The Buchanan Brothers and the Botanical Bandits

By D.W. Dixon

Amidst the gleaming spires of electric skyscrapers and soaring airships that define the turn-of-the-century skyline of bustling Grisham City, a series of brazen technology heists threatens to plunge the shining metropolis into darkness. When the innovative inventions of the city's most brilliant minds begin disappearing without explanation, private detectives and fraternal sleuths Luke and John Buchanan are thrust into a high-stakes race to crack the confounding case.

Following a slender trail of cryptic clues, the dogged duo must navigate the labyrinthine underbelly of Grisham to uncover who or what is behind the spate of robberies, before the city's most remarkable technologies fall into the wrong hands. Aided by the research prowess of their clever cousin Mary and the investigative savvy of the city's most intrepid police lieutenant, Bailey, the Buchanan brothers plunge headfirst into a web of danger as the shadowy perpetrators grow increasingly bold.

Every innovative mind in Grisham seems under threat as the daring thefts escalate, and every tantalizing lead pulls Luke and John deeper into the city's darkest underworld. To disrupt a cunning criminal plot, save the visionary inventors from ruin, and prevent a revolutionary new technology from being wielded for nefarious ends, the brothers must survive attacks from the city's most vicious gangs and outmaneuver the stone-faced titans of industry who seek to control Grisham's technological future.

The answers behind the robberies may be far more significant than anyone imagined, and lives, as well as the shining city itself, hang in the balance. In a race against time, Luke and John must use every ounce of their cunning and courage to unmask the shadowy forces threatening to extinguish Grisham's technological brilliance, before the city is plunged into a new dark age.

• Language: English
• Publisher: D.W. Dixon
• Release date: Jun 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224145997

Book preview

The Buchanan Brothers and the Botanical Bandits

D. W. Dixon

Contents

Title Page

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Helping Mr. Stephens

Chapter 2 - The Odd Camera

Chapter 3 - Scene Of The Crime

Chapter 4 - Evidence

Chapter 5 - The Ice Cream Parlor

Chapter 6 - The Library

Chapter 7 - The Warehouses

Chapter 8 - Space Elevator

Chapter 9 - Sparring

Chapter 10 - The Chief’s Visit

Chapter 11 - The Hardware Store

Chapter 12 - Mabel’s Clues

Chapter 13 - The Next Robbery

Chapter 14 - The Stolen Van

Chapter 15 - Mr. Bradley’s Lab

Chapter 16 - The Tycoon

Chapter 17 - The Hunt For Mr. Larson

Chapter 18 - Anderson Warehouses

Chapter 19 - Jailbreak

Chapter 20 - Mr. McCoy

Chapter 21 - The Raid

Chapter 22

About The Author

Introduction

The Enigmatic Robbery

A bright moon rose over a quiet summer evening in the gleaming city of Grisham. The Pinker Labs Building was in a cozy area of neat brick buildings and tree-lined streets in the Brass Hill borough.

The bioluminescent algae in the streetlights were beginning to glow their light blue-green color, illuminating the lab's quiet street. In the west, the faintest glow of the sun could be seen, lengthening shadows as it sank.

Mr. Pinker, as usual, was the last of his inventors to leave. He was proud of his idea to house multiple labs under one roof. They could pool their resources and knowledge to accomplish their own goals and help each other. He thought of the progress on his own invention using that help and began whistling contentedly. He locked the doors and checked all the windows.

Grisham didn't have much crime, though it seemed that the criminals had become more active of late. The newspapers had an extra story or two this week about purse snatchers and robberies. He thought it was best to be safe rather than sorry.

As he went to the front doors, the left one opened, and the well-built form of the night watchman, Brian, walked in with a thermos, a lunchbox, and the Daily Eagle under his arm.

Good evening, Mr. Pinker! He said heartily, I checked around the building on my way in, and it’s all secure.

Mr. Pinker gave a friendly smile, Good evening to you too, Brian. I have locked everything in here, but I would appreciate it if you ensured I didn’t miss anything.

Of course, Brian said, Just let me stash my things, and I will get right on it.

Thanks a bunch, Mr. Pinker said, I’ll see you in the morning.

He went out the front doors, and Brian locked them behind him.

Mr. Pinker whistled and walked to his steam-powered car. While he waited for the boiler to warm up, he breathed in the clean scent of the street and listened to the leaves of the hundred or so birch trees along the sidewalk rustle in the low breeze.

When the boiler was warm enough, a red light on the dashboard illuminated. Mr. Pinker activated the turbine and drove off in a cheerful mood, the car softly hissing.

Brian made his round and carefully checked the doors and windows. He liked his job and enjoyed looking over the marvelous gadgets and machines the inventors created.

Often, he didn’t know what he was looking at, but they were all impressive feats just the same. One lab contained a wooden box with copper coils extending from it in all directions. Each coil ended in a small steel ball, and Brian marveled at the wires' precision and the steel's smoothness.

Another lab held an array of glass tubes and heavy brass connectors that joined the tubes in a hexagonal shape. Wires ran to the tubes and a large wooden box with many small silver switches in its face. Even when no one was in the lab, this device would occasionally hum by itself for a few minutes.

After checking that the building was secure, he sat in his small office, poured a cup of coffee from his thermos, and sat back to read the newspaper. He hummed as he read about the Grand Opening of the longest mag-lev project to date besides the space elevators. It stretched from Grisham to Emerald, and people were calling it The Thread. One of the final steps to opening the grand train was the completion of the special track as it crossed the Mississippi River using the Union Bridge.

About an hour later, he finished the economics section and returned the paper to the table. He thought over what he had read and stood, stretching. He tisked to himself about some of the poor decisions made by the board of directors in a once-profitable company.

He made another round, again checking that the side door, front door, and windows were all locked. He wasn't worried about criminals breaking in to steal unfinished gadgets, but the walk kept him awake, and he got to see all the shiny, intricate devices again. 

As a former boxer, he would have relished taking on any two-bit criminal or any group, but he fully expected this night to be quiet and calm like every other night. Unknown to him, however, tonight would be very different.

A few hours later, after making several more rounds, he had just finished the funnies in the paper when he thought he heard a muffled bang from the back of the lab.

He put down the paper, mildly perplexed at what could cause such a noise. He went to the furthest room from the front of the building. This was Mr. Pinker's lab, and had some heavy, bulky radio thing on a massive wooden table. He had fully expected to find that a tool or heavy box had fallen and made the noise, but everything was in its place.

As he examined the room more, Brian knew something was wrong: there was a distinct layer of dust on top of everything. The room had been pristine an hour before when he made his rounds.

He could also hear muffled voices that sounded like they were arguing through the rear brick wall. The only thing back there was an alley, and there was no good reason for anyone to be there at four in the morning.

He clenched his fists, stomped to the side door, and unlocked it quietly. He pulled out his heavy flashlight from his belt but didn't switch it on yet. He knew the building well enough to find his way to the alley with his eyes closed.

The Pinker Labs building was the middle of three similar structures that faced Birch Street. Behind the lab were three more buildings of roughly the same size facing Heron Street. Between all of these buildings was a long, narrow alley where the voices came from.

The side of the building was dimly lit due to the closeness of the structure to the lab’s right. Except for the street lamps at the front of the lab, there were no other lights. Brian closed the door quietly behind him and crept toward the rear alley with one hand on the rough brick wall, staying silent and listening intently.

His heart began to beat faster at the possibility of a confrontation, but his hands remained steady. He reached the rear of the building and carefully peered around the corner.

The alley was in complete darkness, but for a small light that shone occasionally. He entered the darkened space behind the buildings, where the light from the street lamps was a mere glow.

He could hardly see his hand before his face, but he steeled himself and moved into the space behind the buildings. He alert now, looking for places where someone might ambush him. He had walked down most of its length before coming across a dark-colored van sitting inert, waiting to be used. He knew the van hadn’t been there earlier when he arrived.

It smelled like old oil, hot metal, and propane. Brian got the impression that it might be older than him. He thought he heard a slight sound like metal sliding on metal behind him. He swung around quickly but saw no silhouettes in the street lights' dim glow, so he turned back and moved past the van.

The men were still arguing quietly and stood hunched about ten feet before the van with their backs to him. Brian switched on his light, the beam catching two thin, pale men dressed in long black overcoats. They had sharp features and long, stringy hair.

The men both turned their heads toward him and shielded their eyes, trying to see past the light. They huddled over a metal box, startled by the sudden glare of the bright light. Compared to their slight frames, Brian was a muscled giant who stood at six feet, two inches.

Morning, gentlemen, He said, Can I help you?

The men looked at each other, and the one on the right said, No, thank you, uh, officer. We were just looking for—that is, we need to find—uh, we seem to have lost something—something that we need to locate.

While the first man mumbled through their explanation, the second man carefully slipped his hand into his jacket pocket. He fumbled with an object there and finally managed to press the right switch.

-and so we figured, uh, that we were, uh, more or less, maybe in the right place. Is this 3rd and Dupont Street? The man finished lamely.

Brian was nonplussed. Gentlemen, I am going to have to ask you to leave. You are currently on private property without permission. I don’t know where 3rd and Dupont Street are, but they aren’t here.

The other man spoke for the first time: Sorry, officer, for the confusion. My brother can be excitable at times.

Brian said, That is fine, although, to clarify, I am not a policeman. I am head of security here and like to file nice, quiet reports, so why don’t you two head out of here now?

There was a quiet scraping behind him that he almost missed. Brian noticed that the men were now looking over his shoulder and that a green glow was rapidly filling the alley behind him.

His boxer’s instincts kicked in; he spun his waist and hips while dropping into a fighter’s stance, the light in his left hand. In the same instant, he saw a mountainous shadow, more massive than himself, filling the alley behind him. It was silhouetted by the streetlights’ dim glow and emanated a green light. He caught a glimpse of brass gears and metallic joints in his flashlight’s beam.

Is this some kind of cyborg? he thought incredulously as he gaped at the glowing, hulking figure before him. His heart raced in sudden fear.

The shadow clanked and hissed. It moved in a blur, one arm swinging out wide, unbelievably fast. The last thing Brian remembered was the crack of a metal fist slamming into the side of his head with more force than he had ever been punched before.

He reeled into the wall from the force of the blow before falling unconscious to the alley floor.

Chapter 1 - Helping Mr. Stephens

The early June sun rose over the coastal city of Grisham, glinting off its many tall buildings of polished metal. A thin cloud of dirigibles and airships floated over the city, moving lazily in the morning light.

The Atlantic Ocean sparkled to the horizon in the brilliance of the morning sun, while to the north, the Tumult Mountains shone a deep blue.

It was Monday morning, and the city slowly woke to face the day. Merchants opened shops shuttered for the weekend and set up displays advertising their wares.

Long dining counters with many stools were filled to the brim. People chatted, laughed, and teased as they ate eggs, toast, and sausages while drinking coffee and reading newspapers.

At the heart of the city was the tall, gleaming Inspiration Station. The mag-lev central hub was all sparkling glass and curved iron beams covered in stainless steel and chrome.

It was a significant hub of transport, commerce, and government.

Many shops resided in the massive tower, the mayor's office, and the county court as well.

At the top of the curved structure, under its colossal glass dome, was the largest aerodrome in the city, with twelve docks for airships. It boasted two runways for winged aircraft to land and take off.

All across the city, the silver of the glinting buildings was offset and complemented by the glow produced by the many brass solar collectors. These were cones of mirrors that shone the thermal energy from the sun on tightly packed groups of brass pipes.

On sunny days, these pipes collected thermal energy and directed it to boilers to produce steam, which was used to make mechanical and electrical power.

On cloudy days, stored electrical energy was used to break water into oxygen and hydrogen to fuel boilers. On cold days, chimneys and stack pipes would produce clouds of white steam.

There were various tall utilitarian buildings in a wide circle around Inspiration Station and the park that surrounded it. These were used chiefly for commerce because of their proximity to the hub.

Many had an airship or two tethered to their tops or docked to a small aerodrome. These were used as meeting places or private residences.

Outside this ring were shorter buildings and still more airships, but some were tethered to the ground instead.

One such airship named The Celeste was home to two boys, Luke and John Buchanan, and their families. These boys, 17 and 16, had lived their whole lives aboard the airship their father and uncle had built.

Unlike most airships, The Celeste had two hulls with a platform constructed between them. The platform made up the bulk of the three-story home. The middle floor was the main floor of the house and held the kitchen, bedrooms, offices, and family room. From this floor, there was access to the veranda built between the hulls at the front of the airship.

The veranda usually faced east, but the whole ship could be rotated to face any direction. Above this was Uncle Markus's lab and the landing platform. The lowest deck was for cargo and a gym. The family stored extra belongings and food in this space. They kept the family's vehicles there as well.

When the sunlight fell upon The Celeste, sensors detected it, and the curtains in the boys' room slid open automatically.

The boys woke and stretched, wishing each other a good morning.

Then they made their beds, and using the small washroom attached to the bedroom, they washed their faces and combed their hair. Luke wore sturdy wool trousers, a light button-up shirt, and a dark blue waistcoat. John was dressed the same except he had a dark green waistcoat.

The boys were very similar to each other in build. They were of medium height and athletic, with dark hair. Luke had gray eyes, and John's were blue, like their grandfather. Luke stood slightly taller than John, but most people didn't notice the difference and thought they were twins.

The brothers went to the dining room, where their father, Thomas Buchanan, and Uncle Markus were already reading the morning paper with their coffee. They greeted the boys as they sat down.

Their father took a sip from his cup and said, I received a letter from Mr. Nelson this morning. He was writing to thank me for you boys' assistance in locating that stolen book for him.

Luke and John had met the old book collector at a book fair when he had made a presentation. He had mentioned that a rare copy of his great-grandfather's book on metallurgy had been stolen from his house the week before.

The brothers had offered to help and were able to find a rough set of footprints under his window. These led them to the street, where they found unusual tire marks. They had deduced that the marks came from a motorcycle with a sidecar.

They went to the shops around the city and found one that remembered a man on that kind of motorbike who had stopped to sell a collection of books, one of which was the book on metallurgy. They got a description of the man, gave it to the police, and repurchased the book for Mr. Nelson.

If you want to read the letter, it is on the table by the telephone. Their father said, I am very proud of you both for seeing this case to the end, and so is Mother. Well done.

Both boys were blushing, and Uncle Markus broke out laughing.

You are going to kill them with embarrassment, Tom, he chuckled.

Their father smiled at them and went back to his paper.

Thomas Buchanan was a world-renowned surgeon. He had developed multiple heart surgery operations and devices to help those ailing with damage or defects to their hearts.

He occasionally went abroad to share his inventions and knowledge. Millions of people all over the world had been helped by his expertise.

Uncle Markus was seventeen when he invented the first working mag-lev design. He convinced the city to implement it and spent eight years perfecting it.

The city flourished economically because of the clever and safe system he developed.

He now spent his time finding things that needed inventing and building working versions to prove the idea. He gave a lot of these ideas away for free to those who needed them.

Uncle Markus set his paper down and looked over his tiny spectacles at them.

"Do you boys have plans for the day?

Yep, we are going to help Mr. Stephens pack so he can move to Emerald, where his son lives, Luke said.

What about you, Uncle Markus? Any plans? John asked.

I thought I would talk to my old college friend Lars Snodgrass; he wrote to me to let me know he would be displaying his new invention tomorrow. It's a gadget that produces an image in mid-air using concentrated light. He wanted my opinion before displaying it to the public.

Boy, that sounds neat! John said, May we come if we help Mr. Stephens in time?

Do you think you can finish with him by four thirty? Uncle Markus asked, That's when Lars is showing it to me.

We should be able to finish by then, no problem, Luke said.

Alright, I'll meet you boys at Inspiration Station at 4 pm, and we can go to his lab together, Uncle Markus said

It's a plan, Luke said as their mother, Phoebe, and cousin Mary appeared and sat at the table.

Mary was also sixteen and shared the brothers' curiosity. She was learning to be a reporter and had already published several articles in the Daily Eagle.

What’s the plan? She asked.

John said, "Luke and I are helping Mr. Stephens pack to move, and then we will see a nifty gadget made by Uncle Markus' friend.'

Oh? said Mary, turning to her father. Is that the light image device you mentioned before?

It is, he replied as he tucked his napkin into his collar. Do you want to come too?

Mary nodded. That would be lovely.