A/N: Chapter 14 had been slightly edited. And thanks again to TempestJuvano for beta-reading. :)

Chapter 15 – Somebody who has you back

Chloe was peering into the eyepiece of Ella's microscope.

"I still don't know what I'm looking at here, Ella."

"Oh, mi amiga," the tiny woman sighed and grabbed Chloe's arm lightly, to pull her away from the microscope. "You should notice those tiny little metal fibres."

"Okay," Chloe said, drawing out the first syllable. "And why is this so interesting?"

"Because they are from the murder weapon. We've found some strange scratches on the hilt of the baseball bat, remember? At first, I didn't find anything in them, except for the victim's blood of course. But after you told me that something is amiss with this case, I reanalysed the scratches with a different equipment that I borrowed from the narcotics division. And wow, girl, they have some really amazing stuff! I mean, they can detect even the tiniest speck of drug with them. Anyway, with this equipment, I could isolate these nearly imperceptible fibres."

"Great, and what kind of metal is this? Is it possible that they are from a ring?"

Their theory was that a ring could cause the scratches and maybe the type of metal could help them to identify the ring, and – hopefully – the owner.

"Nah, it's very unlikely. But it's still good news!" Ella's face lit up. "Because this is a very special alloy. And guess which is the only place this alloy is used? The company's drone lab! And, as we know it, there is a very strict authorization system, so it's not so easy to get into the lab, and only a fraction of the employees has access."

"Mm, that's actually quite promising! I'll check the list and hopefully I'll find something useful."

Chloe left Ella's lab, slipping into her seat, pulling up a large pile of papers off her desk. But before she began sorting through to find the list of employees with access to the drone lab, she glanced at her phone, wondering. It was almost noon and Lucifer still hadn't shown up at the precinct, though they had agreed to meet today.

Nevertheless, Chloe didn't feel like she had the courage to call him. After last night' events, her last dream, and her conversation with Linda, she was a little bit scared to see him again. She would call him after they found an actual lead and a possible new suspect.

However, the list didn't lead her anywhere. She had already read Dan's notes and tried to find anything useful about Lance Brassington and his mysterious accident, but she didn't find anything interesting. She also checked the background of Brian Morris, the other owner, as he was also on the lab's entry list, but found nothing useful. There was nothing suspicious about him; he had a quite simple lifestyle and didn't have any conflicts with his colleagues, at least based on the monthly reports and the innumerable emails she read yesterday. Besides, he had an alibi. He was also at the charity ball at the time of the crime.

It was well past lunchtime when she decided to take a break. She called Dan and was relieved to hear that he was much better. If all went well, he would be released tomorrow. It seemed that Amenadiel had already been released today. It felt as though they had been incredibly lucky, indeed. After she ended the call, she went to grab something from the vending machine. Apparently, Ella had chosen the same time to have some snacks, too.

"You don't look very cheery, Decker. I guess you didn't find anything."

Chloe huffed, shaking her head. "Nope, nothing. This case is a nightmare. The main evidence points to Mr Price, but I don't think he did it. He seemed genuinely surprised when we accused him of the murder. If the killer knew about the conflict between Vincent and Wayne, it could have come in handy for them. The problem is that I couldn't find any other suspects or even a proper motive. But I'm going to check the lab. This metal fibre thing is still promising."

"Yeah, about that," Ella said as she tossed some coins to the machine. "In the afternoon, I looked at the wounds on the victim's head again as well. And something vexes me. It's nothing important, just…The injuries are too serious, you know? If you are a very beefy man and you swing a baseball bat to hit someone, you can cause some very heavy damage, but still not this heavy. It's hard to imagine that anyone can be strong enough to cause this. It seems as if poor Vincent was beaten to death with almost inhuman force."

"Really?" Chloe tilted her head, thinking about Ella's remarks.

"Well, I was just thinking out loud. It was strange, but I'm sure there is a plausible explanation. I just have to look at the wounds once again."

Both of them suddenly turned, at the small noise from the direction of Marcus's office. He stood holding the door open for a moment, unaware of being watched by Chloe and Ella and then turned to talk to an officer. He took a folder, nodded, and went back into the office.

Ella glanced at Chloe and she must have noticed something in her expression, because then Ella started to frown.

"You know, Chloe, my Spidey sense tells me that it's not just the case. You're broody because of something else, too. So, out with it. What's wrong?" Before she could reply though, Ella's eyes widened. "Is it about Pierce? Did you guys have a fight? Oh my gosh, Chloe, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to-"

"Ella, it's okay, we didn't have a fight, don't worry," she grabbed Ella's wildly gesturing hands reassuringly and plastered a smile on her face. But she couldn't fool Ella.

"Okay. But you know you can speak to me, hermanita," she squeezed her hand.

Chloe sighed and gave in to the temptation to unburden herself. Work could distract her to some extent, but it was only temporary.

"Yeah, I know, and… Yes, you were right. There's a reason that I'm not so cheery today," she looked around to make sure others wouldn't hear them.

"And what is this reason?"

"It's Marcus. Lately, I realized that our relationship…it's not what I really want. After I closed this case, I will speak with him. It will be over, Ella."

The tiny forensic scientist stared at her with wide eyes.

"Wow… I didn't see that coming. But – how?" She shook her head fervently. "Never mind, it's none of my business, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want. I just… Are you okay?"

Ella seemed genuinely worried, and it warmed her heart.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Or at least, I will be. Don't worry about me. And we can speak about it sometime, but now I need to focus on the case." Chloe smiled at her again, and it was genuine this time.

"Right. Okay. We'll catch up later."

Ella squeezed her hand one last time, grabbed her nut bar from the vending machine, and walked back to the lab.

Chloe bought a sandwich and strolled back to her desk, still deep in thought. She desperately tried to put the pieces together, and she wouldn't give up. She decided to take a break, eat the sandwich, and have some coffee, read some news, and then go back to the case with fresh eyes.

As she was munching on her sandwich and scrolling her phone, an interesting article caught her attention. She opened it and read with surprise that Brian Morris had taken up the role of the company's new CEO. Well, that was fast. She opened her computer and started to look for some more detailed tech journal articles. She hoped that she would find some more elaborate news about the company, and she wasn't wrong. An article that was aired a few hours earlier summarized the history of the company as well as the latest developments. It included the tragic death of one of the owners and that the two other owners bought most of his shares, just like Dan told her. But this article included some more detailed information: it was Brian who started to buy the shares, but it seemed that he ran out of money. Wayne too began to invest more in the company, and he became the majority stakeholder soon. Apparently, the board found Mr Price more sympathetic or accomplished, because he was appointed as CEO a few months later, although Brian had also applied for the position. In the last year, Wayne transferred some of his shares to his son-in-law, and after his death Erin inherited them. Now that Wayne was in jail, Erin could have run for office, but according to the article, she didn't want to be involved in the company anymore, in fact, she even wanted to sell her inherited shares.

She closed the browser and ran to the lab.

"Ella, I think I've found something," she told her excitedly.

The tiny woman spun back from her computer and beamed at her.

"Really? Do tell."

"So, I've just read some very interesting news about the company. The other owner, Brian Morris became the CEO now that Wayne Price is in custody, and Mr Price's daughter would like to quit the business and sell her shares."

"Wait, do you think that the wife did it? But she seemed so devastated-"

"No, Ella. Look, this is a prosperous company. If she had killed his husband to inherit his shares, it would have been more logical to keep them. It doesn't make sense to sell them now, so I think that she really doesn't care about the business anymore. But I think Mr Morris does all the more so." She started to pace in the lab.

"I think he would like to buy her shares to be the majority stakeholder. And he could have been planning this for years. Just think about it. First, one of the owners dies in a mysterious car crash. Brian tries to get a leading position, but he doesn't have enough capital and he's not popular enough. But it would be too suspicious if he just got rid of the other owner. It would be much smarter to frame him. And it was a wickedly clever plan. He probably knew that we will be busy identifying Vincent's possible enemies, so he would be under our radar."

"Wow, that's an awesome theory, Chloe," Ella gushed.

"Yeah, maybe it is," she sighed. "But it's just a theory. I found only motive, but we don't have anything against him. He even has an alibi."

"What if he hired somebody to do the dirty work?"

"That's possible. And that might also explain why the victim's injuries were so severe. Brian didn't look too strong, but maybe he hired some burly mobster. Anyway, I will look into it."

She rushed back to her desk, grabbed her phone, and called the main office of SkyFly-Tech Solutions.

"Hello," Claire answered after the fourth ring.

"Ms Woodberg, hello. I'm Detective Decker."

"Oh, how can I help you, Detective? I thought you have closed the investigation," she said with surprise in her voice.

"Yeah, we're mostly done with it, but I would have a few more questions for Mr Morris, just to be sure that we can close everything and not leave any unclear points in the final report. Can I speak with him?"

"He had just finished a meeting, so I can get him on the line if you wait a moment."

Chloe had to wait only half a minute.

"Mr Morris, I'm sorry to bother you. Ms Woodberg has probably informed you that I'd like to ask some questions regarding the Skalbeck-case. Do you have some time to meet me at the precinct today?"

"Yes, she told me about that. Detective, I hope you understand that I have quite a busy schedule. Wayne's arrest caused quite a commotion and now I have a lot on my plate. I can go to the precinct in a few days, but if it's urgent, please, come to the company around 7 PM today. I'll still be in the lab."

"Okay, 7 PM is perfect. Where is the lab exactly?"

"It's in the rearmost building, but you can find it easily if you follow the signs. Just ring the doorbell and I'll let you in."

After she ended the call, she checked the time. She still had two hours until 7 PM, so she could systematize what she found so far. Her gaze flickered to the empty swivel chair. Lucifer still hadn't shown up. She chewed on her bottom lip. She had an ominous feeling about the lab visit, and she would have been calmer if Lucifer had accompanied her. Shoving her pride and worries aside, she hit the call button and was listening to the constant ringing until it went to voicemail. Okay, this was a new one. He always answered his phone before. Well, except for the one occasion when he fled to Las Vegas.

The last moments of her third dream popped back into her mind again. Maybe she really screwed it up this time. Maybe Lucifer didn't want to talk to her after the fiasco last night. She collapsed on her chair with a deep sigh. Should she leave a voicemail for him? No, she decided. She was a big girl, and she would deal with this on her own. She opened her computer to reread the most important documents before going to SkyFly-Tech Solutions.

Marcus had arrived at his office somewhat later than usual. After he was past his initial shock, he had gotten dressed and gone to the precinct. His whole world had just turned upside down that morning, but he was sure about one thing: he wanted to see Chloe.

But when he spotted her in Ella's lab, his confidence immediately disappeared. What on earth should he say to her right now? So, instead of approaching her, he slipped into his office and closed the door.

But the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that he would stick to his new plan: he would be honest with her and start a new chapter in their life.

He was sitting at his desk, flipping through the contents of an old folder. His gaze slipped from one old photo to another. Although he had always been hiding well, since cameras existed, he couldn't fully avoid being photographed a few times. After a while—he wasn't sure why—he began collecting these photos. But they were relics of an old, never-changing life. It was strange to realize that he had begun ageing now and that his ageing would be captured in the new photos.

He wasn't sure why his mark had gone. Maybe Chloe had finally fallen for him. Maybe God had just decided that his punishment was over. Anyhow, he didn't care. He had a chance for happiness, and he wouldn't screw it up. Yes, he could finally die, but why not after he grew old with Chloe? He really hoped that she would appreciate his honesty and forgive him for his past mistakes. And if not – well, then he still could choose what he had longed for most of his long life.

He saw that she was occupied with the Skalbeck-case the whole afternoon, so he thought he might have this conversation with her after she closed it.

Half an hour before the end of her shift, he strolled to her desk with two mugs of coffee in his hand.

"Hi," he smiled at her and put one of the mugs on her desk.

"You read my mind," she smiled back at him and took a sip.

"Yeah, it seemed that you might need some energy. Are there any developments?"

"Actually, yes." She leaned back on her chair and filled him in on all the new information. After she told him about her upcoming meeting with Brian Morris, she glanced at her phone.

"I called Lucifer to join me for the interrogation, but I couldn't reach him. I guess I'll close this case alone."

"Maybe I could go with you," he offered. "If he really is the killer then it's better if you have somebody who has you back," he smiled at her gently.

"I think you're right. I don't think he would pose a physical danger, but better safe than sorry."

She closed the computer, grabbed her bag, and a few minutes later they were heading to the company.