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Nina's annoyance slid sideways and out of her head at this. 'You mean, she really is ill?'

'Very. In fact, if something isn't done about it soon, terminally.' He grasped her hand. 'Come on! Back to the cottage, and I'll tell you what I've discovered.'

Nina went with him, trying not to notice how enjoyable it was to be holding hands. In the cottage sitting room the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS, led her straight in and shut the door behind them.

'Right,' he said. 'I've found out where Ruth is from, and — with reasonable certainty — how she got here.'

'You have?' Nina's voice came out as a squeak in her excitement. 'All from that little bit of scrap metal?'

'Which is anything but scrap metal, as a matter of interest. But we'll come to that later.' He indicated the same comfortable armchair that she had occupied earlier. 'Sit down. And tell me — have you ever come across the term, 'tourists'?'

So now they knew why Ruth and her dead friend had come to Earth. The explanation was crazier than anything Nina's wildest imagination could have invented – and yet, in a way, it was ludicrously simple. The people of Ruth's world were highly technologically advanced – the Doctor had visited on a number of occasions, and had seen for himself – and had long ago abandoned literal space travel in favour of a convenient, simple ('Simple?' Nina had squeaked) system of spatial gateways, by which they could transport themselves to other planets, in their own galaxy and even further afield.

'Fortunately for the worlds they visit,' the Doctor had said, 'Ruth's people have developed a civilised philosophy as well as an advanced technology. All too many races see technical advancement as an open invitation to conquest. I remember the time I was – but I mustn't sidetrack. As I was saying, Ruth's people are peaceable, thankfully, and they use their abilities to reach other worlds for one purpose alone.' He had smiled then with dry amusement. 'Tourism.'

The aliens of Ruth's world had a great deal of leisure time, the Doctor had explained, and one of their most popular recreations was using the gateways administered by their equivalent of travel agencies, to explore other worlds. Strict rules were imposed on their visits: they must not, under any circumstances, betray their origins or influence the visited world in any way, and for that reason they were not permitted to take any of their technology with them, other than the basic necessities for life support and communication. However, the Doctor guessed that Ruth and her friend had broken the rules.

'I've analysed the molecular structure of the cylinder your brother brought up from the sea-bed. It certainly didn't originate on Earth, Nina. It's from Ruth's world.' Water, the Doctor had explained, was completely inimical to their species, and immersion in the sea must have finished him – agonisingly – in minutes.

'That explains something,' said Nina, recalling. 'For all the time she's spent around the beach, Ruth never goes near the water. Had you noticed?'

'I hadn't,' the Doctor admitted. 'But now you mention it ... And on rainy days, she doesn't show up at all. Of course.' He smiled. 'You'd make an excellent detective!'

'But why does she still keep going to the beach?' Nina asked. 'She must know her friend's dead. Unless the body in the sea wasn't him?'

'Oh, it was him — the rumours are proof enough of that. And the timing's right, too. The anomaly I detected happened about three days before the poor chap was found.'

'No, no,' Nina demurred. 'It can't have been then. He'd been in the sea for ages; one of the crew told me.' She swallowed back a queasy feeling as she recalled the details that Martin had solemnly and gloomily described. 'He was pretty decomposed.'

'He would have been,' said the Doctor. 'In our atmosphere — and especially in water — his remains would decay much more quickly than a human's. But to return to your question: why does she keep going to the beach? My guess is that she's afraid something might