A few seconds later a flyer plopped out onto the pavement from the other side of the letterbox. The Doctor picked it up. ‘Thank you!’ he called.

He rejoined Amy and Rory. ‘Aha!’ he said. ‘What do you think about this, then?’

Amy took the flyer from him and read it.

‘Have you got what it takes? If you think you’re as good as Sammy Star, come to the Britain’s Got Magic try-outs. Show your tricks to TV judges Austin Hart, Daisy Mead and Bill Evans. With special guest judge, Sammy Star.’

‘So?’ said Rory. ‘It’s a thing for daft people who want to get on telly.’

‘Yes,’ agreed the Doctor. ‘The thing is, though, the try-outs are tomorrow, and they’re at this theatre.’

‘Right!’ Amy got it. ‘You mean you’re going to enter?’

‘Not quite,’ said the Doctor. ‘I mean, we’re going to enter. Just call us daft people who want to get on telly. We’re just going to rescue a few damsels in distress at the same time.’

Chapter Six

THE DOCTOR, RORY and Amy were making plans.

‘We have to go to the try-outs in disguise,’ the Doctor said. ‘Sammy Star might spot us. So might that guard, if he’s around. Even if I take my cool hat off.’

‘I’d suggest taking your cool hat off anyway,’ said Amy. ‘You know, just in case.’

‘I’ve seen those programmes on TV,’ said Rory. ‘People queue up for hours to get in. We’ll have to get there really early in the morning.’

‘No, we’ll have to get there really early in the morning,’ the Doctor told him.

Rory looked puzzled. ‘Er, that’s what I said.’

‘No,’ the Doctor told him. ‘You said “we” meaning you, me and Amy. I said “we” meaning just me and Amy. I’ve got another job for you, Rory.’

He told the others what he had in mind. Rory would go to the Golden Years Home for the Elderly. There he’d talk to Kylie Collins and Amber Hooper and find out all they knew about Sammy Star. Meanwhile, he and Amy would disguise themselves and go to the theatre. Once inside, they’d find out where the Weeping Angel was being kept.

‘What do we do when we find it?’ Amy asked.

‘Good question,’ said the Doctor. ‘Great question, in fact.’ He stopped.

‘So what’s the answer to my great question?’ said Amy.

The Doctor looked slightly sheepish. ‘Well, I’m sure I’ll have worked out something by then. We’ll have a whole day to sort it out. Rory, make sure you’re back by the evening for the show.’

‘Right,’ said Rory. ‘You can count on me.’

‘Good,’ said the Doctor. ‘Because I have a feeling we’re going to need all the help we can get.’

The next morning, Rory caught a tube then a train and made his way to the Golden Years Home for the Elderly.

He hadn’t been keen on Miss Leake, but was quite glad when she opened the door. At least she knew who he was.

‘I was, er, just passing,’ he said stiffly. He didn’t like telling even little white lies. ‘So I thought I’d pop in and see how Mrs Collins and Mrs Hooper are today.’

Miss Leake beamed at him. ‘Oh, it’s the nice young man from last night! Well now, aren’t you sweet? Come on through, they’ll be so thrilled!’

She led him into a large room. High-backed chairs were all around the edge, each with a tiny table next to it. Every chair held an elderly person, and every table held a cup of tea. A TV set blared in one corner, but no one was watching it. They were all staring ahead at nothing. Although the sun shone brightly, the French windows onto the garden remained firmly shut.

‘Mrs Hooper! Mrs Collins! I’ve brought a visitor for you!’ shouted Miss Leake. ‘Isn’t that nice? They’re very pleased to see you,’ she added to Rory, although they hadn’t even looked at him.

‘Er, I’ll be OK from here,’ Rory said, hoping to get rid of her. To his relief, she just patted his hand and left the room.

He went over to the two elderly ladies, who were sitting next to each other. Not seeing any spare seats, Rory moved an empty cup and sat on the table between them. Then he stood up again. ‘This is silly,’ he said. ‘Let’s go into the garden.’

Mrs Hooper and Mrs Collins looked as though he’d suggested bunking off school. For a second, he saw the cheeky schoolgirls they’d been once. Of course, if the Doctor was right, these old ladies had been schoolgirls only a few months ago.

Rory opened the French windows and helped the two ladies over the step into the garden. They all sat down on a little bench by a rose bed.

‘It’s lovely out here,’ said Rory. ‘You ought to come outside more. Not just sit indoors.’

‘There’s no point,’ said Mrs Hooper dully.

Mrs Collins raised her face to the sun. ‘It makes me think of being young,’ she said.

‘What happened when you were young?’ asked Rory softly. ‘Can you tell me?’

She shut her eyes, letting the sun play on her eyelids. ‘We got lost,’ she said.

‘Lost,’ Mrs Hooper echoed. ‘We were so lost.’

‘That’s what I want you to tell me about,’ said Rory. ‘I want to hear about the time you were lost. It was Sammy Star, wasn’t it? It was him who sent you back in time.’

There was silence. Rory didn’t want to rush them, but after a few seconds asked again. ‘Was it Sammy Star who sent you back in time?’

Mrs Hooper gave a loud gulp. Rory looked at her, and found to his horror that she was crying. Both old ladies were crying, huge, choking sobs. ‘Please don’t cry!’ he said helplessly.

Mrs Collins smiled. In fact, Rory could now see that they were both smiling through the tears. He was surprised. ‘You’re not upset?’ he asked.

‘It was real, then...’ Mrs Collins whispered. ‘It really happened.’

‘We’re not mad!’ said Mrs Hooper. ‘We were never mad!’

‘Of course you’re not mad,’ said Rory. ‘If you knew some of the things I’d seen... No, you’re really not mad. It really happened, all of it.’

‘We had to forget,’ Mrs Hooper went on. ‘We could never talk about it. It felt like it was a dream from long ago.’

‘You saw Sammy Star, though,’ said Rory. ‘Miss Leake said you saw the poster and kept talking about him. You knew who he was, didn’t you?’

‘He was just part of a dream. Someone we might have seen long ago. Then the dream came true.’

Rory leant forward. ‘Please will you try to think back? It could really help.’

‘So long ago.’ Mrs Hooper shook her head. ‘It was so long ago. We had to forget...’

It was long ago for them, Rory knew, but it was happening right now too. Somehow he had to get them to recall the past. It might save some other girl from going through the same thing.

He had a sudden thought. The MISSING poster of Amber Reynolds. He didn’t think he’d given it back to the Doctor. Had he folded it up and put it in his pocket? Yes! There it was. He pulled out the poster and unfolded it. Then he handed the paper to Mrs Hooper.

‘Amber Reynolds,’ he said. ‘Was that you?’

She put out a nervous hand but stopped, seeming too scared to touch the picture. ‘Reynolds,’ she whispered. ‘That was my name before I married Albert.’

‘Think back,’ said Rory softly. ‘Think back to who you were then. To what happened to you.’

Mrs Hooper wiped her tears away. Then, after taking a deep breath, she spoke. ‘It was Max.’

Rory was puzzled. He’d not heard of a Max. Was this Max in league with Sammy Star? ‘What did Max do?’ he asked.

She smiled. ‘Oh, he was so lovely. He would run up and give me a great big lick when I came home from school.’

‘Oh, Max was your dog!’ said Rory in relief as he figured it out.

‘I loved him so much. He was my only friend. Dad hit me. Mum let him. Max cared, though. He loved me as much as I loved him. Then...’

‘Yes?’ Rory asked, as she paused.

‘Then my dad sold him. That was the thing that made me run away. He was my dog and my friend, and my dad sold him. A stranger came to the door and offered him loads of money for Max, and my dad said yes.’