Back in the loft space, the Doctor gestured to the boxes. ‘You find something that makes you happy.’

Ben pulled a handful of books from the nearest tea chest, then smiled at something pressed between the pages of one of them. He pulled out a length of string, at the end of which was a deflated red balloon. ‘This is a good memory,’ he said.

‘A burst balloon?’ said the Doctor. ‘You like to remember about the time a balloon burst? Do you know, I’ll never really understand you humans.’

‘It’s not the balloon itself,’ said Ben. ‘It’s where I got it. On my first proper date with Jane, when I was 21 …’

Flash!

The balloon bobbed in the evening air, almost dancing to the sound of the carnival music. The entire town was enjoying the fair.

‘Marvellous!’ beamed the Doctor, a few steps behind Ben and Jane. He followed them closely as they laughed in the house of mirrors, fired a rifle at the shooting gallery, and screamed through a trip on the ghost train.

‘This is brilliant!’ yelled the Doctor from the rear seat of their carriage as it whizzed through a dark tunnel, filled with pretend ghosts and ghouls. ‘Although I do have to say that real ghosts don’t look like that. They’re more of a yellowish-white. Something to do with the sulphur build-up in ectoplasm. Oh, and I can see that vampire reflected in the haunted mirror which – frankly – is just a normal mirror with a face painted on.’

After the ghost train – and the five minutes the Doctor spent trying to explain the errors to the operator – they bought ice creams, and wandered over to a striped tent to join an excited crowd gathered outside.

‘Roll up, roll up!’ cried a side-show operator. ‘Come inside and see a miracle of nature – something that should never be!’

Ben and Jane shared a giggle, then hurried inside, the Doctor close behind. They paid their entrance fee, then joined a group of intrigued people inside the darkened interior.

After a few moments, the lights came up and the showman took to a small wooden stage in front of the crowd. ‘Ladies and gentlemen!’ he exclaimed. ‘It is time to reveal a great secret – a secret hidden from mankind for generations …’ He gestured to a small cage, covered by a blanket.

The Doctor craned his neck, trying to see around Jane’s red balloon.

‘Prepare to be astounded and amazed!’ The man grabbed the corner of the blanket. ‘Man’s best friend can finally converse with him!’ He pulled the blanket away to reveal a dog inside the cage. It was Tess.

‘I’m in so much pain, Ben,’ said the dog, pushing the cage door open with her nose and padding over to him. ‘Please make it go away.’

Ben looked down at his hands and gasped. He was holding one of the rifles from the shooting gallery. The rest of the audience screamed at the sight of the gun and ran out of the tent, leaving Ben, Jane and the Doctor alone with the talking dog.

‘Oh, this is ridiculous!’ groaned the Doctor, aiming his sonic at the weapon and dissolving it into atoms. ‘I can’t follow you through every single one of your memories and make you forget every gun you’ve ever seen. You’re American!’

‘You see, Doctor,’ growled the Shroud through Tess’s canine features. ‘You can’t win. The Shroud shall feast!’

‘There is one other option, though,’ said the Doctor. ‘I’m sorry, Ben. I know your dog meant a lot to you, but you’re going to have to forget her.’

Ben looked down at Tess with sad eyes. ‘Really?’

‘I’m afraid so. That way, you won’t have seen her face in the coffee stain on Mae’s desk and the Shroud will have no way to attack you.’

‘No!’ The fur on Tess’s back raised up and she bared her teeth, growling angrily as the Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver.

Then – suddenly – the dog was whisked out of the tent, yelping as though she had been injured.

‘Is that it?’ asked Ben. ‘Is it all over?’

The Doctor examined his sonic. ‘It can’t be. I didn’t do anything.’

‘And I can still remember Tess,’ said Ben. ‘From when I was little, and—’

Without warning, Ben flew out of the tent after his dog, as though being dragged away by some invisible force.

The Doctor spun round as the carnival began to melt away. First Jane, then the tent, then the attractions outside.

Flash!

‘No!’ The Doctor sat bolt upright on the carpet and stared down. He had let go of Ben’s hand. No, that wasn’t possible. Someone had pulled them apart – and done the same with the Shroud on the other side. Ben was lying on the ground between them, twitching. The woman with the blue veil shimmered like sapphires, then vanished.

‘Clara!’ the Doctor cried, jumping to his feet. ‘What happened?’ Through the office window, he saw Clara and Mae being led away by two police officers. ‘Clara!’ She turned back to look at him, only to be pushed out through the newsroom door.

Then someone grabbed the Doctor’s hands and handcuffed them behind his back. ‘Sir, you are under arrest on suspicion of stealing an ambulance from Parkland Memorial Hospital earlier today …’

‘Ben!’ shouted the Doctor, pushing the police officer away. He dropped to his knees beside the newspaper editor and rested an ear on his chest. ‘His heart has stopped!’ the Doctor cried. ‘You have to help him. He’s dying!’

The police officer drew his gun and pointed it at the Doctor. ‘Sir, move away now!’

‘Somebody help him!’

Chapter 7

‘I did not kill him!’ The Doctor leapt up from his chair for the third time in as many minutes. ‘And if I’m being honest, I don’t think you’re listening to a word I’ve been saying. You have to let me out of here right now. Your planet is under attack and I have to find a way to save it.’

The two police detectives on the other side of the table shared a weary glance. They were both in their late 20s and they both sported the same buzz-cut hairstyle. The only difference between them was the colour of their suits.

‘Please take your seat, sir,’ said the one in the green suit.

‘All right!’ said the Doctor, throwing up his hands. ‘We’ll do it your way.’ He sat down and studied the two detectives. ‘Which one of you is the bad cop?’

‘Excuse me?’ said Grey suit.

‘The bad cop,’ the Doctor repeated. ‘The one who’s going to threaten to rough me up. Then the other one will send him out for some air and offer to get me a coffee.’ He looked hard at the two suits. ‘Trust me, it’ll speed things up if we just skip that bit.’

Grey suit’s eyes narrowed. ‘Sir, we are both fully trained in suspect interrogation techniques. Neither one of us is going to threaten you with violence.’

The Doctor slumped back in his seat and sniffed. ‘Well, if you’re not going to play along, there’s not much point us continuing.’

‘Let’s start at the beginning,’ said Green suit. ‘As you are no doubt aware, President Kennedy was shot and killed yesterday afternoon. Can you tell us where you were when that incident occurred?’

‘I was on an archaeological dig, 400,000 light years away in the 51st century.’

Grey slammed his palm down on the table. ‘This is serious!’ he shouted.

‘I am being serious!’ the Doctor shouted back, slamming his own palm down on the table. ‘And for what it’s worth, you’re the bad cop – you just don’t know it. Now, can we please hurry this up? We’re running out of time.’

‘Running out of time for what?’

The Doctor stood up and leaned across the table to Grey. ‘The faces.’

‘What faces?’ asked Grey.

‘What faces? Hasn’t anyone crawled out of your coffee? No one hanging around in the sink when you trimmed your hair this morning?’

‘Sir, I think you should sit down,’ said Green, giving his colleague a sideways glance. ‘Perhaps you aren’t feeling very well. Is that it? Would you like us to call a doctor?’

‘I am a doctor!’

‘A doctor of what?’ asked Green. ‘Medicine?’