CHAPTER TEN

Leo knelt down next to them and felt for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was weak, but Splinter was still alive, " No, he's still alive. Did you even check for a pulse?"
" No…when I saw him just lying there…I though-" Mike broke off as Raph got a pillow and placed it under their master's head. There was a deep gash near Splinter's left eye and th fur around it had matted, " Where's Naomi? Whoever attacked Splinter must have gotten to her too," Raph said as he covered Splinter with a blanket. Mike went to fetch the first aid kit.
" She's the one who did this Raph," Leo retorted, " I never trusted her from the start."
" She wouldn't attack Splinter!" Don exclaimed horrified at the thought. He tried to picture sweet, gentle Naomi hurting Splinter.
" Donnie's right," Raph agreed, " I know Naomi-she's not the enemy here. Matthew Garland is. He must have followed us home from Central Park today."
" Maybe," Leo conceded, " But we should go and find Naomi and someone should stay here with Splinter,"
Mike returned with the first aid kit, " I'll stay and fix up Splinter," he offered. He was the only one who knew first aid anyway.
The three left the den, " Raph, where would Garland take Naomi?" Don asked Raph as they hurried through the sewers.
" I know where," Raph answered grimly, " Follow me guys," he rushed through the sewers with his brothers hot on his heels. They were out on the streets and heading for Naomi's destroyed apartment.
" At least Garland didn't burn down the whole entire building," Leo remarked as they entered the building and used the elevator to Naomi's floor.
A yellow DO NOT CROSS tape stretched in front of the doorway where the door should have been. Leo used his katana to slash the tape and they charged inside.
" Oh my God," Don said, " She's not here." The three stared at the hastily scrawled message on the far wall:

Fooled you! Think you can find me?
You'll never see Naomi alive again.

" He must have known we'd come here and decided to take her somewhere else," Leo said as the turtles left the apartment.
" Well that's a blinding flash of the obvious," Raph snapped, " C'mon, he can't be too far ahead."
" We should search this place for clues first," Don suggested.
" I doubt they'll be any…but it can't hurt," Leo agreed and they searched throughout the apartment. Raph felt saddened at the blackened, charred mess. All of Naomi's life was gone.
" Guys, I think I found something," Don called excitedly from Naomi's room. He rushed back into the living room and held up a diary, " I found this under the bed, it hasn't been touched by the fire. And in it I found the address for Garland's place. He could have taken her there."
Raph grabbed the lilac colored book from him, " She must be missing this," he said as he flipped through the pages. It was her journal filled with her neat handwriting. He tucked it into his belt for safekeeping, " Let's go guys." He said twirling his sai between his fingers, " We have a creep to kill and a girl to save."
" We won't really kill him will we?" Don asked them warily.
" if we have to," Raph looked at him sternly, " He's crazy Don, he plans to kill Naomi if we don't get there in time."
" But why does he want to kill her anyway?" Leo wondered, " Is he some jealous ex-boyfriend?"
" Much worse than that," Raph paused, " Guys, I think its time I should tell you about them."
" How much do you know Raph?" Leo demanded, " I had a feeling you were hiding something from us."
" Matthew Garland isn't some jealous ex-boyfriend," Raph ignored Leo's question, " he's her twin brother."
Leo stopped dead in his tracks," Twin brother?" he repeated, astonished.
" yes. Garland wants to kill her because she can read his mind. She developed the powers when they were very young. One day when they were in the early twenties, she accidentally learnt of his plot to kill their parents."
" Kill their parents!" Don echoed stunned, " Why would he want to do that?"
" Their parents were filthy rich and Garland being the first born son by five minutes would be the one to inherit their millions. He couldn't wait until they died of old age, so he plotted…and Naomi happened to read his mind and he was furious. He killed their parents anyway and was determined to kill her so that he wouldn't be handed over to the cops." Raph paused, " She fled California and made a new life for herself here in Manhattan. But after five years, Garland had tracked her down."
" Wait a minute," Leo said, " If they are siblings, why do they have different last names?"
" That's what I asked her," Raph answered, " She made up a different last name to make it harder for Garland to find her. And it worked-for awhile."
" How did he find her?"
" Where she works at the public library. He attacked her that night but I happened to get in the way."
" So she has telepathy. Can she read our minds?" Leo asked and Raph shook his head.
" No, she can only read her brother's mind," Raph assured him, " So we're safe."
" Good," Don felt relieved. After all, his thoughts about Naomi had been far from innocent. It would be mortifying if she knew he was lusting after her.
" Here we are," Raph announced, " Fifty-seventh street," he walked onwards with his brothers in tow.
" We don't really have to hurt Garland do we?" Don asked apprehensively, " after all, he is Naomi's twin brother."
" He's insane," Raph reminded him, " We'll kill him if we have to."
Don frowned at this but remained silent. He was not looking forward in confronting Garland.
They hurried through the apartment and to 3b-Garland's apartment. Raph didn't hesitate as he kicked down the door and barged in," Naomi!" he shouted.
" Well, well," A voice answered him, " I wondered what was taking you so long to get here."
" Garland," Raph snarled as he saw a shadow appear in front of the them. The place was in complete darkness and there was no sign of Naomi anywhere.
" What have you done with Naomi?" Don demanded from behind him.
" Done? Why, nothing yet," Garland said, " I wasn't planning on doing anything until you got here." Then Raph blinked as the room was suddenly flooded with light. They were standing in the living room.
" Naomi!" Raph said as they spotted Naomi lying on a table in the middle of the room. She was gagged, her arms and legs were tied to the table. She looked terrible-her face was severely bruised, there was a bloody gash on her forehead and her hair was matted with blood. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was raspy.
" You scum," Raph growled, " How can you beat your own sister up?"
" Ah, so you know the truth do you?" Garland asked.
" Yes we know the truth. How you killed your parents and went ballistic when you learned Naomi read your mind," Leo was disgusted, " Hand her over and no one will have to get hurt."
At that moment, Naomi stirred and opened her eyes. She turned her head and recognized the turtles. She tried to call out to them but only managed a muffled groan.
" Shut up!" Matthew snapped at her, " Hand her over eh? I don't think so. And if any of you come near me or her-" he revealed a very sharp butcher knife