Chapter 19
"Tell me what he said," the demon greeted the doctor, not wasting time with formalities.
"He said they were gonna get going, and he said that he was doing fine."
"What else?" she demanded.
"He didn't really say much else," she answered. "He showed up in this rusted-out old car, I didn't even know it was him until he knocked on the door."
"Hmm. Which way did he go when he left?"
"That way." Linda pointed down the street. "And he turned left at the stop sign, but that's all I know."
"How was he acting?" Maze pressed.
"Um, shifty, he was sweating. He did mention something about having a rough day at work."
"Which is weird, because he wasn't at work today. I haven't seen or heard from him in a couple days, actually."
"He's on the run," the demon concluded. "Swapped his car, probably going to dump the junker he had for another one. Looks like he was heading downtown. My guess, he's picking up a new car and hitting the interstate. That's what the smart ones do, anyway. The dumb ones, well...I stopped hunting those, too easy."
"Running from what? And why did he need Trixie?" Chloe was at a loss. The strobe of police lights cut through the gathering darkness, and a black-and-white stopped in front of the house.
"How should I know?" Maze shrugged, and handed Chloe back her badge, gun, and phone. She was about to say more when Officer Janson approached the trio.
"We got a report of a kidnapping?" He directed the question to Chloe, then noticed Maze and took a step back. The demon simpered at him, complete with a litter finger-wave that had the officer fidgeting.
"Yes, my daughter, Beatrice Espinoza. She was taken by her father, Dan Espinoza, but I have no idea where he's going and he's unreachable."
Janson blanched. "Dan? Dan took your daughter?"
"Yes, definitely." Linda interjected. "He said he was here to pick her up—I was watching her for Chloe for a couple of hours."
"And you are?" Janson pulled out his notepad, and Linda began to take him through the entire event.
Ella jogged back to the steps, looking pale. "Chlo, this is bad, I mean mega-bad. Um, how do I say this...?"
"Her kid's missing, so spit it out, Lopez." Maze crossed her arms.
"OK, so we got the ballistics back from San Pedro. There are two guns involved in the shooting that weren't accounted for at the scene. One of them is tied to a bunch of other crimes, mostly small-time stuff with the exception of one gang shooting a few years ago. This was a serious deal, involved who they think is the Sinaloas and a few Bloods. The shooter didn't leave any prints behind, but-"
"OK, sure, that's bad," Chloe agreed. "How about the other gun?" Janson had stopped writing, and was listening intently to their conversation.
"I'm on my way back to the lab to personally check, I mean, there has to be some mistake..."
"Lopez." Maze had sauntered over and placed both hands on Ella's shoulders before the scientist even knew what was happening. "What. Did. You. Learn?"
Ella gulped. "It's a match to Dan's service weapon," she concluded in a whisper, closing her eyes to avoid the devastation she knew would cross Chloe's face at the news.
"Oh my God," Linda breathed. "What was he doing mixed up in all that?" Janson stepped aside and radioed back to headquarters.
"So he pissed off a gang. Impressive." Maze nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense he'd steal a car, makes it harder to find him. Anyone know where he left his car at? You cops can track that, right?" At Chloe's silent nod, she continued. "He must've taken Trix because he made them really mad, enough that they threatened his family. Which means you're not safe either," she told Chloe.
"I'm going back to the precinct. I can try to track Dan's phone and run these ballistics again. Maybe...maybe they just think he's involved."
"No one should go anywhere alone right now." Amenadiel had appeared on the steps with Charlie, and was following the dialogue silently. "Hold on a moment. Let me call for reinforcements." He disappeared into the house.
Janson looked confused. "I already called it in. They're working on pinging his car now, and we're ready to send multiple units and a hostage rescue squad as soon as we know his location."
"Chloe, where do you think Dan would go?" Linda eyed her friend with concern. "Do they teach you anything about this kind of stuff in police academy?"
"Not really," she replied in stereo with Janson. I am done, done with crying. Now I'm just pissed off. "They teach you to stick with your partner, and to call for backup if you need it. Dan never said anything about what he was doing. I need to try to retrace his steps." She stood and began walking toward her car.
"Chloe, wait." Amenadiel returned. "Azrael is on her way. She can go with Ella to the precinct. I can't seem to reach Chamuel, but I'll keep reaching out until more help arrives."
"Who is Azrael? And where are you going?" Janson called after Maze as she stalked back to her bike.
"I'm going to hit a few places downtown that would be easy to swipe a car from."
"I'll come with you!" Eve blurted, and hurried to hop on the back. Maze looked incredulous, but shrugged as she passed Eve the second helmet.
"Better hold on tight," she advised as she started the motorcycle. Eve wasted no time complying, which was fortunate since Maze took off like a jet. Voices drew closer behind Chloe, who was almost flattened by an overenthusiastic Ella.
"Rae-Rae!" she cried, hugging the tiny angel. "I can still call you that, right? Or is Azreal better? How about Az? Does anyone call you Az?" Even Amenadiel had to roll his eyes.
"Rae-Rae is fine," the angel replied, smiling. "Where are we headed?"
"I need to head to the lab. Chloe, hey, do you want to come with us? Maybe Dan left something helpful on his desk."
"Can you guys check while you're there? I really need to get to Dan's apartment " Standing, she dusted herself off.
"You shouldn't go out alone. If you will stay here with Linda and Charlie, I can go," Amenadiel offered.
"Ugh, thank you, but I need to do this. Trixie is out there and I can't just sit here. I need to find her and the best way to do that is to figure out what Dan's up to. I appreciate the offer, but I know him better than you do—or at least, I used to."
"I will try again to contact Chamuel." He strode around the corner, leaving Chloe with Linda.
"Can I get you anything at all?" the doctor asked.
"No. I just wish I knew what was going through Dan's head."
Linda nodded, and was about to say more when a loud wail came from inside. "Sounds like Charlie's up from his nap," she said apologetically, retreating inside.
Chloe sighed. Dammit! I need to do something, not just sit here waiting for a babysitter. Lucifer, I really need you right now—I need my partner. I wish you were here; despite all of your crap, I know you care about Trixie and I know you'd help me find her. She could practically hear Lucifer rolling his eyes as she interrupted whatever kingly thing he was doing. I really want to talk to you, Lucifer. I wonder what you're doing right—Chloe blinked. She poked her head inside the house. "Hey, Amenadiel?"
"Chloe. I still cannot reach my brother., or any of my other siblings." Amenadiel was clearly frustrated, but also anxious. "I'm worried that something else is wrong. I need to travel home and see if he is all right. I will take Charlie with me, just to be safe, so Linda can travel with you. Please, look out for her."
"Of course. We'll be fine. But—how do you call Chamuel?"
"Usually I am able to sense him; I just call his name to summon him, and he responds. It's similar to what humans call telepathy."
"Does that work for all of the angels?"
Amenadiel laughed. "Only if they want to be reached. Over time, we have all learned to ignore a summons. I think most of us have Uriel to thank for that."
"Huh." She nodded slowly. "Sorry to hold you up, I know you wanted to get going."
"Chloe, I would feel much better if I could go with you, but this is urgent."
"No, no, it's fine. Do what you have to do. We'll be OK. Good luck—I hope everything is all right." Chloe turned and headed for the door. "I'll give you two a few minutes." Back outside, she sat in her car to wait for Linda. It wasn't long before the petite blonde hopped into the passenger seat.
"Whoo, all right. I'm ready." She fastened her seat belt and turned to Chloe. "Let's get going."