Chapter 20

The ride to Dan's apartment started out silent, Linda realizing that the distraction of small talk wouldn't help Chloe at the moment. Lucifer? Chloe tried hesitantly. Can you hear me? She waited a beat. Lucifer? Trixie's missing, and Dan took her. Please, I need you. There was no response.

"You're thinking really loudly over there," Linda commented after a while.

"Sorry, I was just trying to get a hold of Lucifer."

"What, as in summon him? Can we—like, you and I—do that?"

"I don't actually know," Chloe admitted. "I figured I had a better shot now, what with everything that happened, but it's not working. Amenadiel said you pretty much just think the angel's name really hard, and they can hear you."

"Wait. What do you mean, everything that happened?"

"Let's just say my trip to visit Lucifer had some...unexpected results." The detective double-parked in front of the apartment building.

"Is it anything life-threatening?" Linda asked.

"Hah, no. At least, I don't think so. We'll talk later."

"Ohhh-kay. Oh—you were trying to summon Lucifer, right? So you know that's not really his, well, God-given name. I would assume you have to use his real one to call him."

"That would make sense. I have no idea what it is, though." She pounded the steering wheel lightly in frustration. "I asked him about it a while ago, actually, and he wouldn't answer me."

"Mmm, bit of a sore subject for him—as is everything, really, that has to do with his family." Linda sighed. "He doesn't want anyone to know, so I'm probably not supposed to tell you. But if you think this has a chance to work..."

"I have to give it a try."

"Don't tell him I told you though."

"Linda."

"It's Samael. His Father named him Samael. After the fall, Lucifer wanted nothing to do with his past, so he changed it. 'Lucifer' actually means 'light-bringer,' which is what his task was back in Heaven."

"Right, he said his mom gave him the nickname. OK, I'll give this a shot. What do I have to lose, right? Other than looking like an idiot." She took a deep breath. Samael. Lucifer. I—I need you. Trixie's been kidnapped, and there's an angry gang after Dan... it's just a huge mess. Please, Lu—Samael, dammit, sorry, although I am never calling you that otherwise. I really need your help. She had only been waiting a few seconds for a response when her phone rang. She didn't even look at the display before she answered. "Decker."

"Glad you answered. I have an update on the gang shooting—I know you're dealing with some personal business at the moment, but this is urgent."

Crap, it's Thompson. "Yes, sir. What do you have?"

"LA Community Hospital just called about a gunshot victim they found out in the Emergency bay. They think he was there for a while before anyone noticed him. He was in pretty bad shape, but there was an interesting note in his pocket. It claims he was the shooter in that warehouse."

"Wow. OK. Do we have confirmation?"

"I sent two uniforms over there to verify prints. ID lists him as Macalister O'Connell, but he's not in the system. He had two handguns on him. One is a .38, but the other is LAPD-issue. One of the EMTs says it's a Glock 9mm."

"Oh, God." Chloe's hand involuntarily covered her mouth. "Are...are you sure?" Linda reached over to pat her arm, unsure of what the bad news was but wanting to support her friend.

"No. Not until our men can confirm. But this doesn't look good, Decker. I need you back on this ASAP."

"I understand. I'll keep you posted, sir." She disconnected and groaned loudly. "Dammit dammit dammit. No. Damn you, Daniel Espinoza. What the hell is going on?"

"Chlo, what is it?"

"A guy they think is the shooter from this gang thing turned up at the hospital—and I think he has Dan's gun."

"Oh, no." It was Linda's turn to look horrified. "Well, at least we know Dan's OK, physically at least. But how would that have happened?"

"I have no idea, but it's not good." She motioned to Linda to remain in the car, then unsnapped her holster and drew her gun when she noticed the front door to Dan's unit was slightly ajar. She crept quietly towards the entrance, staying low, crouching beside the doorway. "LAPD, anyone inside?" she called.

"No, Detective, no one's home."

If anyone asked, she would vehemently deny jumping. "Lucifer?" she goggled. "What...you're here?"

"You called, I came, like a good Devil."

"I didn't even know if it would work! I'm so glad to see you—I could really use your help."

"It was a brilliant idea, really. I hadn't thought to ask if that came with your new, er, accessories. " He was thoughtful for a moment, then seemed to snap back to the present. "Well, I can assure you, the douche's abode is completely devoid of life. Now, if large bloodstains on the floor are what you're looking for, well—I daresay it's your lucky day."

"What?" she cried, pushing past him into the living area. Eww, disgusting. What the hell, Dan? She wrinkled her nose at the mess, but followed Lucifer around the couch.

"Not much for cleaning, is he?" Lucifer frowned, then gingerly used the toe of one shoe to shove some pizza boxes and dirty socks aside. "Fortunately, it's in our favor, as we now know your ex-douche murdered someone and dragged the victim out his back door."

Chloe frowned as she saw what Lucifer was seeing: A decent-sized pool of dried blood had set into the dingy carpet, with a few small tracks curving around the couch toward the back hallway. She snapped on a pair of gloves pulled from her jacket pocket before poking through the detritus any further.

"So, how does that summoning thing work?" she asked, making conversation as she searched. What exactly happened here? Who did he kill, and why?

"Simple, darling, exactly as it sounds. Just picture an angel in your mind, and say his or her name. It's just like a telephone call, but without the telephone."

"Well—ugh!" Chloe tossed a dirty sock somehow fused to a crumpled soda can to the side. "It would have been easier the first time if you had just told me your real name."

"Yes, and for that I am sorry." He shuffled his feet a bit. "It's not something I share with...anyone, really. But that's no excuse, since I trust you completely and since the knowledge would only have helped you."

"It's fine, I mean, you're here, right?" She straightened. "No more secrets, though."

"I assure you, I will tell you everything from now on. Just don't complain if it's not all what you want to hear."

"We may have to set a few boundary rules." She smirked, but it faded as a new thought stuck her. "Wait-can you hear all of my thoughts?"

"No! Oh, can you imagine being inside Amenadiel's head?" He shuddered. "Only when you call, or I suppose 'pray' is the word most people use, although it's awkward when you're talking about yours truly."

"Right." She gestured at the floor, where two spent casings had been unearthed from the detritus. "We need to see if there are more of these, to get the whole picture of what happened here."

"Isn't this usually Miss Lopez's domain?"

"Yeah, but she's at the lab, trying to find Dan. Azreal's with her, since we're worried about the Sinaloas."

"Ah, so you've met my little sister." Lucifer nodded. "She and I have always been quite close, and I was hoping to introduce you at some point. I do wish the circumstances had been better. Aha!" he exclaimed, holding up his pen. A casing dangled from it. "And baby makes three."

"I've got another one here," came Chloe's voice from the side of the couch. "So four total. They all look to be the same size, a .22 I would guess, which makes sense because that's Dan's backup piece. I don't see any signs of another weapon, though." She sounded worried now. "So either he got four shots off before the other guy had a chance, or the victim was unarmed." She noticed the coat closet door was ajar, and caught sight of the open gun safe on its floor. "He's got his clutch, or somebody does."

"Douche though he may be, we should still keep looking."

Chloe nodded and moved to the doorway between the living area and kitchen. "It's a straight shot out the back door from here. There's a few smears of blood along the way, so I agree that it looks like Dan dragged...whoever...out this way." She stopped at the tiny bathroom. Surprise, surprise, this could use a deep cleaning too. "His toothbrush and razor are gone." Stepping back into the hallway, she poked her head into a tiny room stacked floor-to-ceiling with cardboard boxes, then moved further towards the back to investigate the larger bedroom. "Doesn't appear to be anything missing, but-" she dropped to the messy floor and shone her flashlight under the rumpled bed. "No duffel. Dan always kept a go bag packed. I thought it was ridiculous, but he insisted on 'being prepared.' Guess it finally paid off for him."

"And for us. Now we know he's planning to be gone for a while, but he wouldn't have had access to any of Beatrice's belongings. He'll have to stop somewhere to procure the necessary clothing, toothbrush, chocolate cake...we can put out a, what is it, BOLO?"

"Yes. That's a good thought, let me call it in. Can you take a look outside?" She grabbed her walkie. Lucifer made a moue of distaste, but obliged by taking the last few steps down the hall and nudging the unlatched door further open. Peering around the alley, he noticed the disturbance of the recycling bins and the telltale puddle of blood behind them.

"So obvious, Daniel," he grumbled, and returned inside. He shared his findings with Chloe.

"Stashed the vic there, went and got his car, drove away. Hmm." She slowly paced the alley, Lucifer allowing her some silence in which to think. "Wait. Just before I got outta the car, the lieutenant called about a guy who'd been dumped at the hospital. He had 2 guns, and one of them is a Glock 9mm, just like Dan carries. Maybe that's who Dan shot!"

"It would be just like Detective Douche to shoot someone and then take the time to deliver his victim to a hospital when there's a gang war on. Clearly, the man needs his priorities straightened out."

"If this is the same guy, then he must be connected to the gang somehow."

"Forgive me, Detective—which gang was it, again?"

"Oh, um, the Sinaloas."

"My, my, Daniel! No low-level exploits for you. Bypassed West Side Story and went straight to Goodfellas. That's quite a serious cartel, Chloe. It's no wonder the Douche feared for his life and his offspring's. Only question is how he's lived as long as he has."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the reassurance, Lucifer." She took one last look around. "Well, there's nothing more to learn here. When I put out the BOLO, I had them send a CSU team over, so let's just make sure everything is where we found it and then get outta here. Maybe we should meet up with Ella at the precinct, see where she is with Dan's phone and car."

"Very well." Lucifer dropped the casing back on the living room floor on their way out the front door. "Why, hello Doctor!" He greeted Linda as he folded himself into the back seat.

"Lucifer! It worked! Chloe really summoned you." Linda buckled in as Chloe left Dan's parking lot.

"That she did. Did she fill you in on everything that happened in the Great Down Under?"

"Noooo," she eyed Lucifer in the rearview mirror. "But I assume it was something juicy, if Chloe's able to use your nifty angel telepathy thing."

"You mean...our angel telepathy thing."

"Lucifer! Not now!" Chloe hissed at him, unable to make eye contact while trying to artfully maneuver between a garbage truck and a city bus.

"My apologies, Detective, I didn't realize you haven't told the good doctor about your wings yet." Lucifer sat back, seeming quite entertained. Linda's jaw literally dropped and her head swiveled almost comically to look at Chloe, who was not nearly as amused.

"Dammit, Lucifer, we are supposed to be finding Trixie and this is not helping."

"You...you..." Linda was having a difficult time with words.

Lucifer withered a bit under Chloe's laser glare, aimed directly at him while they were stopped at a traffic light. Sounding much put-upon, he redirected the conversation. "Yes, yes, Doctor Linda, we'll have a lovely therapy session later, right? For now, though, we must help the Detective outwit the Douche before he gets away with her offspring. You've some knowledge of how people think! If he truly believes he's fleeing for his life, where do you think Daniel would go?" Chloe pulled into a space at the police station, but paused before leaving the car to hear Linda's answer.

"Uh, well, he'll want to get away as far and as fast as possible, and he'll probably also be looking for something familiar, so I would guess another city. But I have no idea, really..." she trailed off as she watched Chloe march into the building. "Wings?"

"It's a long story. Come, Doctor," he offered her his arm, "we're already fashionably late."

As they followed in Chloe's wake, Linda's brain struggled to wrap itself around this new development. So my best friend can fly now, and I'm being escorted into a crime lab by the Devil himself to help find her missing kid- who was actually taken by her own father to protect her from a powerful drug cartel. Not what I had in mind when I pictured how my day would go.