One morning in Radiator Springs, Lightning McQueen and the townsfolk were spending time at Flo's V8 Cafe while Doc Hudson was busy doing something in the clinic.
Just then, Lightning realized there was something wrong going on in the town. He noticed that some fuel cans and some tires were missing from Fillmore's Organic Fuels and Luigi's Casa Della Tires.
"Is something wrong, buddy?" asked Mater, noticing the confused look on his friend's face.
"No, not at all," said Lightning. "But I think there's something you should know."
"What is it, Stickers?" asked Sally.
"Something's not right," said Lightning.
"What could that be?" asked Luigi.
"I just looked around the town and I noticed that some items are missing from stores," said Lightning.
"What items?" asked Sarge.
"Some fuel cans are missing and some tires are missing," said Lightning.
"Oh, dear," said Sally.
"Everyone start searching!" said Sheriff.
The townsfolk searched around the town, the courthouse, and the Tractor Pasture.
Mater tried not to get distracted by tractors and start playing Tractor Tipping.
After searching and no sign of the missing items, the townsfolk regathered at Flo's V8 Cafe.
"This is strange," said Lightning. "The town was well-organized when we went to sleep last night, so now what?"
"I know, man," said Ramone. "It's weird. How could items disappear on their own?"
"Did someone steal them?" asked Flo.
"I don't know," said Lightning. "Maybe."
"That's it!" said Sheriff. "So, someone might have just happened to have been thieving around here last night."
"Good point, Sheriff," said Lightning. "But who? It's not like we don't know what's going on."
"It looks like we have a mystery in town," said Sally.
The townsfolk gasped.
"A mystery?" said Lizzie.
"What do we do?" asked Mack.
"We need to solve this mystery," said Lightning.
"How are we gonna do that?" asked Fillmore.
Overhearing the situation, Doc quickly drove out of the clinic. "All right, I wanna know who's behind this," he said.
"We have no idea who stole those items," said Mater.
"Well, we're gonna figure this out and we're gonna find that car who stole them," said Doc.
"Doc's right," said Sally. "If we don't fix this, we'll be done for."
"You're right, Sally," said Doc. "Now, who's with me?"
The townsfolk all agreed, including Lizzie, Red, and Mack.
"And together, we can solve this mystery!" said Lightning.
"Then let's do this!" said Mater.
With that, the townsfolk drove off into the highway of Route 66.
"Okay, detectives," said Doc. "First, we need to look for clues."
"What do they mean?" asked Mater.
"They're to help us track the criminal," replied Lightning.
Then, Fillmore noticed some car tracks on the road. "I think I found something," he said.
"What did you find?" asked Sarge.
"I found some tracks of a car of some type," said Fillmore, looking back down at the tracks.
"Most cars leave tracks like those," said Luigi.
"That's true, Luigi," said Doc. "Well, then, let's investigate."
Doc turned to Guido. "Guido!" he called out to him.
"Pronto!" said Guido.
Guido took out his magnifying glass to investigate the tracks, and he saw that they were race car tracks.
"Well, would you look at that," said Mater.
"Mmm-hmm, it looks like we've discovered the tracks of a race car," said Flo.
"The tracks of a race car," said Doc. "Check!"
The townsfolk continued searching.
Then, Mater saw some tires on the road. "I found another clue!" he said.
"All right, what is it?" asked Doc.
"Take a look at this," said Mater.
Mater looked back at the tires and saw that they said "Lightyear" on them.
"Well, It looks like these belong to a race car," said Ramone.
"These clues lead to one solution," said Doc.
"And what could that be?" asked Mater.
"A race car has stolen our stuff," said Doc.
"How are we gonna know which one?" asked Mack.
"Well, let's see," said Lightning. "Before, there were forty-two race cars. One of them must be the culprit."
"Do you know any of their names?" asked Flo.
"Um, I do know Chick Hicks and The King, Strip Weathers," said Lightning.
"Well, not all race cars have Lightyear tires," said Sheriff. "Because I know some delinquent road hazards that used to drive me crazy around here."
Doc knew who Lightning and Sheriff were talking about. "I've got an idea," he said.
"Then let's move, detectives!" said Sarge.
Back at Radiator Springs, the townsfolk were gathered in Traffic Court with Chick Hicks, The King, Strip Weathers, and the Tuner Cars, Boost, DJ, Wingo, and Snot Rod, while Mack watched from the window.
"Strip Weathers, Chick Hicks, Tuner Cars, I've called you here because something is missing from our town," said Doc.
"What are you talking about, old man?" said Boost. "We didn't do it!"
"Yeah," said Snot Rod. "We didn't..."
Then, Snot Rod let out a sneeze. "...do it," he finished.
"Our first clue was race car tracks," said Doc.
Mater used his hook to draw the way the tracks looked on the floor.
"But those tracks aren't like my tracks," said The King.
"Well, they're not mine, either," said Chick.
"Or ours," said DJ.
"Yeah," said Wingo. "Of course not, right, boys?"
"Yeah!" said the other Tuner Cars.
"And our next clue was Lightyear tires," said Doc.
Guido took out his magnifying glass once again and saw that the tires were purple, blue, green, and orange. "Sono viola, blu, verdi, e arancione!" he said.
"What's he saying?" asked Lightning.
"The tires are purple, blue, green, and orange," said Luigi.
Doc knew who the culprit was. "It's true," he said. "The culprit wasn't Strip Weathers or even Chick Hicks. It was... The Tuner Cars!"
The townsfolk started talking all at once.
"What happened?" asked Lightning.
"Last night, they were sneaking up on the town and ended up taking our stuff," said Doc.
"You losers will pay for this!" Boost snapped at the townsfolk.
"No, you all will," said Lightning, getting in the Tuner Cars' faces.
"Mater, tow these criminals away," Sheriff told Mater.
"Yes, sir!" said Mater.
With that, Mater attached his hook to the Tuner Cars, and one by one, he towed them out of Radiator Springs.
"Mmm-hmm, and we thought this all came from a race car," said Flo.
"I guess we were wrong, man," said Ramone.
"But it was all totally worth it," said Sally.
"You said it, Sal," said Lightning.
After the mystery had been solved, the townsfolk were back in peace at Flo's V8 Cafe.
"It's all settled," said Sally. "Now, all we have to do is figure out a way to put everything back the way it was."
"Then let's do this!" Mater said once again.
So the townsfolk started putting things back the way they were and never had another crime again.
The End