3The serial killer laced the devil's drink with poison while Reese distracted the Detective with small talk. Reese smiled when the serial killer gave him a secret nod and walked away from Lucifer's group.
The consultant downed the drink and immediately dropped to the floor. Detective Decker turned and saw her partner and dialled for medical services as she made her way to him, but it was too late. In shock but still had the presence of mind, she barked orders to seal all the entrances.
"NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO LEAVE!" She shouted at the top of her lungs then knelt to give her partner a quick touch while she held her tears in. Breaking down at the moment wasn't an option.
With shaky hands, she went and dialled for Maze. Chloe didn't quite know how to inform her roommate that Lucifer's gone.
"Maze, something happened at Lux. Can you come here, please?"
"Pretty sure Patrick can manage, Chlo. What is it about?"
"It's Lucifer. He's...gone."
"What do you mean?"
"He was poisoned."
There was silence at the other end of the line.
"Listen to me, Chloe. You need to get out of there. I promise everything will be alright."
The words were comforting, to say the least. It made sense that the Detective should turn over the case to someone else because evidently, she's too close to the victim.
"I'm still waiting for backup. I can't just leave Lucifer here." Chloe finally said, not really in the same view as that of Maze. Of course, the demon was thinking that if the blonde left, Lucifer would bounce back as if nothing happened. The invulnerability sitch was getting to be a real pain in the ass.
"Right. Amenadiel should be there in a minute." The former General of the Lilim said as she put her phone on speaker mode and fired a quick text to Amenadiiel. The dark angel should be closer anyway.
"I don't want the killer to get away. It's someone in the club."
"Okay. Well, get out of there as soon as other officers arrive. I'm on my way, too."
Chloe dropped the call and recomposed herself. Backup should be there in less than 15 minutes, so all the Detective had to do was keep her emotion in check. However, it was proving to be difficult, especially when she's staring at her fallen partner. She really wished for the day to be over.
Amenadiel got into Lux and saw the state the Detective was in, as well as his brother, lying motionless on the ground with eyes wide open. It made him angry at how some humans resort to murder on a whim. But, first things first. Chloe has to go. Like, right now.
"Hey, Chloe," He went in for a quick hug, knew that she needed it, and then "I'll wait for backup. I need you to leave the premises, please."
"I know, I know, I shouldn't be involved in my partner's murder investigation but…"
"We'll get this sorted out, trust me. But I need you to leave. Please," The dark angel tried to keep his voice even; she'd probably ask for some sort of explanation, but it was imperative to get her out of the club, by all means necessary. "Please, Chloe."
"Okay, I - I'll be in touch, in case they have questions for me."
"Of course,"
It's quite challenging to make a move not only due to Chloe's presence (front and center, nonetheless) but Lux's patrons were all eyes on them. The firstborn angel wished he still had his time-stopping power so that they could get away.
With Chloe finally leaving the scene, Amenadiel could breathe a little easier. Lux staff wouldn't say a thing if he requested them not to. The police that would be working on the crime scene would be another issue. That was until Mazikeen finally showed up.
Like the General she was back in Hell, she barked out orders to the staff and quickly isolated the folks that weren't in the immediate zone where Lucifer was and let them go. She also called a higher ranking officer and had him hold off the backup unit that Chloe had called for. All that even before she set foot in Lux's vicinity.
Amenadiel was impressed.
Now, to flush out the guilty.
"Take Lucifer upstairs," Mazikeen told Amenadiel, and he complied, knowing she had a plan. "Unless he's trapped, he should be dandy in a few minutes, give or take."
"And what if he was? Trapped, I mean?" He asked while carrying his little brother over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
"Then at least punishing whoever did that to him would have to suffice. We'll figure something out as we move along. Now, please,"
Mazikeen bobbed her head, itching to torture the instigator. She had her eye on two people already, but she needed to make sure.
Reese was sweating, and it was evident on his face that he was anxious to get out of the club. Meanwhile, the serial killer was playing it cool like nothing happened.
"You, white-haired guy," The demon started, "what did you do?" It was her favorite kind of torture. Playing with the mind of guilty people, even the innocent ones.
"What are you saying? I didn't do anything. I was just here for Detective Decker."
"Really." Maze dragged out the words and then ran her tongue over her teeth. She knew this one was guilty of something. The demon tilted her head slightly to the side with a bored and knowing expression over to Lux's manager, and he, in turn, called over the bouncers and had them drag the two persons of interest (although, the ex-bartender was confident one of the two is the murderer, and the other, the instigator)
In no time, with just a bit of persuasion (taser won by default), Reese Getty admitted to hiring the serial killer to do the deed.
"Well, thank you for that. Ya know, Reese, he's going to be super pissed when he comes back,"
Linda's ex-husband trembled in fear of retaliation. The devil was a force to be reckoned with, for sure.
"I-I'll do anything, just, don't let him come near me, please! Please! I-I'll serve my time in prison!"
"Oh, but I was talking about the afterlife. You know after you die?"
"No! Please."
"Hmm," Mazikeen shrugged. She hasn't doled out the punishment yet, and then there's Chloe…
The backdoor elevator dinged and out came Lucifer Morningstar, very much alive, and fuming, with Amenadiel in tow.
"Aha, so it was you," The devil deadpanned. Did Reese really want to make a spectacle of the club owner's death? Couldn't he have him killed discreetly? LIke in the penthouse and not in front of the patrons? "What's the cover story, Maze?"
"FBI got involved and had you go undercover. You faked your death to flush out the murderer, and now all's well."
Lucifer scoffed, "As if the Detective is going to believe that. You know how good she is. I mean, really, really good."
"Of course, I got all the bases covered, dumbass. What took you so long?"
"Nevermind that, Mazikeen. Just do whatever it is you need to do and get those dullards out of here before I change my mind."
The demon smirked. If he had been the old Lucifer, these two would have been mind-broken already.
It had been a long day, and Chloe Decker paced relentlessly in her apartment. She let Dan know that something happened with her consultant, so the ex-husband took it upon himself to take Trixie for the night.
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. Her feet moved on their own despite her exhaustion, to welcome whoever's on the other end. She almost screamed when her eyes laid upon a tall, dark, man dressed in Armani - her partner, not dead apparently - that she had to take a step back.
The consultant waited for Chloe to calm herself and then asked for her permission to enter the premises.
"But, how did you…?"
"It's a little complicated, Detective."
"I-" Chloe choked out a stifled laugh "Were you pretending to be dead? No, that's not right. I was there. You had no pulse. No heartbeat, whatsoever. You were pale as a sheet!"
"I wasn't pretending."
"This is..all very confusing."
"I understand. However, you wouldn't. Here's the thing though, we know who did it, they're in FBI custody, so my murder is solved."
"I saw you die, Lucifer."
"And now I'm back. Isn't that all that matters? But, if you are certain you want to know, I can show you. You won't like it. You may or may not be able to accept it. The thing is, Detective, I will always tell you the truth, no matter what."
"Then show me."
"As you wish."
The Detective's eyes widened at whatever was standing in front of her. A creature with red skin, red eyes that seemed to be dancing flames stared at her in place of someone she thought she knew. It was only momentary, but it was more than enough to turn her world upside down.
"Detective?" Lucifer asked, voice tinged with worry.
"It's all true," Chloe murmured and stepped back. "It's all true," She repeated and took another step away from the consultant.
Lucifer need not be told what he must do at that point. She'd need time to process. So he left the apartment and hoped she'd get in touch soon.
But a month later and there he was standing alone in yet another crime scene.
