The Unicorn and the Wasp
The Tardis materialises just inside the grounds of a grand old manor house.
"Well, I definitely don't recognize this. It's the future for us all," Ten stated. That made everyone uneasy.
"Wonderful, now we have no guarantees you guys will survive," Jack said. "And Sigma did just give you a warning about your song ending soon."
"Well, that's the point of watching," Ten reminded them. "I assume, anyway. To change stuff, so whatever we see is still changeable."
"It had better be," Rose muttered.
"What about fixed points?" Jack wondered.
"I'd hope it would tell us about any fixed points. Or maybe just skip over it so we aren't tempted to try and change it," Nine guessed. He desperately hoped that was the case anyway. That would mean losing Rose to the parallel universe wasn't a fixed point. He could change it.
The two exit and the Doctor says to smell the air. Grass and lemonade with a bit of mint. A hint of mint and says it must be the nineteen twenties.
"Sure about that, are you?" Donna asked with an amused look. "Given your history and all."
"Of course, I'm sure," Ten protested.
Donna asks if he can tell what year it is just by smelling. The Doctor agrees he can and Donna states that maybe it is the big vintage car arriving that gave it away. An open topped tourer turns on the gravel in front of the house and sounds its horn.
Everyone chuckled.
"That would do it," Sarah-Jane smiled.
"Those cars were around for more than just the nineteen-twenties," Nine pointed out.
"We still don't know if you were right about the time period," Rose reminded him with a smirk.
"You lot, always so mean," Ten complained.
Two servants come out, the butler and a footman. The older driver gets out and removes his goggles. The butler greets him as Professor Peach.
"Professor Peach?" Rose laughed. "Sounds like one of the characters from…what is it. Oh, Cluedo."
"I'm sure a few people have had similar names over the years," Ten said with a smile.
Peach greets the butler as Greeves. Then a man rides up on his bicycle and Peach calls him Reverend. The man greets the professor and says it's a beautiful day, the Lord's in his heaven and all is right with the world.
"Not for long, I'm sure," Mickey chuckled. "Not now those two have arrived."
"You make it sound like we cause the chaos," Donna glared at him.
"No, course not. But this thing isn't showing it to us for no reason. Something's going to happen."
Greeves tells Reverend Golightly and Peach that Lady Eddison requests that they make themselves comfortable in their rooms. Cocktails will be served on the lawn from half past four.
"Sounds like a party," Rose said.
"A party in the twenties. That's more like it," Donna grinned.
Peach tells Golightly to go on up as he needs to check something in the library. Alone. Golightly tells him it's supposed to be a party and all this work will be the death of him. The Doctor and Donna are eavesdropping in the shrubbery. Donna says never mind about Planet Zog, a party in the nineteen twenties is more like it.
"Planet Zog?" Nine asked in amusement. Donna shrugged.
The Doctor says that the problem is they haven't been invited. Then he pulls out the psychic paper and corrects that yes, they have. In the library, Peach is examining some papers. He states that he was right, something was kept secret for all these years, and he wonders why they didn't ask.
"Secrets kept for years? That sounds like a cause for everything to go wrong," Jack said.
"Yeah. It would be fine as long as he keeps quiet, but I doubt he will," Martha sighed.
The Professor is startled by a noise. Someone has entered the room. He hides the papers behind his back. He recognizes who it is and states he was just doing a little research. Then he asks what they are doing with that lead piping as the screen shows an arm raised as a shadow on the wall.
"Professor Peach, in the library, being attacked with a lead pipe? This really is like cluedo," Mickey noted in bemusement.
There is a buzzing sound, and the Professor is shown through multifaceted eyes. Peach declares it to be impossible. The screen shows a wasp as the deed is done.
"A giant wasp? That's…different," Nine said in surprise.
"He was just attacked by a giant wasp with lead piping?" Sarah-Jane frowned in confusion. "Why would a wasp use lead piping?"
"Why is a wasp that size?" Rose wanted to know. "They're bad enough in tiny form."
"Dunno, but I'm already not a fan," Donna said.
The Doctor knocks on the TARDIS door saying they will be late for cocktails.
"You're not even getting dressed up?" Rose complained.
"It never ends well when I wear a tux," Ten told her darkly.
Donna has changed into a beaded dress suitable for the period. She asks what he thinks, flapper or slapper. The Doctor considers before grinning and saying flapper, she looks lovely.
"Considered that a bit long there, Doctor," Sarah-Jane smiled in amusement.
The young footman starts a record playing while the Indian housekeeper gives orders. The Doctor greets them, and Davenport offers them drinks. Greeves introduces them to Lady Clemency Eddison. She asks who they are and why they are there. The Doctor introduces them. Donna puts on a posh accent and curtseys. She greets Lady Eddison, and the Doctor tells her not to do that.
"Why do you lot insist on doing ridiculous accents wherever we go?" Nine groaned.
"It's fun," Rose grinned at him.
The Doctor shows the psychic paper to Lady Eddison, saying they were thrilled to receive her invitation and they met at the Ambassador's reception. She laughs slightly and asks how she could forget him.
"Pretty easily considering you've never met," Jack laughed.
"Details, details," Ten smirked.
"Quite a big detail," Rose pointed out with a grin.
"If it works, it works," Nine shrugged.
She continued that one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose.
"Does she mean an actual unicorn?" Martha asked uncertainly.
"I doubt it, but we did just see a giant wasp, so who knows?" Nine said interestedly.
The Doctor says that's brilliant and asks where. She tells him the Unicorn is a jewel thief, Nobody knows who it is and they struck again, stealing Lady Babbington's pearls from right under her nose. Donna comments it's a funny place to wear pearls.
Everyone chuckled.
"Still a jewelry thief than can steal from right under someone's nose and a giant wasp. This gets more interesting by the minute," Nine said, looking happier than he had in a while.
Greeves announces Colonel Hugh Curbishley and the Honourable Roger Curbishley. Roger is pushing his father in a wheelchair. Clemency says this is her husband and son. Hugh apologizes for not rising, saying he hasn't been the same since the flu epidemic back in eighteen. Roger greets the duo, calling Donna a super lady who replies that she likes the cut of his jib. Then corrects herself to chin.
They all laughed again.
The Doctor steps in, greeting Roger as Davenport brings him a drink. Donna asks the Doctor how Clemency kept her name, and he explains the Eddison title descends through her. Roger will be lord one day. Greeves then introduces Robina Redmond. Clemency greets her before Golightly appears. Clemency greets him too, mentioning ruffians breaking into the church last Thursday.
"Really? They have nothing better to do than break into a church of all places?" Martha scoffed.
"They can't all be the Unicorn," Rose said with a shrug.
Hugh says he heard that Golightly apprehended them, and he replies that he was taught to forgive their trespasses. Literally. Roger comments that some of the young boys deserve a decent thrashing. Davenport agrees with him.
"I hardly think a thrashing is the answer," Rose sniffed.
"It was back then," Nine said unhappily.
"Well, it clearly didn't do the older lot any good," Martha muttered. A few people chuckled.
Donna says it's typical. All the decent men are on the other bus. The Doctor adds, 'or Time Lords'.
"I thought you didn't want Donna to be interested in you," Sarah-Jane laughed.
"I don't. Doesn't mean I'm not decent though," Ten protested.
"At least there's no captain envy this time," Rose teased. He pouted at her.
"I did not have captain envy."
"Nothing to be ashamed of, Doc. Happens to everyone," Jack smirked.
"In your dreams," Nine scoffed. Jack just winked.
Roger asks about a special guest that was promised. Clemency states that here she is. The people applause and Clemency says she needs no introduction. The woman tells them not to as there is no need. She introduces herself as Agatha Christie to Donna. Donna asks what about her and Agatha states it is her.
"No way!" Ten beamed excitedly.
"Dickens, Shakespeare and now Agatha Christie. That's brilliant," Martha said. "Wish I was there."
"I can't wait for this to happen," Nine said eagerly.
"Should be interesting," Rose agreed. "No wonder it all seems so cluedoey."
"I don't think that's a word," Nine laughed. "Wonder if we'll find out exactly what happened when she supposedly disappeared."
"Oh, I expect you will. It's a mystery, which is what you do best," Sarah-Jane smiled.
Donna says she's kidding. The Doctor jumps in, saying he was talking about her the other day. He introduces them and says he loves her stuff, she fooled him every time. Then corrects himself to almost every time, then once or twice before going down to once but saying it was a good one.
"Really, Doctor?" Rose laughed.
"Such a gob," Donna shook her head in exasperation.
"It's Agatha Christie! I'm allowed to be a little starstruck," Ten pouted.
"Course you are," Sarah-Jane said, patting his arm mockingly. He glared at her.
Agatha states they make a rather unusual couple. They both correct that they aren't a couple, and she says that of course they aren't they aren't wearing rings.
"Good catch!" Said Ten proudly.
He says she doesn't miss a trick. She tells them to stay that way, as the thrill is in the chase, never the capture. Clemency comes over, saying she is pleased Agatha could come before asking about her husband. Agatha asks if he is needed, can't a woman make her own way in the world.
"I like her," Donna chuckled.
"She seems pretty great so far," Jack agreed.
Hugh tells her not to give his wife ideas. Roger asks Agatha why a Belgian detective while the Doctor borrows Hugh's paper. She comments that the Belgians make such lovely buns. Roger asks about Professor Peach and Golightly informs them he was going to the library. Clemency sends Chandrakala to collect him. The Doctor motions Donna over to him and mentions the date. She asks what about it and he tells her it's the day Agatha Christie disappeared.
"Told you," Sarah-Jane smiled.
"Fantastic!" Nine exclaimed.
"This should be good," Rose grinned. She was just happy that both of the Doctors were finally looking happy again. For more than a fleeting moment. Donna really was good for them, and it was about time they had some less heavily emotional adventures. Even the Ood planet, which had been infuriating and terribly sad, it wasn't the same as watching the ones with the Master in, or her own separation from the Doctor. Or seeing the Doctor turning into a rubbish human and falling in love. These ones were much lighter, and she was determined to enjoy it while she could, knowing it was unlikely to last. If she was coming back, it was highly unlikely to be a smooth ride.
Outside the library, Chandrakala calls for the professor. There is no answer, so she opens the door. She gasps and the screen cuts back outside. The Doctor tells Donna that Agatha had just discovered her husband having an affair.
"That explains the comment about the thrill being in the chase not the capture," Martha nodded.
Donna says you'd never think it, looking at her smiling away. The Doctor says she's British and moneyed, that's what they do. Carry on. Except one time she vanished. Her car will be found the next morning by a lake, and she appeared ten days later in Harrogate, with no memory of what happened. She never spoke about it until the day she died.
"Turning up late in a place she wasn't supposed to be. Sounds like you're doing, Doctor," Rose teased.
"Na, it was only ten days. Woulda been ten years if he did it," Donna smirked.
"Oi!" Ten protested.
"It was once!" Nine complained.
"It was once you dropped me off a year late," Rose agreed. "But Dickens? Wrong time and place. Werewolf, wrong time and place…need I go on?"
"You're all so mean. Pick on someone else," Nine grumbled.
"But it's so much fun picking on you," Donna laughed.
Donna says it's about to happen. He agrees right here, right now. Chandrakala comes running out, screaming about murder in the library. The Doctor enters the library, followed by Donna and Agatha. He goes to the body. He states the professor has been bashed on the head with a blunt instrument. His watch broke when he fell, placing time of death at quarter past four. He looks through the papers on the desk.
"Look at you, going all detective," Rose smiles.
"About to solve a mystery with Agatha Christie," Jack grinned. "You lucky, lucky man."
Donna notices a bit of pipe and says she reckons that's blunt enough. Agatha finds a piece of burnt paper in the grate and the Doctor watches as she puts it in her bag.
"Hiding things? I assume that's something to do with the secret the professor was going on about," Mickey said.
"Most likely," Jack agreed.
"The question is, how did the wasp thing know that he knew? He'd only just found out and had no time to tell anyone." Sarah-Jane wondered.
"Well, when it first came in, the professor recognized who it was. I'm going to assume he wouldn't recognize a giant wasp, so I guess one of the people at the party is an alien who can turn into a giant wasp," Martha said slowly.
"So, maybe they heard he was going to the library and overheard him confirming the secret, whatever it is," suggested Rose. They all nodded.
The Doctor declares there is nothing worth killing for in the papers on the desk, they are dry as dust. Donna mutters about Professor Peach, in the library, with the lead piping.
"I know. It's fantastic," Nine grinned manically.
"We're totally playing cluedo later," Rose said. They all nodded eagerly.
The other guests force their way in, talking over each other in an effort to get the others out of their way. Agatha suggests they call the police. The Doctor states that they don't have to as he is Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, also known as the Doctor, and Donna is the plucky young girl who helps him out. He flashes the psychic paper.
"The 'plucky young girl who helps you out'?" Rose giggled.
"They didn't have policewomen back then," Ten shrugged.
"Still, I think assistant would have done," Donna grumbled.
"I'll remember that for next time," he grinned.
"Only so you remember not to say it and call her the same thing instead," Jack chuckled.
"I would never!"
"Yes, you would," Rose laughed. He just smirked.
He urges them from the room, saying he will question them each in turn. Agatha ushers them out, saying to leave the room undisturbed. Donna questions him on his introduction of her and she says there are no policewomen in 1926. She says she will pluck him in a minute.
Everyone laughed.
Then she asks why they don't phone the real police. The Doctor lies down and examines the floor. He states that the last thing they want is PC Plod sticking his nose in, especially now he's found this. He scrapes some gunge off the floorboards, calling it Morphic Residue. Donna notes it doesn't sound very 1926.
"It doesn't sound very Earth like, no matter what the year," Martha said.
"That'll be because it's not," Nine told her. "It's leftover when some species genetically re-encode."
"Yeah, humans don't tend to do that," Mickey noted.
"You don't say." Nine rolled his eyes.
The Doctor explains that it's what's left behind when certain species genetically re-encode. Donna realizes the murderer is an alien. He tells her one of that lot is an alien in human form. She comments on the fact that there's a murder, a mystery and Agatha Christie. He tells her it happens to him all the time.
"It's fantastic," Nine beamed.
Donna asks if it's a bit weird. Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. It would be like meeting Dickens surrounded by ghosts at Christmas.
Everyone laughed.
"Been there, done that," Rose grinned.
"Shakespeare and witches," Martha added.
"They weren't real witches," Nine pointed out.
"They weren't real ghosts," Jack retorted. "It's close enough to be amusing."
The Doctor says well and she tells him to come on. It's not like they could drive across country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy. She asks if they could, then tells him to tell her there's no Noddy. He looks at her seriously and says there is no Noddy.
They all laughed again.
"This is brilliant," Jack chuckled.
"Besides, maybe not Noddy, but I could see some of those Famous Five books being based on truth," Sarah-Jane commented.
"I hope we find out, one day," Ten grinned.
Outside the library Donna says the next thing you know, he'll be telling her it's like Murder On The Orient Express and they all did it. They walk past Agatha who has heard Donna's comment. Donna tells her it's one of her best and the Doctor points out not yet. Agatha states it's a marvellous idea though and Donna tells her Copyright, Donna Noble.
Everyone chuckled.
"Honestly, you're as bad as each other," Jack grinned.
The Doctor cuts in, saying he and Agatha will question the suspects and instructs Donna to search the bedrooms for clues. He hands her a magnifying glass. She asks if it's for real and he tells her she's ever so lucky.
"You're asking for a slap, you are," Donna grumbled. Ten grinned widely.
Donna takes the magnifying glass and goes upstairs. The Doctor turns to Agatha excitedly and comments on how solving a murder mystery with Agatha Christie is brilliant.
"Somehow, I don't think she's going to be thrilled with your excitement. Someone is dead, after all," Sarah-Jane reminded him in amusement.
"Yeah. Good point," Ten sighed.
"You can fanboy about it later," Rose assured him.
She comments that it's very like a man for have fun while there is disaster all around him.
"I'm guessing that's not just about the Doctor," Mickey muttered.
He apologizes. She states she will work with him gladly, for the sake of justice not his own amusement. He agrees.
"It can be both," Ten muttered petulantly.
"Of course it can," Rose told him, trying not to laugh. The glare he gave her suggested she failed. She just hugged him, and he tightened his arm around her shoulders.
In the sitting room, the Doctor conducts individual interviews as Agatha takes notes. He asked Golightly where he was at quarter past four, and he states he was unpacking in his room. The Screen shows Roger's memory of him doing just that as the Doctor says he has no alibi as Agatha asks if he was alone. Golightly tells them that with the Lord, one is never truly alone.
"Yeah, but I don't think your Lord is going to be testifying on whether you committed murder or not," Donna snorted.
They go through the same procedure with Roger who says he was out taking a stroll, alone. In his memory, however, he meets Davenport and they walk off holding hands.
"Well, I don't blame him for not wanting to admit that in the twenties," Martha said.
"And if the memory is accurate, it wasn't him anyway. Or Davenport," Jack noted.
"Well, the memory is showing something different to what he is saying, so I would think it's accurate. I can't see why the memory would lie, when we're the only ones seeing it," Nine pointed out.
Next up is Robina who tells them she went to the toilet on arrival and then was preparing herself to meet Lady Eddy. The memory shows her checking a small revolver she is carrying in her little bag.
"Well, that's certainly suspicious, but it's no lead piping. Why use a pipe if she had a gun?" Mickey wondered.
"Quieter for one thing," Jack said.
The Doctor points out they only have her word for it, which she says is their problem not hers. Hugh is next and he tells them he was in the study reading through some military memoirs. Pictures of young ladies dressed only in a string of pearls, actually.
All the females rolled their eyes while Jack whistled.
He continued that he was reminiscing about a way, except he is recalling a can-can dance.
There is another round of eyerolling while Jack smirked.
The Doctor calls for him to snap about it. He repeats that he was in his study and the Doctor says he means right out of it. Hugh apologizes saying he got a bit carried away there.
"Can't blame a man for that," Jack said rakishly.
"There's a time and a place," Rose told him with a laugh. "And the middle of a murder investigation is neither."
Next, they question Clemency who informs them she was in the Blue Room, taking her afternoon tea. She is shown to be downing the contents of a hip flask.
"I'm going to guess it's not tea in there," Mickey chuckled.
"Probably not," Martha agreed.
"But none of them are shown as being the murderer either," Nine frowned.
"They haven't questioned the staff yet. Davenport was with Roger, but other than that, it could have been one of them," Sarah-Jane pointed out.
"Or these memories we're seeing are wrong, for whatever reason," Ten said, though he could still see no reason for that to be the case.
She tells him it's a ritual of hers to gather strength for hostess duty. Then she says she went outside and recalls meeting the Doctor and Donna. The Doctor cuts her off, saying he was there for that bit.
They laughed once more.
Clemency hiccups and they both stare at her. Later, the Doctor and Agatha are pacing as she says that none of them have alibies and that they should look for a motive. Use ze gray cells. The Doctor agrees and says good old Poirot, mentioning he's been to Belgium. He sits down in the chair and recalls he was looking for Charlemagne. He is shown making his way through the woods with a machete and bow and quiver slung across his back.
"Looks like fun," Rose commented.
"Yeah. It was. Did that between Martha and Donna," Ten informed them. "I'll tell you about it later," he promised.
Agatha calls his name and points out Charlemagne lived centuries ago. He says he has a good memory.
"When it suits you," Mickey muttered.
She tells him that for an experienced detective he missed a big clue, and he asks if she means the bit of paper she took from the fireplace. She protests he was looking the other way and he tells her he saw her reflection in the glass bookcase. She smiles and calls him a crafty man. The charred fragment says aiden. He asks about the first letter and she tells him it's an 'M', making the word maiden. The Doctor yells out the word, making her jump.
"There really was no need for that, Doctor," Sarah-Jane told him in fond amusement.
"Well, no but still, we all need a bit of fun once in a while," Ten grinned.
He asks what it means but Agatha doesn't know. She says their nemesis remains at large unless Miss Noble has found something. Upstairs, Donna finds a locked door as Greeves comes up behind her. He states she won't find anything in there. She asks why it is locked and he tells her Lady Eddison commands it. Donna commands it to be otherwise, saying Scotland Yard, pip, pip.
They all sniggered.
"Oh, Donna," Jack chuckled. "I love it."
Greeves unlocks the door and Donna asks why it was locked in the first place. He explains that many years ago, Lady Eddison returned from India with malaria. She locked herself in the room for six months until she recovered. The room had remained undisturbed since. The curtains are drawn. A teddy sits at the bottom of the little bed.
"It looks like a kid's room," Rose frowned.
"Maybe it was," Nine said grimly. "Hiding away for six months. About the right time to hide a pregnancy and give birth."
"Oh my god. That would certainly be a big enough secret, particularly depending on who the child is," Sarah-Jane breathed. "I assume she gave it up, if she spent six months possibly hiding the fact that she was pregnant."
"But what does giving up a child have to do with aliens who turn into giant wasps?" Martha wondered.
"Depends who the father was," Ten stated.
"We could all be wrong, but it seems more likely than hiding for six months in this child's room because of malaria," Jack said.
Greeves says there is nothing in there.
"Except that teddy. I'd call that something," Mickey pointed out.
Donna asks how long it's been empty, and he replies forty years. She tells him she needs to investigate and to butle off.
They all laugh again.
Donna closes the door and starts to look around. She picks up a teddy bear, then she hears an insect buzzing around.
"Oh dear," Martha muttered.
"And it's time to leave," Donna said.
"Not when you probably think it's just a regular sized insect," Jack sighed. "You don't know about the giant wasp yet."
"Oh goodie."
Donna comments that it's 1926 and they've still got bees. It gets louder and she states she will get it out. Holding up the magnifying glass, she says she will find it with her amazing powers of detection.
Mickey snorted. "I don't think you'll be needing that to see it."
"Yeah. Probably not," she agreed with a grin.
Donna pulls the curtains open to reveal a giant wasp outside. It smashes through the glass. She dodges it saying that's impossible. Then backs up against the broken window.
"Just don't fall out," Ten told her.
"Oh, so glad you're around. I'd never have thought of that," Donna remarked sarcastically. He grinned.
"I was going to go for don't get stung," Jack smirked.
"The last time it hit the professor over the head with a pipe, it likes to leave it's murdering options open apparently," Mickey pointed out.
"Lucky me," Donna muttered sarcastically.
She calls for the Doctor and then holds up the magnifying glass and focuses the bright sunshine onto the insect. The pain gives her the chance to run out of the room.
"Nice going," Jack praised.
"Good thinking," Nine agreed.
She calls for the Doctor again as the wasp's sting comes through the wooden door. The Doctor and Agatha arrive. She tells them it's a giant wasp. The Doctor asks what she means, and she tells him she means a wasp that giant.
Everyone laughed.
"This is brilliant," Rose giggled.
"Honestly, it was a valid question. I've never heard of a wasp that size on Earth before," Ten defended his future-self. "Or anywhere even close."
"Well, the better question would be exactly how big did she mean," Martha pointed out in amusement. He stuck his tongue out.
Agatha states it is only a silly little insect. Donna tells her that when she says giant, she doesn't mean big, she means flipping enormous and tells them to look at it's sting. The Doctor says to let him see. They go inside and the wasp is gone.
"Of course," Nine groaned.
"You want to see that thing?" Rose asked in disgust.
"I want future-me to get a good look at it so I can work out what it is," he corrected.
The Doctor states it has buzzed off and Agatha says the sting left behind is fascinating.
"At least there is that," Ten muttered.
"It's something, at least, Sarah-Jane agreed.
The Doctor tells her not to touch it. He scoops some gunk from the stinger into a test tube with a pencil. He says there are tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms but none in this galactic vector. Agatha states that she thinks she understood some of those words but enough to know he is completely potty.
"True enough," Mickey laughed.
Donna points out that it has lost its sting which makes it defenseless.
"Unlikely," Nine stated. "It can probably grow a new one, but even if not, it's a wasp the size of a human that can wield a lead pipe pretty well. I think it can still look after itself."
The Doctor disagrees, saying it has to be able to grow a new one and Agatha asks if they can return to sanity.
"Not with him there," Rose grinned.
"Now who is rude?" Ten complained.
"Still you," she said smugly.
She continues that there are no such things as giant wasps. The Doctor agrees and wonders what it is doing there. In the kitchen, one of the staff says that the murder has put the cat right amongst the pigeons. Chandrakala tells her it's not the stuff of gossip and to continue her work. Davenport wonders who would want to kill the professor. He recalls that he was asking questions about that book of his. Chandrakala states it is a dead man's folly and nothing more. But then says that perhaps if he asked about…before saying she must go.
"Well, Lady Eddison came back from India. I wonder if Chandrakala came back with her. She obviously knows something," Martha remarked.
"Seems likely," Mickey agreed.
Miss Chandrakala goes outside and along the gravel path to the main part of the house. As she rounds a corner, there is a grating sound. She stops and looks up, and a stone gargoyle falls on her.
"That poor woman," Donna gasped.
"Why do people always scream and never move out of the way?" Nine wondered grimly.
"Because it happens a lot quicker than you think, I would imagine," Martha told him.
"Maybe, but it was pretty high up. She should have had time to move at least out from right underneath it," Jack mused.
Her scream is heard indoors. She is still alive when the Doctor, Donna and Agatha get to her. She murmurs about a poor little child before she dies.
"We were right then," Sarah-Jane says. "And if it was forty years ago, the child is certainly old enough to have discovered who it's mother was and come looking for answers."
"Or the father has tried to track down it's kid and finally did it," Mickey suggested.
"It's possible, but more unlikely," Jack said.
They hear buzzing. The Doctor looks up and yells 'there'. The wasp has a new stinger already.
"Ok, that was quick. A new stinger already?" Donna groaned.
It leaves and they follow. Inside, they head up the staircase and Donna says it makes a change, them chasing the monster. Agatha states it can't be a monster. It's a trick that they do with mirrors.
"Well, it's a very deadly trick," Rose muttered.
The find the wasp and the Doctor calls it wonderful. The wasp approaches and he tells it to stay right there. The wasp lunges at them, scarring the wall with its stinger.
"I don't think it's listening to you, Doctor," Mickey grinned.
"I'm used to it," Ten sighed. "These lot never do either." All his companions grinned at him.
Donna calls out' oi, fly boy' and holds up the magnifying glass and it retreats. The Doctor yells for them not to let it get away. They chase it to another corridor where he yells for it to show itself. Every door in the corridor opens and someone steps out. The Doctor groans and says that's cheating.
Everyone laughed again, despite the situation.
"You should know by now, it's never that easy," Jack chuckled.
In the Drawing room, Clemency states that this is terrible. Davenport wheels in Hugh and tells them Chandrakala was on her way to tell Clemency something. She says she never reached her, she had an appointment with death instead. The Doctor tells the room her last words, asking if they mean anything to anyone. Hugh states there have been no children in this house for years and it's unlikely there ever will be. He looks his son.
"So, his dad knows then," Rose smiled. "And he hasn't done anything about it."
"Yet. Maybe he's still holding out hope," Jack said grimly.
"He could just be a good day," Martha offered hopefully.
"That would be nice," Mickey agreed.
Clemency says that Agatha must have twigged something as she's written the best detective stories. Golightly asks what Poirot would do and Hugh agrees she should be helping.
"She has been helping," Martha frowned. "A lot more than any of you lot."
"And just because she's a writer of mysteries doesn't mean she is an actual detective," Rose pointed out.
"Two people are dead. They are probably scared and grasping at straws," Nine offered.
"Yeah, but they think the Doctor is an actual detective from Scotland Yard, why are they asking Agatha Christie over pestering him?" Donna wondered.
"Because she's written murder mysteries, they assume she knows how to solve them. And they don't know the Doctor," Sarah-Jane said.
Agatha states she is only a writer. Robina says that surely she can crack it. The events are just like one of her plots.
"Minus the aliens," Jack laughed.
"But it's what Rose and Donna have been saying. It is very like an Agatha Christie book. Maybe she's connected somehow, but I can imagine how," Ten mused, looking annoyed that he couldn't figure it out.
"You'll get there eventually," Rose said confidently. He smiled at her.
Donna points out that is what she's been saying. It has to mean something. Agatha asks what it means and then apologizes as she has no answers. She adds that if, anyone can help it's the Doctor, not her. They all turn to look at him. Agatha has retreated to a little wrought iron gazebo just outside the house. Donna finds her and says that those books of hers could one day be turned into films. Talking pictures.
"Donnaaaa" Ten groaned.
"Sorry," she said, but the grin suggested she wasn't really sorry.
Agatha is completely confused and Donna says she's done it again.
"Happens to us all," Rose giggled.
They talk some more, and Donna tries to comfort her about her husband. Agatha asks if her marriage is the stuff of gossip but confirms she found her husband with another woman, a younger, prettier woman, asking if that isn't always the way. Donna states hers was with a spider, but same difference. Agatha laughs and says she and the Doctor talk such wonderful nonsense. Donna tries again to assure her that people love her books. Agatha denies this but spots something in the flowerbeds. Going over, they find a small case. Donna says she's brilliant.
"You're both brilliant," Jack grinned proudly.
"It was very nice of you, even if you did blab about the future," Nine agreed with a smirk.
The Doctor opens the case. It is full of lock-picking tools.
"The Unicorn is there too. Brilliant," Ten grinned.
"So, two people to find," Rose said.
"Let's hope the second one is a plain old, regular human," Donna muttered. "One alien at a time, thank you."
He says it's the sort of stuff a thief would use, and Agatha realizes the Unicorn is there too. The Doctor comments the Unicorn and the Wasp.
"Cool," Mickey grinned.
Greeves enters. He hands them their drinks and leaves. Donna asks what the Doctor found, and he says it's Vespiform sting. Vespiforms have got hives in the Silfrax galaxy.
"So, why is it here and what does it have to do with Agatha Christie?" Sarah-Jane wondered.
"I can't wait to find out," Nine grinned happily.
Agatha accuses him of talking like Edward Lear and he replies that for some reason, it's acting like a character in one of her books. Donna urges her to think what Miss Marple would do.
"Again…not yet," Ten groaned. Donna laughed.
"Oops," she offered sheepishly.
"You tried," Jack chuckled.
She continues that Miss Marple would have overheard something vital by now because the murderer thinks she is a harmless old lady. Agatha says it's a clever idea and asks who writes those. Donna pauses and says copyright Donna Noble. The Doctor calls her name, and she says they can split the copyright.
"No, that's his 'something's wrong' voice," Sarah-Jane frowned.
He states something is inhibiting his enzymes before crying out he's been poisoned as he doubles over in pain.
"Doctor!" Rose cried out.
"I'll be ok. I should be at least. Unless they have aspirin in it, and nobody there, not even the Vespiform, would know to poison me with aspirin, I should be able to fix it," Nine assured her.
Donna asks what they do. Agatha sniffs the drink and states it's sparkling Cyanide.
"Cyanide?" Martha gasped.
"Painful, but fixable if I get what I need quickly enough," Ten said.
"Except you're the only one who knows what you need and have a terrible habit of not telling anyone else," Rose pointed out.
"Or babbling so long about irrelevant things you can't tell them what you need," Mickey added, thinking about the Christmas where he just needed tea.
The Doctor staggers into the kitchen and grabs Davenport, yelling ginger beer. Davenport is confused and the Doctor says he needs ginger beer. Hart declares he has gone mad as the Doctor finds some ginger beer and drinks. Then he pours some all over himself. Agatha tells him she is an expert in poisons, and it is fatal.
"For humans, yeah. Time Lords, not so much," Nine grinned.
"Good job they only poisoned you then, and not Donna or Agatha as well," Jack stated.
"A very good job indeed," Nine agreed grimly.
The Doctor spits out the surplus ginger beer, saying not for him as he can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal. Then says he needs protein. Donna scans the kitchen surface and yells walnuts, offering him a jar. He says brilliant and fills his mouth with them. Then he starts miming and Donna tells him she doesn't understand. She asks how many words and he holds up one finger and mimes shaking. She guesses milk shake and asks if he needs milk. When he shakes his head, mouth still full of walnuts, her next guess is a cocktail shaker. She asks if he wants a Harvey Wallbanger.
Despite the poisoning, everyone burst out laughing. Donna blushed, but couldn't stop herself from laughing along.
"A Harvey Wallbanger?" Jack guffaws.
"How was your second guess a cocktail shaker?" Mickey asked in amusement.
"We'd been to a cocktail party, it was probably in my head," Donna defended herself.
"Harvey Wallbanger is two words, not one," Nine pointed out, shaking his head, eyes sparkling with amusement.
"You're absolutely brilliant," Jack declared.
"Seriously? She's brilliant? My life is on the line here," Ten pretended to complain. "Miming a shaker and her first two guesses are milkshake and cocktail shaker." He shakes his head.
"Exactly. Brilliant," Mickey chortled.
"I'm sure Donna will get there in the end," Rose said, through her own laughter. Oh, this adventure was exactly what they had been needing. Full of laughter and mystery. Yes, two people had died and She really hoped they would be able to fix that and save them, but mostly it was lighthearted.
Eventually everyone managed to get themselves under control enough for the film to start again.
The Doctor can finally talk well enough to incredulously ask Harvey Wallbanger.
They all sniggered once more.
Donna exclaims that she doesn't know. He asks how Harvey Wallbanger is one word. Agatha asks what he needs, and he replies salt. He was miming salt.
"I was close," Donna grinned.
"Not even remotely," Ten replied dryly.
Donna offers a bag of salt and he says it's too salty.
"You want something salty, but salt is too salty?" Sarah-Jane asked in confusion.
"Yeah. Something with a lot of salt in or on it, but not pure salt," Ten said with a shrug.
Donna angrily mutters that it's too salty. Agatha offers him a jar that he takes. Donna asks what it is, and she says anchovies. The Doctor downs the contents of the jar.
Everyone winced.
"So, you need ginger beer, walnuts and anchovies? That's the weirdest cure I've ever heard of," Martha muttered.
"It's not those specific things themselves. Mostly just protein and salt," Nine explained.
He starts miming something else and Donna guesses a song.
"A song?" Nine asked incredulously. Donna blushed even deeper red.
"What on earth would he need a song for?" Martha laughed.
"I suppose you aren't the usual winner at Pictionary," Jack sniggered. She whacked him on the arm. "Ow woman!"
"Well, I mean, that mime is a little less obvious than salt, but my first guess still wouldn't be a song," Rose said teasingly.
"I assume he means he needs a scare, or a shock of some sort," Sarah-Jane mused.
"Exactly," Nine cried, looking pleased.
She guesses Camptown Races. The Doctor incredulously repeats her guess and she yells all right then before saying Towering Inferno. He gasps out that he needs a shock. Donna thinks for a second before steadying herself. She declares a big shock coming up and kisses him on the mouth.
"That'll do it," Ten squeaked.
"That's three for three on kissing your companions in that body," Sarah-Jane laughed.
"I only started one of them, and it was a genetic transfer," Ten pouted.
"And I was possessed. So, the only people who chose to kiss you voluntarily was Cassandra and Donna," Rose giggled, unable to help herself at the look of disgust on both Doctor's faces.
"Well, let's make sure that never happens," Donna declared, looking mildly grossed out.
"He'd better not get poisoned next time. Because, even if I'm there, it will hardly be a shock if I kiss him," Rose joked.
"I'll get Agatha to do it," Donna stated firmly. They all laughed even harder at her determination never to have to do that again.
"When we do visit there, I'm not drinking anything," Nine muttered.
"I'll volunteer," Jack said quickly. "I can't die, well, not in the future I can't."
"Which means kissing you would be pointless. You wouldn't need to detox you'd just come right back good as new," Ten pointed out.
"Kiss of life," he suggested with a grin.
"I don't think you need any help getting snogged," Donna pointed out, a little more harshly than she intended.
"Seems I do when it really counts," he muttered so only she could hear him. She looked up with a frown and found him staring at her intently. A cough caused them both to look up and glower at Ten who looked highly amused.
"Good for you, Donna," he winked. Then the film resumed.
When she releases him, smoke comes from his mouth. He says detox and that he should do that more often. Donna looks at him awkwardly and he states he meant the detox.
Everyone, except the Doctors and Donna, sniggered.
Agatha declared that he was impossible and asked who he was. He winked and left the room. Night has fallen, and thunder and lightning crash overhead.
"Ah, it wouldn't be a complete creepy murder mystery setting without a storm," Martha laughed.
The hosts and guests are on the soup course. There is a vase of Yellow Irises on the table. The Doctor says it's a terrible day for them all. The professor struck down, Miss Chandrakala taken cruelly from them and yet they still take dinner.
"The living still need food," Mickey commented.
Clemency states they are British and what else must they do. He comments that someone tried to poison him and that anyone had the chance to put the Cyanide in his drink. But it did give him an idea. Golightly asks what they would be and he replies poison.
"What?" Donna gasped.
"Nothing poisonous to humans," Ten assured her with an eye roll.
"Pepper, I assume?" Nine asked. Ten shrugged.
"Dunno. Not done it yet." Nine grimaced. He had forgotten. He was used to his counterpart having all of the answers and it scared him that it was no longer the case.
He tells them to drink up, he laced the soup with pepper.
Nine nodded smugly.
Hugh says he thought it was spicy. The Doctor continues that the active ingredient in pepper is piperine which is traditionally used as an insecticide. Then he asks if anyone has the shivers.
"Why would you tell them? Why not just wait until someone started showing symptoms?" Martha asked.
"He can't resist showing off," Rose said.
"I can too," Nine protested.
"No. You can't," all the companions replied in unison.
On cue, there is a crash of thunder and the windows blow open, extinguishing the candles. Hugh asks what that is, and The Doctor tells them to listen as a buzzing can now be heard.
"And, of course, the lights are out, so you won't see who transforms," Sarah-Jane sighed.
Clemency says it can't be. Lightning illuminates the room temporarily. Agatha stands up and demands that the demon show itself. People start to panic and the Doctor yells at them not to move. Then the wasp is there and chaos ensues.
"Oh, brilliant," Donna groaned.
"Maybe not my best plan," Ten admitted sheepishly.
The Doctor yells for them to get out. Everyone scatters except the Doctor, Donna, Agatha and Greeves. The Doctor takes a sword from the paneled wall.
"So, it's not the butler," Rose stated.
Donna notes that it wasn't the butler and the Doctor asks who did do it. They head back inside. Everyone seems to be there. The Colonel is on the floor, wheelchair overturned. Clemency exclaims that her jewelry has gone. Robina is sitting in her chair as before.
"I don't suppose the Unicorn and the Wasp are the same person, are they?" Martha guessed thoughtfully.
"Possibly, but unlikely. I think the Unicorn is just taking advantage of the chaos," Ten said.
"My bet's on that Robina as the Unicorn. She had that gun earlier, but no gun has been used in the murders. She strikes me more as a thief than an alien," Sarah-Jane said.
"Although, she's an outsider. Possibly about the right age, she could be the mysterious missing child," Martha suggested.
"Why would she need a gun?" Mickey frowned.
"Why would a thief need a gun, especially if she's so good."
"Well, I agree she's probably one or the other," Nine nodded.
Davenport calls out Roger's name. He has his face in his soup bowl and a large knife in his back.
"Oh god," Rose exclaimed.
"Why a knife?" Nine wondered. "It was in wasp form, why would it use a knife to kill him instead of a stinger?"
"It used a pipe earlier," Mickey pointed out.
"Yes, but it was in human form to start with. Peach recognized them," Ten reminded him.
"Roger was alive when the wasp arrived, wasn't he?" Sarah-Jane said, trying to remember. It had been pretty hard to see.
"We might as well just watch and find out," Jack suggested.
In the drawing room, the Doctor and Agatha are quiet. Donna enters. She states that Davenport can't mourn Roger and that it's more like the dark ages.
"Poor everyone. It's been a heck of a day," Mickey said.
Agatha asks if she inquired about the necklace. Donna informs them Lady Eddison brought it back from India.
"India again. That can't be a coincidence," Rose said, frowning.
"Maybe the wasp is the Unicorn," Ten mused.
"Or they are working together for some reason," suggested Jack.
"I hate not knowing," Ten whined.
"Welcome to how it has been for the rest of us," Nine muttered grumpily.
The Doctor says that it can sting and it can fly, it could wipe them all out in seconds so why hasn't it. Agatha states that every murder is essentially the same. They are committed because someone wants something. The Doctor asks what a Vespiform wants.
"But the Vespiform is part human," Martha realized. "You can't think of it's motives like an alien, it clearly has a human motive to do with Lady Eddison's child and her trip to India."
"You're right. Of course!" Ten groaned. "How did I not see that before?"
"That's why you need us," Rose grinned.
"There are so many reasons I need you," Nine told her fervently. She smirked and kissed him.
Agatha tells him to stop it, the murderer is as human as her or the Doctor.
"Kind of true. One human, one alien. The murderer is part human and part alien," Jack said.
The Doctor agrees, saying he's been so caught up with giant wasps that he has forgotten. She's the expert. Agatha denies this but he says that plenty of people write detective stories but hers are the best because she understands. She had lived, fought, had her heart broken and she knows about people. If anyone can solve it, it's her.
"Let's hope she can before anyone else dies," Donna muttered.
Later on, the Doctor announces to the group that he has called them there because they have a murderer in their midst. When it comes to detection there is none finer, so he introduces Agatha. She begins by saying it's a crooked house, a house of secrets. To understand the solution, they must examine them all. Starting with Miss Redmond.
"Called it," Sarah-Jane laughed.
"Nice work," Jack grinned.
"Now, she's got to be the thief. Agatha surely wouldn't start the secrets with the murderer," Rose said.
"Exactly," Sarah-Jane agreed with a pleased smile.
Robina says she is innocent. Agatha points out she has never met these people and they have never met her. The real Robina Redmond never left London and the woman is impersonating her. Robina asks what proof she has. Agatha states that she said she went to the toilet. Donna cuts in, saying that if she were really posh, she'd say loo.
Everyone chuckled at her antics.
"Never change, Donna," Jack said fondly.
Agatha picks up the locksmith's case, saying that earlier today she and Donna found it on the lawn, right beneath her bedroom. She must have heard Donna was searching the bedrooms so she panicked and disposed of the evidence.
"Underneath her window? Hardly the best hiding place," Mickey scoffed.
"She was in a hurry," Sarah-Jane reminded him. "And it was reasonably well hidden in the bushes."
"Yeah, she's just unlucky such an expert was working the case," Rose grinned.
Robina denied ever seeing it before. Clemency asked what's inside it and Agatha opened it, saying the tools of Miss Redmond's trade. Then she calls her the Unicorn, saying her only intention was to steal the firestone.
"So, it's not related? Just a coincidence because it's worth a lot of money?" Martha asked curiously.
"Seems that way," Sarah-Jane agreed. "Unless she's helping the Wasp, but if she's only pretending to be Robina Redmond, I'm not sure how the Wasp would know and get her help."
Her accent changes as she owns up to being the Unicorn. She tells them to arrest her, throwing the necklace to the Doctor. Donna asks if she is the murderer, while munching on snacks.
"No popcorn available?" Jack jokes.
"Shame. It would be fitting," Donna laughed.
Robina tells her not to be so thick.
"Oi! It's a valid question," Jack protested.
"Yeah. Seems like it's valuable enough to kill for," Mickey agreed.
"But she'd have no need to kill the professor, nor would he have been so friendly to her given that even the real Robina Redmond seems to have been a stranger," Martha pointed out.
She continues that she might be a thief, but she isn't a killer. Agatha agrees, saying there are darker motives at work. Next, she turns to the Colonel. He says damn it woman, she has rumbled him and stands up.
"Woah," Jack whistles.
"Was not expecting that," Nine muttered.
"Why pretend to be wheelchair bound if he's not?" Rose asked in confusion.
"Hopefully, he's about to tell us," Martha said.
Clemency is shocked and asks why. He asks how else he could be certain of keeping her by his side.
"He thinks being a cripple makes her more likely to stay by his side?" Mickey blinked.
"Maybe his accident, or however he made it seem like he needed a wheelchair in the first place was to do with her. Guilt," Jack suggested.
Clemency doesn't understand and he tells her that she's still a beautiful woman and sooner or later some chap will turn her head. Staying in the chair was the only way he could be certain of keeping her.
"Gotta be guilt," Mickey agreed with Jack.
"Not necessarily," Rose frowned.
"But pretty likely," Jack said.
He asks how Agatha found out and she looks bewildered before saying she didn't. She had only planned on saying he was innocent.
Everyone laughed.
"Oops," Martha chuckled.
She apologizes and he awkwardly suggests he sit back down, and she agrees. Donna states he isn't the murderer. Agatha agrees and returns to the firestone. It is far more than just something the Unicorn desires, it has quite the history. She turns to Clemency who says she has done nothing. Agatha states she brought it back from India, and mentions her return with malaria. Clemency begs her to stop. Agatha doesn't and apologizes before continuing that she fell pregnant in India, unmarried and ashamed, she hurried to England with Miss Chandrakala.
"The poor woman. It must have been terrible, having to give up her child," Martha whispered sadly.
Hugh asks if it is true and Clemency agrees she had to give him away.
"So, it was a male child. The only one of them left that it could possibly be is Golightly," said Sarah-Jane.
"He's about the right age and not part of the family directly," Rose agreed.
"His was the only memory who matched up exactly with what he said he was doing. Just unpacking. Everyone else lied about something and we saw it. I guess he finished unpacking early," Martha remembered.
"I still don't see what any of this has to do with Agatha Christie though," Sarah-Jane mused.
Hugh says she never said anything. She replies she had no choice. It would have been a scandal. She is British and she carries on. The Doctor now interjects to say it was no ordinary pregnancy. Clemency asks how he could possibly have known that. He asks Agatha to excuse him and says that when Clemency heard the buzzing in the dining room she said it can't be. He asks why she said that. She states they would never believe her. Agatha tells her the Doctor has opened her mind to believe many things.
Nine and Ten both smiled proudly.
She explains about how she met the Vespiform in human form in Delhi and about their romance. He had even shown her his true form.
"It takes true love, to not care your boyfriend can turn into a giant wasp," Martha muttered.
"Yeah. That's…creepy," Rose agreed. "Not a fan."
He was lost in a flood in 1885, leaving her with a parting gift, the Firestone. Robina comments that it's just like a man to flash the family jewels and she ends up with a bun in the oven. Agatha continues that forty years ago, Miss Chandrakala took the newborn to an orphanage, but Professor Peach worked it out when he found the birth certificate.
"Why was it his business? Why did he care? He said at the start he's always suspected and if they'd just asked. What was that about?" Donna wondered.
"Who knows. It still hasn't explained exactly how he knew the family," Mickey said.
"Yeah. Maybe he was working for someone? Hired by the kid to look into his family? Or maybe his book was about the Eddison's," Jack guessed.
Donna called out that the word maiden had been from maiden name. Agatha agrees. She asks if Clemency killed him which she denied. Agatha says that Miss Chandrakala feared the professor had unearthed the secret so went to warn Clemency. Donna cuts in again to say she killed Chandrakala.
"Will you let Agatha finish?" Jack laughed.
"You talk almost as much as he does," Rose teased, gesturing at Ten. Donna scowled.
Clemency denies it again and Agatha agrees that she is innocent. Then she turns to let the Doctor speak. He stands up and says that when they consider the lies and secrets, and the keys to the events they have to consider it was Donna.
"What?" Everyone asked in complete confusion.
"I hope you mean she's the key to the events and not the murderer," Rose told Ten.
"Of course. I know Donna didn't do it," he scoffed. "She was with me for the murders."
"Just checking," she grinned. "You do have your weird moments."
Donna asks who she killed and he scoffs, saying she said it all along. The whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery. Then he points at Agatha declaring it was her.
"You're barmy," Donna told him.
"Only a little," Ten grinned.
"Again, I'm assuming you don't mean it was Agatha who was the murderer?" Martha asked. His grin widened and he nodded.
She looks confused and Donna asked if she killed them.
"Seriously?" Mickey laughed. "You were with her when Chandrakala and Roger were murdered."
"Plus she had no motive," Sarah-Jane added.
"Well, the Doctor was being pretty confusing, saying each of them did it when he doesn't mean they were the murderer," Rose defended Donna.
"It's not that confusing," Nine protested. They all just looked at him dubiously, except Ten, who was nodding in agreement.
The Doctor scoffed again and says no. He continues that she wrote. She wrote the brilliant books, and he moves his finger to point at Clemency. She tells him to leave her alone and Donna asks if it was her.
Everyone chuckled.
The Doctor asks Clemency what she was doing last Thursday night.
"Thursday night. The night of the break in Golightly mentioned," Sarah-Jane recalled.
"So, his church gets robbed and somehow that links to what Lady Eddison was doing?" Jack frowned.
"Watch and we'll find out," Donna said.
She tells them she was in the library reading her favourite Agatha Christie novel. The Doctor then asks what else happened Thursday night. She is confused but the Doctor turns to look at Golightly. He is also confused. The Doctor explains that he said earlier, on Thursday night the boys broke into the church. Golightly shifts uncomfortably but agrees they did. The screen shows his memory of finding two boys robbing the church. They laugh at him as Golightly says he apprehended them.
"Wait. He apprehended them? Two of them, all by himself?" Rose frowned.
"Well, as a Wasp I'd say he'd probably manage by himself," Donna said.
The Doctor asks if he did really. A man of God against two strong lads. A man in his forties. Then corrects himself to say Golightly is exactly forty. Clemency gasps and stares at him in shock. The Doctor asks how old her child would be and she says forty. He tells her that her child has come home.
"He doesn't exactly seem pleased about it," Martha noted.
"Well, maybe he resents being given up, growing up in an orphanage? Even if she didn't have too much choice," Sarah-Jane suggests.
"I wonder how he found out she was his mother?" Jack mused.
Golightly scoffs, calling it poppycock. The Doctor points out that he said he had been taught by the Christian Fathers which means he was raised in an orphanage. Clemency asks if it can be her son.
"The poor woman. She's so desperate for him to be her son and I don't think he cares. I mean, he's been murdering all the people who found out his secret, and his own half-brother," Rose pointed out.
"Oh, yeah. Roger was his half-brother. So, he wanted to be the only heir? Or did he resent being given up while Roger wasn't?" Mickey wondered.
"Possibly both," Jack shrugged.
The Doctor continues that he found those thieves and got angry. Properly angry for the first time in his life and it broke the genetic lock. He changed. Golightly in the memory starts buzzing as he talks. The boys laugh, until a purple glow surrounds him. Back in the dining room, the Doctor says he realized his inheritance. Then it all kicks off because the Firestone isn't just a jewel. It's a Vespiform telepathic recorder, part of his very essence. When Golightly activated, so did the jewel, beaming his full identity into his mind.
"Well, that answers how he knew about his mother," Sarah-Jane said.
"That's pretty handy, having your whole identity beamed straight to you as soon as you unlock your true self," Jack noted.
"Except he wasn't exactly thrilled about it by the looks of it," Donna muttered.
He explains that it also absorbed the works of Agatha Christie directly from Lady Eddison. It all became part of him. The mechanics of those novels formed a template in his brain. You've killed, in this pattern, because that's what he think the world is. It turns out, they are in the middle of a murder mystery. One of yours, Dame Agatha.
"Really? Now you're spilling the future?" Nine groaned. "She's not a dame yet."
"Oops," Ten grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.
"So, it's pure coincidence that Agatha is linked at all? If Lady Eddison had been reading any other book, then it wouldn't have played out like that at all?" Sarah-Jane asked.
"Yep," Ten agreed, popping the 'p'.
"Wow," Mickey whistled.
Agatha questions calling her dame. The Doctor pauses and apologizes, saying not yet. Then Donna asks if he definitely killed them and the Doctor agrees. Golightly says it has been an entertaining evening but that they can't believe any of this. When he says Lady Eddison's name, it comes out with a buzz. The Doctor asks Lady who and he says it again, with even more buzzing.
"I guess he's changing then," Rose sighed. "Might want to get out of there. You still don't know how to stop him."
"Good point," Ten winced. She rolled her eyes.
The Doctor comments he has a bit of a buzz there. Golightly warns him not to make him angry. The Doctor asks what happens. Golightly angrily says damn humans, worshipping their tribal sky gods. He is so much more, and he wanted to take what was his. Then he asks what is to stop him killing Agatha.
"That would be the Doctor," Martha stated.
Clemency gasps he is her child. Golightly asks what's to stop him killing them all. He transforms into a wasp. Clemecy asks for forgiveness and tries to go to him, but she is held back by Hugh. Agatha declares there will be no more murder as she holds up the stone. If her imagination made him kill, then her imagination will find a way to stop him. She runs out with the Firestorne.
"It's not her fault Lady Eddison happened to be reading her book when this happened," Rose pointed out.
"And he might well have killed people anyway, but made it harder for them to find out who it was," Martha added.
"It won't feel that way to her," Ten said sadly. He understood that kind of guilt all too well.
The Doctor and Donna follow her. Donna comments that it's now chasing them. On the driveway, the Doctor and Donna shut the main door. Agatha is driving the car and she hoots the horn. The wasp bursts out through the doors. She yells for it to come and get her. The Doctor asks what she is doing.
"Saving everyone else," Sarah-Jane said with a slight smile.
"It's very brave of her. I hope she has a plan though," Jack muttered.
She says that if she started it, she has to stop it. Agatha drives off. The wasp hesitates then follows her. The Doctor and Donna get into another car and give chase. In her car, Agatha mutters that it's all her fault over and over again.
"The poor woman. She did nothing wrong," Martha said sadly.
"So, it's the night Agatha Christie disappears, but she was still alive eleven days later," Rose recalled.
"Time is in motion. You know that. Agatha could still die," Nine pointed out.
"Or, we could be about to see how she survives and why she disappeared, coming back with no memory," Sarah-Jane said hopefully.
Donna states that he said this is the night Agatha Christie loses her memory. The Doctor reminds her that time is in flux, and it could be the night Agatha Christie loses her life, changing history. Donna asks where she is going.
"Well, her car was found by a lake, right? So, probably there," Mickey suggested.
Agatha passes a signpost for Silent Pool.
Mickey grinned.
The Doctor states she is heading for the lake but wonders what she is doing. At the lake, Agatha gets out of her car, Firestone aloft and tells the Vespiform to come and get her. Donna and the Doctor get out of their car and Donna notes Agatha is controlling it. The Doctor says that its mind is based on her thought processes so they are linked. Agatha agrees, saying that if she dies then the creature might too.
"Not necessarily," Nine warned. "It's not a full connection. It could survive."
"Wonderful," Jack groaned.
"Maybe she can get him to turn back into a human?" Martha suggested.
"He'd change back every time he got angry. Which might not be often as just plain old Reverend Golightly, but now he's unlocked his Vespiform half, it seems quite an angry thing," Jack pointed out.
"Brilliant," Mickey groaned.
The wasp approaches and the Doctor steps in front of Agatha, telling it not to hurt her. He says it isn't meant to be like this, he has the wrong template in his mind.
"But how do you change that?" Rose asked.
"I'm not sure you can. I might be able to work something out using the Firestone," Ten frowned, trying to think of a solution.
Donna states it isn't listening. She takes the Firestone and throws it into the lake. The wasp follows. They watch as the water bubbles and a purple glow appears. Donna quietly asks how you kill a wasp before saying drown it like his father.
"Donna!" Ten growled. "It wasn't his fault!"
"It wasn't Agatha's either. Or anyone else in that house who died. He couldn't control himself and there was no way to get him to stop. He would have killed Agatha and then us," she defended herself, though she looked sad about what she had had to do in the future.
"Well, this hasn't happened yet, so maybe we can find a way to keep his genetic code locked. So, he never transforms," Martha suggested. "It's not like we can keep him getting angry forever, even as a Reverend."
The Doctor angrily says that it couldn't help itself. Donna replies that neither could she. The water still bubbles purple. Agatha states that death comes as the end and justice is served. The Doctor calls it Murder at the Vicar's rage and at Donna's look admits it needs a bit of work.
"More than a bit," Rose laughed.
"Oi!"
Agatha says there is just one mystery left, asking who he is. Then she doubles over in pain. The Doctor realizes it's the Firestone. The Vespiform's mind is dying, and it's connected to Agatha.
"Oh my god," Martha gasped.
She glows purple for a moment then stops and slumps over. The Doctor said that he let her go. Right at the end, the Vespiform chose to save someone's life.
"Good for him, at least there was some good at the end," Rose said.
Donna grimaced and looked down. The Doctor was right, it hadn't been his fault. He'd chosen to save Agatha when he could, and she had killed him.
"You did what you had to," Jack whispered. "Just because he chose to let one person go when he was dying, doesn't mean he could control himself all the time. You saved people's lives." She wasn't completely convinced, but let Jack's words comfort her temporarily.
Donna asks if she is alright, and the Doctor realizes this is the cause of the amnesia. Her mind was wiped of the wasp and the murders.
"And you two," Jack realized.
"Probably for the best, really," Nine said.
Donna realizes she will forget about them too. He tells her they solved the riddle of Agatha Christie. Tomorrow her car will be found by the side of a lake. A few days later she turns up at a hotel in Harrogate with no idea of what just happened.
"So, I'm guessing you're in charge of dropping her off. Why did it take you so long?" Rose asked in amusement.
"History said eleven days, so I should stick with it," Ten said with a grin and a shrug.
"Not like you," Donna laughed.
The screen changes to outside the Harrogate Hotel. Agatha has been delivered there by TARDIS. The Doctor says no one will ever know. Donna asks about Lady Eddison and the rest, and he tells her it's a shameful story so they'd never talk of it. Too British.
"That's also probably for the best. Poor Lady Eddison though. She lost one son, found the other and then lost him too," Sarah-Jane said sadly.
"Yeah. That must have been horrible," Mickey agreed.
He adds that the Unicorn does a bunk back to London and can never even say she was there. Donna asks about Agatha, and he states she had a great life, met another man and travelled. Wrote loads. Donna says she never thought her books were any good. She must have spent all those years wondering.
"We all wonder if we will be remembered," Jack said with a shrug. "She is remembered, and that's what is important." Donna nodded.
In the TARDIS, the Doctor says he doesn't think she ever quite forgot. A great mind like that, some of the details kept bleeding through, all the stuff her imagination could use like Miss Marple. Donna says she should have made her sign a contract.
"Sign a contract for copyright, decades before you're born?" Jack laughed.
"At least you can say, you inspired Miss Marple. Sort of. I mean, you got the idea from Agatha and gave it to Agatha. Bit of a paradox, but you did," Nine said with a grin. Donna smiled widely.
The Doctor looks for something. He pulls up a deck plate and pulls out an old wooden chest. He says 'C', for Cybermen, Carrionites, pulling out a green ball.
Martha grinned.
"Good old Shakespeare," Ten said with a fond smile.
"Why do you keep that stuff in a chest under the console room?" Rose asked.
"Easy to get to," Nine shrugged.
He pulls out a book called Death in the Clouds with a wasp on the cover. Donna gasps and says she did remember. The Doctor agrees that it all lingered in the back of her mind. Then tells Donna to look at the copyright page. It says it's a facsimile edition published in the year five billion.
"Five billion years and they are still reading Agatha Christie," Martha stated in awe.
"That's one hell of a legacy," Rose said.
"Can't ask for much better," Sarah-Jane agreed.
The Doctor tells her people never stop reading them. She is the best selling novelist of all time.
Mickey whistled in surprise.
"That's incredible. And we met her. Will meet her. Whatever," Donna exclaimed.
"You bet we will," Ten grinned widely.
Donna says that she never knew. The Doctor points out that no one knows how they are going to be remembered. All they can do is hope for the best. Maybe that's what kept her writing. He adds that it's what keeps him travelling. Then he suggests they go onwards. Donna agreed. The TARDIS dematerializes and the screen goes black.
"That one was pretty cool," Jack said, looking impressed.
"Yeah, an adventure I'm definitely looking forward to," Donna agreed. "As long as we can save those poor people."
"And not have the Doctor get poisoned," Rose added.
"I don't know. That was kind of hilarious," Mickey sniggered.
"Except there won't be the miming issue if it does happen, because we all know what he needs this time," Jack pointed out. "It was brilliant though," he added with a wicked grin.
"Quick toilet break then onto the next?" Nine suggested. They all agreed and took five minutes to sort themselves out.