The Last Case in a Dead Galaxy

Aldwyn Christopher Quimby likes order, routine, and being left alone...preferably in that order. A former interplanetary investigator with a tragic past and a carefully controlled present, he spends his days surviving quietly in a patched-together settlement at the edge of a dead galaxy. No new cases. No attachments. No surprises.

Then a sharp-tongued teenage scavenger breaks into his apartment, eats his sugar, names his cat, and correctly deduces he's a detective within ten minutes.

Pippa Finch is searching for her missing parents, lost during a chaotic evacuation. She's convinced Aldwyn is the only one qualified (and stubborn enough) to help her find them. Reluctant, irritated, and far more invested than he wants to admit, Aldwyn agrees to take what he insists will be his final case.

Across strange markets, forgotten technology, and worlds learning how to survive after collapse, the two uncover clues, hard truths, and the uncomfortable possibility that healing might require more courage than grief ever did.

A witty, bittersweet sci-fi mystery about found family, letting go of the past, and the dangerous hope of caring again.