As they walked out of the house, the two detectives examined the surroundings.

“I couldn’t live in a house built at the edge of a cliff like that,” said Ward.

“It’s a long way down,” agreed Brown as he looked at the sandy beach below, where the victim’s body had been found.

“Imagine if there’s an earthquake and the whole thing breaks loose...” The older detective shuddered at the thought.

Brown chuckled. “The place was built using alien technology, I’ve heard. I’m pretty sure it’s safe.”

His colleague seemed dubious. “You’ve heard?”

“Research is a thing, you know.”

“Smartass.” He turned to look at the house. “So... did you find anything interesting in there?”

“I did, actually,” said Brown with a grin.

When he said nothing further, Ward clucked his tongue in annoyance.

“Well? Are you going to let it out already?”

Brown smiled.

“Neither of them is married,” he said. “So... who do you suppose this belongs to?”

He brought out a plastic bag that contained a tube of lipstick.

Ward stared at him.

“You took this? Without a warrant?”

The younger detective shrugged. “It was right there on the bathroom floor... what was I supposed to do? Pretend I hadn’t seen it?”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“You do realize it will never be admissible in court, right?”

“Does it matter if the owner speaks?”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Bah! I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

Ward shook his head as he got into their glider.

“That kind of attitude will get you into a lot of trouble, kid.”

“Even if it solves cases?”

“Yes. Even if it solves cases.”

He grabbed the plastic bag and examined the object within for a moment.

“Well,” he muttered. “Now that we have it, we might as well use it. Let’s go find us this mystery woman.”

The bag was tossed into Brown’s lap, then the detective tapped on the control panel to activate the glider.

He gave one last thoughtful look at the house.

“It’s funny how you couldn’t tell just from looking at it...”

“Tell what?”

“That it’s alien technology. It makes you wonder.”

“About what?”

“What these aliens are like... I mean, we’ve been using their science everywhere, but we’ve never actually met them. Despite that, we have been able to understand the way they think... it’s kind of scary, but at the same time it makes me wonder if they really are that different from us?”

Brown gave him a puzzled look. “Does it matter?”

“I don’t know... Probably not.” The glider rose as he spoke. “But it kind of puts things into perspective. Makes me wonder what makes us tick.” He tossed a glance at his partner. “You, for instance. You’re still pretty young. Of everything you could have done, what made you want to join the force?”

His partner seemed uncomfortable with the question. “Family tradition, you could say. Almost everyone in my family was a cop.”

“Ah. One of those.”

“How about you?”

“Some might call it a calling...”

“You don’t?”

Ward shrugged. “Duty, perhaps.”

“For someone who was delving into existential questionings just a minute ago, I find your response oddly superficial—if not outright dismissive.”

The older cop glanced at him. Chuckled. “You’re right. Truth is, I often wonder if I chose the right path. All of my life, people told me I was made for this job... even before I joined, I was told it’d be a perfect fit for me. I never really questioned it. If everyone else was convinced—including people I would have trusted with my own life—then who was I to doubt it was true?”

“So why doubt now?”

“Middle-age crisis?” he grimaced. “Burnout? Having seen too many of my colleagues die? Pick your poison.”

They drove in silence for a moment.

“Well,” said Brown, “regardless of all that, I must say I’m excited to work with you. They say you’re the best detective on Exudia.”

The man snorted. “Don’t believe everything you hear, kid.”

Despite his statement, Brown could sense Ward was flattered...

Which, of course, was the point.