The Buckaroo Diamond
Chapter 1
The heat of a bright sun beat down on the civilians of a growing town. Along the wood and log buildings of the town's market place, horses and carriages were tied securely to posts awaiting their riders and kids haphazardly scurried through the streets.
Along the road, the breeze unsettled the dust next to the boots of a large reptile that stood with his three fingered hands gripping his belt loops. A sheriff's star was pinned to his leather vest that blinded onlookers when it was touched by the sunlight. Light blue eyes squinted behind a dark blue mask that was knotted at the back of his round green head. A leather cowboy hat protected him from the unmerciful sun. The blue masked sheriff surveyed the scene before him. Another bank had been robbed. In two weeks, three banks had been robbed in the county. Not just any banks, but banks owned by a very wealthy businessman who also lived in the town of Manhattan. A man of Japanese decent named Oroku Saki.
The sheriff's eyes twitched when his deputy popped his gum that he'd been chewing… again. Sheriff Leonardo turned to the deputy, Raphael, a red masked turtle whose hand anxiously gripped the holster of his gun. Raph had been the deputy for three years, and had a reputation for his impulsive nature and ruthless interrogations. He once made a serial killer cry. (At least that's what convicts tell their cellmates to scare them.) Finally Raph adjusted the hat on his head and said, "Another robbery, and still no suspects. This is getting out of hand." He then stomped into the disheveled bank. The windows were smashed, and behind the tellers' booths was an array of cashiers carelessly thrown aside, cash and coins were scattered across the floor.
A nervous middle aged man stood across from a third turtle, this one wore an orange mask. He was all smiles, and trying to keep the witness calm. The turtle was known as Mikey by his friends, and he had a lot of those. He was newer to the force, and had only recently completed training and was allowed to work in the field. Like the other two turtles, he had a gun on his hip, boots on his two-toed feet, and a hat on his head. (It looks good to have a more uniform look among the officers, its more "professional", as the sheriff insists.) He held a folder open in his hand and flipped through papers of files on notorious bank robbers that have recently been released from jail. He held one picture up, "Okay, dude, how about this one? The guy's got an eye-patch, they're usually pretty dangerous. Does he look familiar?"
The balding man pushed his glasses farther up on his nose and shook his head furiously. "No, I told you, I was just working my shift while the other teller was on lunch break, and then all of the sudden the main vault exploded open." Mikey closed the folder and scratched his head. "Soo… did you actually see anybody?" The man took of his glasses and started cleaning them with his shirt. He let out a heavy sigh. "I know this sounds crazy, but I didn't see anyone. And the stranger thing is, all of the money seems to still be here. Of course, I'll have to go through and count it all, just to be sure…"
Mikey slung an arm around the teller's shoulders, "No worries, dude, we'll catch the weird ghost-man. I think I'm out of questions, but stay here in case there's anything else."
The main vault was charred and bent from an explosion, and inside the once-secured room a fourth turtle wearing a purple bandana snapped pictures on a Polaroid camera of all the damage and mumbled to himself. He repeatedly removed his hat to scratch at his head. He finally straightened, "Hey, guys, come look at this!"
The three turtles shuffled in. The detective, Donatello, looked at the pictures. "Don't bank robbers usually, you know, take money?"
Raph rolled his eyes, "That's usually the idea, detective. What about it?" Donnie handed the camera to Mikey and said, "Nothing in here was touched. Aside from trespassing and property damage, there really isn't any major crime." Leo tilted his head thoughtfully, "That's the same case with the other robberies, just breaking in and leaving…" Raph crossed his arms across his plastron. "Breaking into a highly secured vault, not touching any money, and somehow doing it without being seen." Donnie dropped his gaze to the floor in concentration, and Mikey's hand shot in the air as if raising his hand to answer a question the teacher asked. "Maybe the guy's gotten poor service from the tellers and just wants to mess with them."
Silence.
Finally, Leo deadpanned, "That's highly unlikely."
Donnie shook his head. "The stranger thing is, although there were explosives used, I also found these knives…" Donnie held up a bag that held three knives with a snake wrapped around the handles. "… Two were embedded in the walls, and one seemed to be used as a tool to carve up the floor in the vault, like they were trying to dig for something."
Mikey crossed his arms. "Psh. If he was digging for gold he should've used a shovel. Everyone knows you use a shovel." Donnie glared at his younger brother. "That's beside the point, Mikey. The point is that explosives and throwing knives? Those seem like two completely different method types. One is extreme, and the other can be just as dangerous in the right hands, but not as wild. It's like two different personalities that don't mix."
Leo looked at the damaged floor. "So you're saying there might be two people we're looking for?" Donnie looked through the photos. "Possibly. It's hard to say for sure."
Raph was getting more and more frustrated, "Look, unless there's any real chance of us finding any answers here, I say we just write up the police report and get out of here." Without a response, he turned and headed towards the main entrance. Leo sighed and followed with Mikey and Donnie close behind. Mikey waved to the teller and Donnie glanced at the shattered windows. Don turned, "Hey Mikey, can I see the camera?" Mikey tossed him the camera and Donnie quickly went to work at capturing the state of the broken glass. Leo shot a puzzled look in his direction. "What do you make of it Donnie?" The purple clad turtle poked his head through the open door to the front of the bank and pointed to the glass shards on the ground. "Usually, when someone is robbing a bank, they break into the building, leaving glass all over the inside. But this glass is on the outside, like someone was escaping."
Leo looked up at the window. "So how did he get in?" Mikey guffawed and his eyes grew wide. "Dudes! He's invisible and he can teleport? He must be like, a comic book character or something!"
Donnie glared at Mikey. "Be reasonable. That's impossible! Nobody has super powers, and nobody can just… disappear."
Raph turned away from the debating duo at the sound of horse hooves beating down on the dusty path. A black horse with an iron bridle adorned in blood red saddle gear plowed towards the bank. Raph sneered when the horse started to slow as it neared them. "I hate to break this up, but it looks like we've got company."
The turtles turned as the horse came to a halt. Oroku Saki glared down from his horse, not giving them the respect of dismounting and being at eye-level. He was notorious for doing little things to remind them of his wealth and power (and famous big ego).
His voice boomed. "Officers, please tell me that you have caught the worm that has been giving me trouble." Leo fought to keep his composure, "Unfortunately, no, but-"
"So you have a suspect?" Saki waited for an answer that did not come. "A lead, then? A clue? Have you turtles found anything on this case? I already have to pay out of pocket for the repairs on my buildings and I'm growing impatient."
Leo shuffled his feet uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "We have everything under control." Saki growled, "That's not good enough!" Donnie furiously scribbled in his notebook and started to perk up. "As a matter of fact, we do have something. We know what the mysterious 'ghost' wants." Mikey looked at Donnie with a confused expression. "We do?" Leo turned from Saki and whispered fiercely, "We do?"
Raph snagged the opportunity and smirked at the businessman. "Yup, we do, and it's classified, for officers' eyes only. So, as you were." On that note, the deputy shoved his brothers and they stumbled into a fast paced walk, leaving Saki to his own thoughts.
Mikey looked around the group as they walked. "Soo am I the only one who missed the part where we figured something out? Because I missed the whole 'eureka' moment thing."
Donnie tapped his pencil against his notebook as they walked. "Think about it, all these robberies have one thing in common: Oroku Saki. And none of the money has been touched, which means they're looking for something different. And what else could there be of precious value held in Manhattans' Saki-owned banks?"
Leo brought a hand to his forehead. "Of course! The Buckaroo Diamond!" Raph groaned. "Nobody knows which bank the diamond is hidden in though." Donnie grinned from ear to ear, "Correction, two people know. The man who discovered the diamond was our own resident archeologist, Kirby O'neil. Mr. O'neil and his daughter should both know which bank they've hidden it away in. We're going to their house next."
Mikey elbowed his nerdy brother and mumbled, "You just want another excuse to see her again." Mikey chuckled when his blushing brother didn't respond.
