NOVEL WEB Interlude: Officer Brunt’s Unsolved Mystery
Interlude: Officer Brunt’s Unsolved Mystery
Officer Wendy Brunt tapped her pen against her desk, staring at the growing stack of papers in front of her. They were all part of a case she was working on—no, obsessing over. A case that was starting to make her look like the precinct's resident conspiracy theorist.
It all began with a witness sighting in a WcDonald's parking lot. Officer Brunt had gotten the call about a strange "disturbance" involving a girl who allegedly walked out of a glowing light behind a dumpster. She and her partner, Officer Thompson, had arrived to investigate but found nothing out of the ordinary.
But soon after, a report came in about a public disturbance in the same area. Loud shouting and something about a fight. When Brunt and Thompson arrived at the scene, they didn’t expect to find anything substantial. Maybe some teens causing trouble or a couple having a loud argument. But instead, what they found was even stranger: a girl who matched the sighting description.
She stood out immediately—a stunning figure with long silver hair that shimmered under the streetlights, and impossibly bright blue eyes that seemed to cut through the chaos. She didn’t look like she belonged here, not at all.
Sierra Fox.
Brunt leaned back in her chair, staring at the board she’d set up in her office. Photos, scribbled notes, and little strings connected everything from that night to other bizarre sightings. The mysterious silver-haired girl, the odd disturbances, and—most curious of all—Sierra’s bizarre "Thailand makeover" story.
Thompson, her partner, sat across from her, leaning back in his chair, donut in hand. “Wendy, you’re obsessing again. It’s just a girl. Maybe she’s got really good genetics or expensive skincare. Probably one of those influencers.”
Brunt shot him a look. “You’re not seriously buying that Thailand story, are you? She didn’t just get a ‘makeover.’ People don’t go to Thailand and come back looking like they walked out of a sci-fi movie.”
Thompson took another bite of his donut, chewing slowly. “And this means what? Aliens? Come on, Wendy. You’ve been watching too many of those UFO documentaries. It's all just people seeing what they want to see.” Then he wipes some sugar off his uniform. “You’re gonna end up on one of those tabloids, Wendy. ‘Local Officer Claims Alien Lives Among Us.’”
“No, listen. I have witnesses,” Brunt said, tapping the stack of papers. “Look here, and here.” She pointed to two statements. “An old woman living next to the WcDonald—she saw her walk out of a glowing light behind the dumpster. She said it looked like some kind of portal. And then there’s Ronald Dumbf, also claiming that he was abducted by an alien. Same description—silver hair, eyes that practically glow.”
Thompson raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Wendy, you’re talking about a bunch of unreliable witnesses. Well, one of them is the president, but was he ever reliable? Come on.”
Brunt slammed the table, frustration boiling over. “It’s not just the witnesses! It’s everything! Sierra Fox appears out of nowhere—where did she go for ten years after James Fox disappeared? No history, but suddenly she’s living in a quiet suburban neighborhood with some story about a Thailand makeover? It doesn’t add up.”
Thompson took another slow bite of his donut. “Wendy, we can’t exactly investigate someone for being a little weird. Do you even have a crime in mind here? What, suspiciously good skin care?”
“No, listen,” Brunt snapped, pacing back and forth. “There’s more to it than that. The glowing lights, her perfect appearance, how calm she is. People don’t just disappear for ten years and come back without any kind of paper trail.”
She stopped for a moment, feeling the familiar frustration rise inside her. I need this case to be real. I’m not crazy. The feeling of being dismissed by the precinct, the quiet whispers, the skepticism—it all fueled her. She needed to prove herself. “I swear, there’s something off about her. She was too calm when we pulled them over. Most people freak out, try to explain their way out of a ticket. But she just sat there like it was all part of some big joke. And those eyes... You saw them, right? They’re unnatural.”
Thompson shrugged, not even looking up. “I saw a teenage girl with an attitude, just like any other teenager who thinks they’re invincible.”
Brunt frowned. “No, it’s more than that. Remember the WcDonald’s incident? We didn’t even get to question her properly because her dad started going on about her ‘makeover’ and how he was trying to explain it to their daughter, Lily. But her records are too perfect—there are passport stamps, but everything looks almost too clean, like someone made sure nothing was out of place. People don’t just disappear for ten years and then pop back into normal life without a trace.”
Thompson glanced up lazily. “Yeah, well, even if she did, we don’t exactly have a crime to investigate, do we? No laws against looking suspiciously beautiful.”
Brunt clenched her fists, hesitating for a moment. What if Thompson is right? Am I chasing shadows? The thought of how the captain had already dismissed her nagged at her. She thought of all the skeptical looks she’d gotten around the precinct, the whispers. No. There’s more going on here, I can feel it. “Think about it. A girl as beautiful as her, no boyfriend, and still living with her parents? Who does that?”
Thompson, suddenly looking genuinely concerned, raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you’re saying living with your parents is wrong?” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Because, you know, it’s totally normal... I mean, rent’s expensive these days.” He began to worry a bit—after all, he was already past 30 and still living with his parents.
Brunt shot him a look, her frustration momentarily interrupted by his awkwardness. “Thompson, this isn’t about you. I’m saying it’s weird. She’s practically a supermodel—no social life, no history, no exes popping up anywhere, no awkward Instagram posts from Thailand. It’s like she’s been scrubbed clean.”
Thompson fidgeted, still clearly uneasy about the parents comment, but he tried to refocus. “Alright, so she’s a little mysterious. Maybe she’s just private? Some people don’t like to put everything out there.”
Brunt shook her head. “No. It’s more than that. She vanishes for ten years after James Fox disappears, and then suddenly shows up with some impossible story about a Thailand makeover? She’s too perfect. Too calm. Too… well, alien.”
Thompson polished off the last bite of his donut and sighed, leaning forward in his chair. “Okay, so let’s say, for a second, that your theory is right. Sierra Fox is an alien, and what’s her big plan? Invade Earth? Eat our brains? Steal our resources?”
Brunt paused, feeling a small flicker of doubt again. The idea of alien invasions and brain-eating sounded ridiculous, even to her. But she couldn’t let go. Not yet. “I don’t know yet. But we’re going to find out.”
Thompson leaned back again, folding his arms behind his head. “Yeah, sure. Right after I finish my next donut.”
Brunt sighed, turning back to her board. No one took her seriously. Thompson thought she was crazy, the captain thought she was wasting time, and everyone else at the station just thought she was the quirky officer who watched too many conspiracy shows.
But Brunt knew better. She couldn’t let it go. Something about Sierra Fox was off, and she wasn’t going to rest until she figured out what it was.
Just as she was about to dive back into her notes, the precinct's door opened, and a young officer poked his head in.
“Hey, Brunt, Thompson. There’s a disturbance at the mall. Reports of… well, uh, glowing lights in the parking lot. Could be nothing, but you might want to check it out.”
Brunt shot Thompson a look, her heart racing. Glowing lights? She grabbed her jacket, not even bothering to hide the excitement.
“Come on, Thompson. This could be it. Another sighting.”
Thompson sighed, dragging himself up from the chair. “Great, just what I needed. More glowing lights and UFO talk. Let me grab my donut to go.”
As they headed out, Brunt’s mind raced. Maybe I’m onto something. Maybe this was the break I needed. She was going to prove, once and for all, that Sierra Fox wasn’t from Thailand—or anywhere close to it.
As they drove toward the mall, Thompson leaned back in the passenger seat, yawning, while Brunt stared ahead, her eyes narrowing with determination.
One way or another, she was going to uncover the truth about Sierra Fox—even if it meant chasing down every glowing dumpster in the city.