life, the man discovered that he was a murderer who had killed a string of victims the ones he had seen the monsters kill earlier in the film. The film's message was clear: that the only true monsters are the ones that come from within. After the man had finally returned from hell to begin a new life in Los Angeles, the image on the screen faded until the screening room was immersed in complete darkness.

Darkness. Nothingness. A chance to pause for breath, to gradually wake up from the perfect dream.

And then the film stopped, the lights went on and De Sande returned to the podium to a din of rapturous applause.

'Thank you, thank you,' he said. 'Now if you'd like to make your way through to the reception room there's plenty of food and wine for everyone, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.'

Ben was still startled by the experience of watching the film, but soon gathered his composure enough to stand up. He looked down at the Doctor who was staring intently at the cinema screen, deep in thought.

'Come on, Doctor,' Ben said, tugging at his friend's sleeve.

'You heard the man. He'll be outside if you've got any questions.'

The Doctor looked up at him and smiled, breaking out of his trance. 'Questions? Jolly good, jolly good. Yes, I've got questions. I just hope Mr De Sande will be able to answer them!'

Back in the reception area the guests were excitedly discussing the film.

'That truly was amazing,' Polly said. 'I've never felt anything like that in my life. Such an emotional rollercoaster. Do you know, I think that could possibly be the best film I've ever seen?'

The Doctor seemed intrigued. 'You liked it that much?'

'Of course. I've never felt so... so alive. I could almost feel the story reaching inside me. It was a wonderful, emotional experience. Mr De Sande is so clever.'

'He is indeed,' said one of the party guests, butting into the conversation. 'I felt as if it was portraying the world I was born to live in. At first it was like looking into hell itself, but then the world changed and it was like I was looking into heaven.'

'I know what you mean,' Ben agreed. 'It just felt so strange, like the characters were speaking to me personally, not just to the audience. I felt like I was connected with the film somehow.

Pretty amazing stuff, I reckon.'

'Do you know, I really can't see it,' said the Doctor.

'Everyone's saying the same thing. How they felt a link with the picture, how the characters were speaking to them. To me it seemed rather mediocre.'

The party guest looked at the Doctor like he was a madman.

'Are you sure you saw the same film I did, buddy?' Clearly bemused by the Doctor's criticisms, the man disappeared to hobnob with some other guests, leaving the Doctor alone with Ben and Polly.

'You must admit your reaction's a bit different from everyone else's,' Ben pointed out. 'Did you really think it was mediocre? Come on, Doctor, that was incredible. Besides, what about the effects? You've got to admit they're pretty impressive.

I've never seen anything like them before.'

'Ah,' said the Doctor, picking up a sandwich from a table, 'the effects were indeed very interesting and very spectacular. I didn't think that sort of thing was possible yet.'

He looked around the room thoughtfully. 'Yes, I definitely want a word or two with our friend Mr De Sande.'

He shuffled to the front of the large crowd that had gathered around De Sande and Ben and Polly followed. The buzz of excited chatter that filled the room showed that everyone at the party was extremely excited by the film they had just seen.

A large man barged through the crowd and handed De Sande a drink. 'I tell you,' he bellowed, 'Paramount's pants are going to be mighty stained when this one comes out.'

'Did you see the camerawork?' a bespectacled man said. 'I could have sworn we were looking out of a window.'

'Please, my friends,' De Sande said, trying to calm things down. 'I'm grateful for your flattery, but I'm finding this all rather embarrassing. While I believe this is my best film yet, I don't know if I deserve this kind of praise.'

'Of course you do!' the large man said. 'Star Light's looking for investors right? I think you've found one tonight, my old friend!'

De Sande nodded. 'That's very kind of you, Alex.'

While the Doctor seemed enthralled by all the displays of sycophancy, Ben and Polly were rapidly tiring of the situation.

As the discussion turned to money, another chaotic scramble for De Sande's attention began, and Ben realised there would be little point in hanging around in the crowd.

'Come on,' he said, hooking his arm round one of Polly's, 'let's get some food. You all right for drink?'

'I'm fine, thanks,' Polly said, 'though there were times in there when I wondered whether I'd had a tad too much already!'

'Yeah,' Ben agreed, watching the crowd around De Sande out of the corner of his eye. 'I know what you mean.' He reached down to a plate of food on a nearby table. 'Fancy a sandwich?'

'No thanks,' Polly said politely. 'I'm not really hungry.'

'Yeah, but let's enjoy it, eh? One night living the life of Riley never hurt anyone, and if some rich American wants to splash out his cash on us then that's fine by me!'

They clinked glasses and grinned at each other. 'Come on,'

Polly said, 'we'd better go and rescue the Doctor.'

'Or rescue the others from him,' Ben added with mock disdain. 'I'm just off to the boys' room, see you in a mo.'

Polly marched over to the Doctor, who was engaged in a futile attempt to extract the secrets of the film from De Sande.

'Oh, do tell me,' he was saying. 'I'm something of a scientist, you know. I'm very curious to know how you created those three-dimensional effects. They truly were stunning.'

'Doctor, Doctor,' De Sande said, shaking his head. 'A magician never reveals his secrets. You know I can't tell you anything.'

He reached down to a nearby table and picked up a brochure which he handed to the Doctor. 'Take this, Doctor.

It's a little piece of promotional material I had put together for the film. It should tell you some of what you want to know.'

'I don't want to read about the film,' the Doctor said dismissively. 'I want to hear the details from the man behind the camera... your good self.'

'I'm sorry, Doctor,' De Sande said, 'but I'm revealing nothing. Sure, ask me about the story, about the actors, about whatever you like, but I'm not revealing anything about the technical process. Just assume it's Hollywood magic and leave it at that.'

He walked away. The Doctor made a move to follow him but Polly held him back.

'Don't worry, Doctor,' she said, guiding her friend away from the crowd. 'I'm sure you'll learn all the tricks of the trade one of these days.'

As he left the bathroom Ben was about to return to the party when his attention was distracted by a distant, echoing noise on the edge of his perception. At first he thought someone must have left a window open and that he'd been hearing the wind.

When he heard the sound again he realised that it came from the end of the corridor he stood in, a long, wood-panelled affair like something out of a Victorian library which ran deep into the house. He proceeded down the corridor and as he did so he heard the noise again, much louder this time. It was as if someone was trying to shout angrily yet was only able to whisper. He couldn't make out the words he didn't think they were English and they were muffled by what he could only call distortion, a sound like a poorly received radio signal. He had heard that kind of thing while on assignment in the Pacific, and wondered whether someone in De Sande's house was a bit of an amateur radio buff. The sound seemed to be coming from the end of the corridor, where he noticed a strange, green-gold light creeping through a crack in a slightly open door.

'Hello,' he muttered to himself, 'what's this all about?'