CHAPTER ONE

Sarah Henderson stared Naomi the next morning. Naomi looked terrible, her skin was pasty and there were dark circles under her eyes. And it looked like she slept in her clothes, they were wrinkly.
" What happened to you?" Sarah asked her, " Do you have a hang over or something?"
" I wish," Naomi groaned, " No, I just didn't get any sleep last night."
" How come?" Sarah began putting the books that needed to be shelved on the trolley.
" I was attacked in the parking lot last night."
Sarah's eyes widened in shock as Naomi quickly told her what happened, " Thank goodness the guy showed up when he did," Naomi said, " or you would have found me dead in the lot with stab wounds."
" Why are you here then?" Sarah demanded, " You should be at home."
" That's the last thing I want to do," Naomi told her, " I just want to forget this whole thing ever happened."
Sarah stared at her, " You're nuts. If I were you, I'd try and find this knight in shining amour."
" I'm going to do that…but finding my rescuer would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Impossible."
Sarah played with a strand of red hair, " What did this guy look like?"
Naomi shrugged, " I don't know," she admitted, " he was wearing a trench coat and hat."
" Very mysterious," Sarah grinned, " you never know…perhaps this fellow could be your future soul mate."
Naomi laughed dryly, " With the luck I've had with men, I seriously doubt it."
" Well, if you really want to forget about last night, how about coming to the pub with me and Jan?" Jan was Sarah's sister.
" Sure," Naomi agreed, " After work."
" Speaking of work…I guess we better get on with it. These books wont shelve themselves," Sarah pushed the trolley in front of her and the door opened and their first customer walked in.
" It's going to be a long day," Naomi muttered to herself.

* * *

Raph rolled over in bed ignoring the persistent ringing of his clock. His search for the attacker failed last night. He searched high and low for nothing. He hoped the girl he saved was still okay.
There's only way to find out, he said to himself. He'll pay the library a visit today, but since it was daytime, he had to be careful.
Someone pounded on his door, " Up and at 'em Raph!" it was Michaelangelo and Raph gritted his teeth. If it was one thing he hated, it was being woken up.
" Get lost!" he called out.
The knocking continued, " I've made some waffles!" Mike cajoled and Raph's stomach grumbled. Mike was the best cook out of the four turtles and Raph got out of bed and stumbled into the living room.
" Morning," Mike greeted him.
Raph just grunted and sat down at the table.
" Leo told me what happened last night," Mike began, " and he said you left again. Why?"
" To find the attacker," Raph said as he dug into his waffles, " I was stupid to let him get away. But I couldn't find him." He swallowed, " So I was thinking of paying the girl a visit."
" How do you know where she lives?"
" I don't, but I know where she works," Raph finished his waffles, " Thanks Mike, those hit the spot,"
" You're welcome." Mike studied his brother, " be careful ok? This guy sounds nasty."
" He's no one I can't handle, " Raph assured him before leaving the den.

Raph found the library and hesitated before the door. Should he risk it? The turtles were very careful keeping their identities a secret, because most humans just wouldn't understand or scientists would have a field day with him and his brothers.
He pulled the brim of his hat low over his eyes and turned the collar of his coat up. Then he opened the door and stepped inside.
It was a small, airy library with mahogany furniture, rows of books, and stain glass windows. He looked around, there was a red-haired girl at the circular counter but no Naomi. He was about to leave when he saw the small brunette push a trolley full of books in front of her.
She looked pale and tired, but otherwise ok. When she spotted him, recognition dawned in her eyes, " It's you," she greeted him, abandoning the trolley and walking closer.
Raph kept his eyes downcast, " I just wanted to see if you were ok," he told her.
" Still a bit shaken, but fine," she answered, " Thanks to you. Why don't you let me buy you lunch to thank you for saving my life."
" No, its ok…but what you can do for me is tell me who wanted to kill you last night."
Naomi twisted the hem of her blouse in her hands, " I-I can't," she whispered.
" You mean…you knew who it was?"
Naomi nodded, " he's been after me since he found out that I-…well, I just can't tell you. It would put you in danger too."
" I can take care of myself. Tell me who he is and I'll go find him. I wont be able to rest if I know that creep is still on the loose."
" Matthew Garland," Naomi sighed, " He has dark brown hair and brown eyes and he's on the short side, but he's very strong."
" I'll make sure he'll never bother you again,"
Naomi paused, " You're not going to…kill him are you?"
" No," Raph lied, " I'll hand him over to the cops." He touched her shoulder for a minute before leaving the library. Naomi stared after the mysterious figure disappearing through the doorway.
Sarah hurried up to her, " Was that him?" she demanded her eyes bright with curiosity.
" Yeah…he wanted to know the name of my attacker," Naomi told her, " He says Matthew wont bother me again."
" What is that guy? An undercover cop or something?"
" That could explain his willingness to protect me," Naomi speculated.
" Do you think you'll see him again?"
" Yes," Naomi nodded, " I'm going to try and find out who is he. He's not going to get away with being all mysterious."
Sarah sighed, " It's all so romantic," she murmured.
" Its nothing to do with romance," Naomi snorted, " I don't even know his name."