Chapter 14
Chloe was not herself at the moment. She was deep in functioning mode. She felt quite detached from her body… maybe that was the tiredness. She was not sure how she had slept but it was probably not very long. At some point she could not listen anymore to all these stories and the tiredness just swept over her. At first she had wanted to get up and go to bed but when the thought actually formed in her mind her body had already given up and sank against the wall in her staircase. She felt like an outer spirit watching herself from the distance now. Seeing herself sitting in that car, driving down that road, dropping off Trixie and kissing her goodbye. It was probably not good for her to drive in her state now but Lucifer did not seem to be in the mood for driving either. He was very quiet. She could have never imagined how pressing a silence could be until that very day.
Lucifer had been silent before, he had been absent minded before but this was different. Something was different. Chloe was too far off now to realize precisely; her detective self turning off her emotions saving her the confusion, the trouble and the pain of trying to handle everything, trying to manage everything, trying to be perfect for everyone when the only one she should be worrying about was actually her. Something had happened within these past days. These realizations had made something with her these stories. When her mind lingered too much on the memory from last night she could feel her heart starting to pound, she could hear the blood rush in her ears, she could feel the heat rising. That was the moment when her body kicked in and made sure those emotions were turned off like a protective mode.
There was only one other time when she had experience something like that. Chloe may not even remember herself but deep down she already had to handle an emotional stressful situation quite like this one: When she and Dan split up. Suddenly it felt as if the world was pressuring her, as if everyone demanded something of her: The police wanted her to be a better cop, her mother wanted her to be a better daughter, her daughter wanted her to be a better mother, she was supposed to be the loving and understanding ex-partner soon to be ex-wife that could handle everything. That was perfectly fine with single parenthood and living at her mother's place and being a laugh for everyone at the precinct. While Dan fell into a net of understanding cop friends pulling him up and supporting him it felt to her as if she was the bad one. She could feel the eyes on her back when she was walking down the corridors, she could hear the people mumble behind her back. And what did Dan do? He did not know of these things… of course. He was well-cared for among his cop friends.
Chloe was strong and she knew that and nothing would break her so easily and she knew that as well. But that situation was quite difficult and pushed her pretty far. She had to get a very thick skin and a strong protection mechanism to handle that and to do her thing; staying focused on the job at hand and doing one step after the other. She had pushed through, had earned her respect and had made her way with or without Dan. And even if the memory of those times may dissolve slowly over time her protection mechanism stayed and kicked in whenever needed. And this was the time she needed it. Even if Chloe herself did not think so she had quite the package to carry and no time to settle down and take a good breath and some time to master everything. But until she had that time her body would take care of her, would protect her and shield her from those memories and emotions. She had to be strong not just for herself, but for Trixie, Dan and also… for Lucifer.
She had hurt him already by disappearing on him. Now she had to show him all what she learned was absolutely no problem for her. She could manage and could move on without a blink of an eye. And so she did… Lucifer on the other side was lost in his own thoughts. The words of Alex would not leave him and he kept turning them over and over in his head. He had expected some kind of reaction from Chloe, some kind of gesture or little hint that she had listened in. He had expected her to say something and not just that she did not want to talk about it. He could understand… definitely and he was the last person who wanted to talk about everything but it seemed so odd for her. She had always been the one wanting to know and wanting to talk, offering her support. He remembered the many times she was looking at him when he turned her down; when he walked out on her since he just wanted to be alone. All those times he ran off because she never knew and he could have never talked to her freely but now…
Yes… many things were going on and they had more pressing things to worry about but… he just could not understand. It seemed to him that now the tables were turned: He was probably more ready to talk than ever and now she turned him down cold. And cold it was: He remembered her words and her look and how quickly she had snapped back to 'nothing happened'. Lucifer could not help it but he started to worry about the detective. After all only two nights had passed since it all started and since then they both did not have a lot of sleep. And with each day new problems seemed to be piling up on their plates. Even though Lucifer did not quite believe in Alex' warning he had learned that if she had a gut feeling he should probably listen to that. But he could not be all too concerned with that now as his mind was drifting back to his partner next to him. Something told him that he should be taking more care of her now, that he should be worrying more about her now. If he truly wanted everything to return to normal he had to make sure that Chloe Decker also returned back to normal.
The plan was kind of forming in his mind when they pulled into the parking lot at LUX. After all he had demanded to stop there for a wardrobe change. They both got out and swiftly moved through the club and over to the elevator up to his penthouse. Both of them did not notice the three large black cars parked outside or the men in the club talking to the bartender. When he looked up and saw them going to the elevator he pointed them out to the men but in the next instant both Chloe and Lucifer had entered the elevator and were on their way up: Lucifer finalizing his plan to turn everything back to normal and Chloe trying to focus on the task at hand. They were both snapped out of their thoughts when Chloe's phone rang.
Somehow startled and surprised the connection managed its way into the elevator she took it out and checked the caller. It was Ella calling from the precinct. She picked up the call and listened to Ella. Even Lucifer could hear through the phone that something must be going on. He turned to look at Chloe and followed her expressions. "Okay… thank you Ella for letting me know. Yes, don't worry I will tell him… nothing is going to happen, don't worry… everything will be fine!" She finished the call, put the phone away and wanted to tell Lucifer when at the same time the elevator bell announced their arrival and the doors started to open. Before Chloe could even start to talk a dark shadow moved in on them and both looked surprised.
"Lucifer Morningstar?" The man asked and held up a badge: Jonathan Smith from the LA Police department internal affairs. Lucifer was confused and wanted to walk past the man but he stopped him rather forcefully by grabbing his arm. Lucifer looked from the hand on his arm up to the man it belonged to.
"Yes, I am Lucifer Morningstar!" He pronounced his name precisely expressing his anger and pulled his arm free. When he pushed past the man he saw several others all gathered in his living room.
"What is going on?" He asked and for the first time concern ran across his face. Chloe was perplexed by the situation and addressed the man with the badge. She had never seen him before.
"What is going on here?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Miss Decker this has nothing to do with you. Please step aside and do not interfere with a police investigation." The man turned around and looked at Lucifer again.
"Mr. Morningstar we would like to ask you to come with us to the precinct down town to answer some questions." But before Lucifer could actually say a word Chloe interfered.
"On what grounds are you taking him in?" She demanded to know and Lucifer turned to face her. The guy at the entrance seemed to be the only one able to talk so both addressed him.
"We are not taking him in. This is just for questioning. But we would highly recommend Mr. Morningstar to come along otherwise we might have to charge him with obstruction." The man looked at Lucifer briefly and back to Chloe. Concern started to rise within her and yet another weight was but on her plate. She tried to think quickly but could not really come up with anything.
"Is this about the death of Lieutenant Pierce? I have already made my statement. Lucifer Morningstar is my partner, I am leading this investigation and I demand to…!" The man chuckled and interrupted her right there.
"Internal affairs have taken over the investigation of this case and you are lucky you and your whole team are not suspended for the time being. Mr. Morningstar is yet the only one who has not given a statement. In fact he seems to be the only one that was truly present during the scene and we have recently received some disturbing information that we would like to discuss with him. Despite being concerned for your partner now, Miss Decker, I would rather start being concerned for your own career. If the allegations are found to be true you will be also facing some serious problems!" Chloe could see that this man was clearly enjoying himself. Despite her wanting to reply something smart and clever she knew he was right. Her statement was built on shaky grounds as she has made a statement about events she had not witnessed leaving out details she was not aware off and could not have known at that time. She clenched her teeth and said nothing but the concern was clearly visible in her eyes.
Lucifer watched her closely. With her being so close to him there was nothing he could do now. He saw the concern in her eyes and tried to think of a way out. But he could not come up with something which would not make the situation worse for them. Especially with Chloe being here he did not want to do anything that would endanger her. Chloe shot a short glance at Lucifer trying to tell him to do nothing and he seemed to understand. He snorted and shook his head. He walked over to his bar and wanted to pour himself a drink but he remembered with Chloe being here there was the danger of him getting quickly drunk and he had the impression that he needed a clear head now. He put the bottle he had just picked up back down and lowered his head. Was that what Alex had tried to warn him about? He took a deep sigh and moved back to Chloe's side.
The man was watching him and when Lucifer stepped next to Chloe seemingly ready for questioning he smiled. "Good… now that we have this settled I would kindly ask you to follow us to the precinct." That seemed to be the sign and the other man in the penthouse got in motion and positioned around Lucifer. He glanced at them but did not say anything.
"Don't do anything!" Chloe said to him before the whole group started moving to the elevator.
Lucifer looked back to Chloe before they all squeezed into the elevator. Lucifer in the middle of the men, the elevator doors closing. Chloe could not believe what was just happening. It felt like hours she was standing at the same spot starring at the elevator doors trying to comprehend what just happened. Her protective mechanism seemed to be shaking as she suddenly felt overwhelmed and was not sure what to do.
OOOO
Ella put the phone back down and starred at it for while. How has this all turn south so quickly? She had been working late yesterday and came in early today. Trying to come up with something that would help to prove their innocence since – and she was not kidding herself now – that was what this was about. She had seen the looks on the faces of the men coming into their precinct yesterday. Those men came in showed something to the people around, held a little speech and after that moved into the office of Pierce packing everything up. And that was not a joke. Ella checked after they had left again and they had taken everything. If they would have had a screw driver she was sure they would have taken the shelves as well. The office was as clean as it had never been and Ella knew this was no good.
Only a little later she heard the news on the corridors of the precinct: John Burrow the accomplice of Pierce that was supposed to be transferred from the holding cell downstairs to interrogation downtown escaped. So far no one knew how it happened and who may have been involved but already yesterday evening wild gossip started to spread among the officers at the precinct. When Ella returned this morning in hope for new energy and a good vibration to work with it only got worse. People were still talking but this time the communication had changed. More whispering and Ella was sure she heard Lucifer's name a couple of times. When she entered her lab and tried to work people were coming in searching for her company.
It turned out the buzzing atmosphere just got worse outside when the news spread that internal affairs had been taking over the whole investigation and the main focus was on Chloe Decker and her team but especially Lucifer. No one at the precinct could believe that Lucifer had anything to do with the death of Pierce despite what Chloe had said but still they were wondering: About the circumstances of his death, why so many feathers were found at the scene, why Chloe seemed to not remember the events correctly, whey they had never mentioned anything about their suspicion of Pierce being the sinner man to anyone. When it came to these things their office was nothing less than a gossip machine and word was spreading faster among officers than in some offices downtown.
Ella had been providing and sharing so many hugs already today that she could hardly count them. Even people came into her office that she hardly knew but they had heard about her and her hugs and wanted to use the opportunity in those stressful times. As Lucifer was liked among the officers and detectives and very well respected every new information spreading across the corridors seemed to be a slap in the face of this little family. And then not even half an hour ago someone told everyone they had an eye witness placing Lucifer at the scene of the escape of John Burrow. Ella did not believe a word of it as she knew he had left yesterday with Chloe. She tried to tell everyone that listened but people had been sucking in this information like sponges eager to share and spread. And when she suddenly heard from someone they went to pick up Lucifer she picked up her phone and called Chloe.
Her voice was shaking and even though she did not really want her to feel her agitation Ella could not stop herself. She was worrying for Lucifer and if this was all true he was in trouble. Chloe had sounded so calm on the phone and she hoped Chloe was right and everything would really be okay. This would have been one of those moments when she would have looked up to the big guy and ask for support but these days she was not on good terms with him and this was probably just another reason why. So she had to stay focused and now it was even more important than before to find evidence to prove their innocence. She straightened up and looked around. People were still talking but were also trying to go their normal ways. She was following the faces of her colleagues when she spotted Officer Martens. He was talking to this big guy she always forgot the name of. He did not look happy and when the big guy left, Martens squeezed into a dark corner, seemed to be searching for something in his pocket and apparently started to call someone. They were talking for a moment before he hung up looked around, put the phone back and left.
Something disturbed Ella about that scene but before she could start to think any further someone came in and asked: "Have you seen Dan this morning?" Ella turned around and looked surprised.
"No actually I haven't." She said and the guy just left her lab again. But this started her thinking. Dan had not been late anytime this week. Especially since he got all berserk after the encounter with Lucifer he had been super early as if a longer day would give him more opportunity to find hard evidence against their friend. Completely forgetting about the scene with Martens she started to look for Dan in the precinct. In between she tried to call but his phone went directly to voicemail. When she could not find him anywhere she started to get nervous. It was so not Dan these days to be late especially after all that happened.
OOOO
Chloe could hear the blood rushing through her ears again and she felt her heart pound so strongly in her chest she thought it would jump out any minute. She had sat down on the couch in Lucifer's penthouse trying to think but at the moment she was more concerned with trying to cope. The scene with the cops of internal affairs and them taking Lucifer away had tilted something in her and not into the better direction. She started to feel overwhelmed it all just started to get too much. What was going on? Why were they taking Lucifer and what did they mean by saying they had information? What kind of information? She had been so absorbed in her own business, she was so angry now she had not focused more on the case. Why had she not realized right there at the scene in what kind of problems they were in? Why had she run away from Lucifer? She could have dealt with everything? Why had she been so week? After demanding to know the truth and then learning the truth she should have been able to handle it. Especially since Lucifer had never lied to her and had always told her he was the devil.
She flinched! The devil… the face came back into her mind and she watched him look at her with these eyes, with this skin with everything that made him the devil. Hot and cold was running over her now and she had difficulties keeping it all in. Her little tower and the defense mechanism crumbled even more when suddenly the elevator bell announced a visitor. Chloe shot up from the seat expecting Lucifer to return but instead Maze walked in. She was her usual self. Dressed in black leather, her hair in a tight bun, a leather jacket covering her arms she walked in with large steps looking around. She looked cold and in control, tough and ready to do whatever… but she made the impression she was ready.
"Where is he?" She asked Chloe without really looking at her. Chloe tried to regain some control and looked confused. When she did not reply Maze looked at her for the first time since she came in. It took her a while to really see what was going on and to notice that Chloe was not fine. Suddenly her cold features softened when she examined Chloe's face and saw her distress.
"What is going on?" She made a couple of steps closer to her and starred into her eyes. Chloe was trying to be strong but everything seemed to just collapse now and her self-projected guilt swept over her like fire. Tears streamed down her face and Maze was standing there in shock not knowing what to do.
"They have taken Lucifer in for questioning!" Chloe managed to say after a moment and Maze tried to comprehend this information but before she really could Chloe had already closed the gap between them and hugged her. Maze was taken by surprise but her arms closed around her and she tried to calm her down. Maze did not understand why Chloe was so dissolved since they have only taken Lucifer in for question. Maze was not sure what they were questioning him about but she was sure she was going to find out at some point.
But this also meant he was not here. She had come all the way from Linda's to talk to him and he was not hear. Annoyance swept over her while she was still hugging and trying to calm Chloe. After a little while Maze maneuvered her onto the couch trying to get some information out of her. Chloe sat down and Maze quirkily grabbed a large glass of scotch for her. She forced the glass into her hands and sat down beside her.
"Tell me… what is going on?" Her voice was calm and supportive and she hoped she would get what she wanted and that just the way that Linda had told her. To not be impulsive, stay focused and calm, she tried at least. Chloe was breathing heavily and tried to calm down. Having Maze here was a big help. Some of the stories from last night came back to her and she remembered what Lucifer had said: Maze the demon that had betrayed him, working together with Pierce to lift this curse trying to kill the lieutenant and pin it on Lucifer so he would be forced to leave earth. She did not really want to bring that up now so she did not even though that would be a whole other chapter they had to talk about some time.
"They took Lucifer in for questioning. I think they are trying to pin the death of Pierce on him." Chloe swiped her eyes and looked up at Maze who just confirmed for herself that what Alex had said this night was right and Pierce was really dead.
"But he did kill him." Maze simply stated even though this might not have been the nicest way of entering a conversation. Chloe shook her head in disbelieve.
"He did that to protect me! Pierce tried to kill me." She said, held the gaze of Maze so she could see the truth in her eyes. Maze clenched her teeth. The more she heard the more she realized her partnership with Pierce had been a terrible idea especially after learning what has been going on. She snorted and looked away. "He killed Charlotte." Chloe continued and it felt as she was trying to convince her how terrible Pierce was. Maze looked back at her a little confused why she would elaborate like that but her mind was too concerned with other things for her to notice.
"So they took him in what is the problem? So far Lucifer has always found a way to weasel out." She looked away again pretending she was not worrying and simply admiring the furniture.
"These guys have an agenda, Maze. Out of some reason they want to pin that on him no matter what and I can't stop the feeling something is going on!" And for the first time since Maze had brought her the glass Chloe took a huge sip but the moment the fluid touched her throat she coughed and put the glass down. Thoughts were running through Maze's mind and she grabbed the glass Chloe had just put down and emptied it on one gulp while Chloe was still coughing a little. "We need to do something!" Chloe managed after a moment and looked expectantly at Maze. She seemed to be lost in thoughts when suddenly she got off the couch and got her phone out.
"I know someone that can help us!" Chloe was surprised and wondered where she had actually put that thing but Maze dialed a number. Within seconds she was talking to someone providing him with a brief summary telling him to come over. She put the phone back and came back to the couch. She patted Chloe on the back and they were waiting for what would be happening now.
OOOO
Alex had tried to find some rest when her phone rang and she got painfully dragged out of her sleep. She tried to find her phone without opening her eyes but when she realized she couldn't she moaned, turned, opened her eyes just a bit and picked the call up. She greeted Mad with a simple "Mh….?!"
"Did I wake you up? I am so sorry…!" He fluted into the telephone.
"Why do I not believe just now?" Alex replied and set up in bed rubbing her eyes and trying to get her mind sorted. She felt groggy as if she had too much to drink and it took her a while before she could think straight. But she knew when Mad called something must have happened so she tried to be open for what he had to tell her.
"Honey, I am truly sorry for waking you up. Okay maybe I am just a bit not sorry but as you know it is not for everyone to spend their days sleeping while others have to work." A smile curved his lips and he knew she understood the hint. Alex simply sighed.
"I know, Mad. You have been doing all the work so far can we please get to the point now?" She rubbed her eyes again in hope to get rid of the tiredness that was pressing down on her. Mad collected his thoughts and sorted the information he wanted to tell her about.
"As mentioned I tried to find Detective Daniel Espinoza. I carefully checked with Officer Martens he was not in the precinct today so I got hold of his home address and was hoping to find him there. But his apartment was empty and no sign he had slept there this night. So I went around a little tried to catch some neighbors who may have seen or heard something and I found a guy." Mad made a little dramatic pause when he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.
"He told me he was always going to a bar nearby so I checked and yes, the barman confirmed he was there yesterday and left late at night after getting into a heated conversation with some strangers he had never seen before." Alex could already imagine where this was headed to. It fit so well into the whole crazy thing that was going on here.
"So I checked the alleyways for him as – according to the barman – he was quite drunk. He could have stumbled and just fallen or something but right now I am pretty sure he was abducted." He finished and Alex could hear he was standing outside. She could hear cars in the background and he was making some kind of noise with his feet. She sighed and tried to sort her thoughts.
"Are you sure?" She asked even though she knew the answer.
"Pretty much! I am in the alleyway right now and I found his badge next to some fresh blood trails. Some garbage cans are lying around, some broken. If I am not mistaken this is the scene of a fight. Some traces of car tires and so on." Alex sighed again but deeper this time. Great! Now they had two crime scenes the police was not aware of and they had to find a way to make them aware of them and not get pulled into the whole mess themselves.
"That raises several questions." She said finally. Always start with what you know she tried to remind herself. "Who has abducted him and why?" If Mad said he was abducted than he was abducted. "I am wondering if the reason could be the same one as ours: He was the last one to talk to this John Burrow guy." She could basically hear Mad think as well. He made a noise which sounded like agreement and she continued.
"Any idea what we could do now?" She asked but Mad was not finished yet with his story.
"Before we start thinking about that there is more." He intervened and went on. "I received two phone calls just now: The first came from Officer Martens. He was approached by his superior and he really should be checking out that warehouse venue. So I have agreed to go with him and will meet him now. Second: Maze called me. She is in the LUX penthouse together with Chloe. Apparently Lucifer was just picked up by the police to answer some questions. From what she described it did not sound very good." He finished and waited for Alex reply.
"This is getting better and better now." She said and swung her legs out of bed. From what she just learned there was no way she would find any more sleep now. She walked into the bathroom and checked on herself trying to determine how long she would need to get ready to leave. While doing so she was going through the information she had just heard. But before she could say anything Mad offered some idea.
"I think I have to change my approach with Officer Martens." He had thought about that and the more difficult the story got the more information he needed to get out of the young officer the less he could play the interested playboy who picked him up during lunch.
"I agree." Alex said and ruffled through her hair. "But we have to play that wise. We cannot lose him as our source into the precinct." She definitely had to take a shower before leaving. "We could be using your identity as a private investigator and you have been paid to find the sinner man as your client's father ended up in prison because of him or something like that. That would explain your interest and your knowledge." Alex waited for his reply. Mad knew she was right and that was their best chance to resolve that scenario but he already figured the impression that must leave on Martens. He had used him for information which was basically true but still he did not really want Martens to quite see it that way.
"I will try to pull that off." He said after a while. "But that requires me to go to Martens now and help him with that warehouse." He pointed out. If he would want to gain the trust and build a relationship with him now he had to be by his side now.
"I know! I will get ready and get over to LUX to talk to Maze and Chloe to see what has happened there." Alex walked out of the bathroom again. She needed something to drink. This thing just got worse and worse.
"Is that a good idea?" Mad asked. "Meeting Chloe after last night?" He pointed out the obvious but he did not want it to be left unsaid.
"We have no other options and this will be another thing Chloe has to understand the hard way now." Alex poured herself a drink and emptied the glass in one gulp. She put the glass back down. She had imagined it in a different way. In the beginning when they first met and after she learned who Chloe was she had hoped they would be able to resolve that in a different way but as this was all getting crazier now she could just not help it. She had to face Chloe now.
"Okay I am off now. I will call later." They said their goodbyes and Alex hung up the phone. She did not have much time so she went straight back to the bathroom undressed and got into the shower.