It's a hard life investigating the paranormal. There aren't many people willing to admit when something out of the ordinary is going on. Even fewer are willing to hire a PI. Usually, by the time people get to Turtle detective's doorstep, things are out of control; like last month, when he had to exorcise a poltergeist from the new home of a very rich business tycoon. After he sent the haunt on its way, Mr. Money-bags changed his mind about the possibility of ghosts and refused to pay, claiming Turtle detective was a charlatan who conned his gullible, young wife.
The wife was not only young and gullible-she was also bored and dissatisfied in her marriage. So, in a way, Olaf the Turtle detective got him back.
Anyway, Turtle detective isn't here because he wants to be. He's here because something is always pulling him back to these stories. Last week, it was aoky-locks in the basement of an abandoned theater. She kept slamming her door shut and opening it again, growing more and more frantic as the night went on.
Finally, she must have fallen asleep, because when Turtle detective got there this morning, the place was empty. He found no one, and no trace of her. This has turned out to be another one of those "open-and-no-one-see" cases. Meaning, someone— probably more than one— entered that building last night and escaped with all the appliances inside.
The owners aren't talking, and the police can't do anything about it unless someone reports a break-in.
You know he's going to do it anyway. He's a PI, and he's going to find out who broke into that building last night. He could probably find out within an hour, if he really tried. Turtle detective can't resist a good mystery.
He starts his car, puts it in gear and pulls out onto the street.
"Let's go to work," he says to his sidekick rat.
Turtle detective is going to try to solve this case himself, just like he always does.
The difference this time is that he's going to fail. And in trying to fail, he's going to learn something he didn't know before. He's going to learn that he can't do it.
Or maybe he won't. Maybe this time, he won't.
It's a long shot that Turtle detective wins. But it's not a long shot that he loses.
At this point, it doesn't really matter if he wins or loses. The outcome is going to be the same either way. It's like opening a can of worms. (Specifically, a ghostly worm inside an abandoned theater.)
The first thing he learns is that the intruders took the building manager's daughter with them. The second thing he learns is that they're probably going to have her killed.
Fortunately for the theater owner, he has no idea who did this. Fortunately for Olaf, he isn't willing to risk contacting the police again. He wants the whole mess to go away, and he has no intention of giving it to anyone either.
Nevertheless, he gives Olaf the turtle some information.
"Only an idiot," he says, "would attempt such a crime with no cover, so they're probably small-time."
Turtle detective shrugs. "Whatever you say, ol' friend." He starts to leave, then turns back to the owner. "Also, try not to have your daughter murdered. That's all." With those words, he strides out of the theater.
The owner shakes his head and goes back to watching his movie.
Turtle detective pulls out his notebook. "So, what do we have?"
"You got a name?" the sidekick rat asks. "Any clues?"
Turtle detective blinks. "Uh... no."
"Should we have one?" the rat asks sarcastically.
"Sure," Turtle Detective answers.
After some thought, Turtle detective decides most people do have names.
Where does he start looking for this person? He could look in the poorer sections of town, where the rest of his kind live. Or he could look in the upper class districts, where people usually obey the rules more stringently.
But he can't spend all night just standing around, now. So, which areas should he investigate?
Rat says: Go to the poor areas. Poor people are more likely to break rules. If you find the daughter, you'll get the name.
"Whatever," Turtle detective says. "I'm not following your orders this time. You're the sidekick. Not me."
"Have it your way," Rat says.
At the end, Turtle detective decides to investigate the slums, the run-down areas of town where many poor citizens live. He walks down the streets, heading towards the poor areas, along with his rat sidekick.
It takes a long time to get there on foot. A long way from home. Along the way, he sees many things. People sleeping on the street, begging for coins.
Soon, he hears a yell. It's the sidekick. "Detective! Over here!"
Turtle detective looks around. He sees a man in a cheap suit, standing next to a trash bin. And, then, walking away to towards the alley.
Turtle detective runs up to him. "What's wrong, Bruno?"
"You need to see this!" Bruno the rat says.
Turtle detective follows his rat over to the trash bin. He doesn't see anything out of the ordinary... at first. Then, he sees something strange in the bin. Something darker than the trash itself.
He walks up to it, leaning over the edge of the bin.
It’s a human foot.
"This looks bad," Turtle Detective says. He pulls the rest of the body out of the bin.
He lays it out on the ground. The face is swollen. The eyes shut. The dent in the skull is visible. The neck has a large gash.
"It's a murder," Turtle detective says. "We should call the police."
"Do you recognise the victim?" Rat asks.
Turtle detective shakes his head. "I never saw him in my life."
"Call the police," Olaf the turtle detective orders his rat sidekick "and wait here to keep an eye on the body till the cops arrive. Meanwhile, I'll chase that suspicious man wearing cheap blue suit. He ran in to the alley."
"Wait, you're going in there?"
"Yes," Olaf says. "With the help of my excellent detective skills, I should be able to catch him by closing my eyes and heading in his direction."
"Wait," Bruno says. "You don't even know if he's the one who killed that man!"
"That won't impact my ability to catch him," Olaf says. "I'm a detective. I don't need to know who my suspects are."
"Please," Bruno says. "I've seen you chase after people before. They got away. I don't think you should-"
"Good luck in there, Rat" Turtle says, turning around. He runs towards the alley to catch the man in cheap blue while rat does as the turtle detective told him to do and calls the cop.
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