Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence

Chapter 6

The Truth Always Comes Out

Sara shot straight up in bed. "Shit!" she hissed as the movement pulled her shoulder and a sharp pain radiated down her entire arm. There were small chuckles from her door and looking up Sara saw two sets of wide brown eyes staring back at her. "Do not tell Mrs. Stock I said that," she told the twins, rubbing at her sore shoulder. The bandage had been removed a week ago, but the red angry scar was still puckered, the skin around it had bruises in varies stages of healing. But all of them formed a perfect circle around the entry. The stitches wouldn't be removed for a few more days.

There were a few more giggles and the boys disappeared. She was sure they were going to rat her out but given she had cursed over her shoulder; she was sure Mrs. Stock would cut her some slack. She had other things on her mind.

She had no idea how she had managed to see her mom, but her mom being in hell was at the front of that. There were plenty of people who would debate whether nor not heaven and hell were real, but when your father was one of the Archangels, that kind of ended the debate for you. Knowing, not only that hell an actual place but the one person in the whole world who didn't deserve to be in hell was there over an event that had not happened, made it even worse for her. She would find a way to get back there and get her mom out.

Sara tossed back the covers, grabbed a pair of jeans and plain maroon t-shirt. The t-shirts where easier to work her arm in with no help. After getting dressed and situating the sling so it was as comfortable as it could be, she grabbed a ponytail holder, slipped it on her wrist with the intent of asking Mrs. Stock if she would pull her hair back in a braid, and headed downstairs. She was a little surprised, only Danny was sitting at the table eating his usual Cheerios.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked as she grabbed a bowl and poured some of the Coco Pebbles.

"Joyce took the other four fishing down at the pond," he answered between bites. Ms. Joyce says they just had it stocked with some trout. I'm heading out to meet them when I'm done." He slurped the last of the milk. "Done."

Sara watched him rinse out his bowl and head out the back door without another word. It dawned on her just how withdrawn she had been these last three weeks. She wasn't hurt not to have been invited, she had the interview at the police station, but she was a little surprised. It wasn't like Joyce to not include everyone.

"Don't feel bad Sara," came Mrs. Stock voice from the doorway of the kitchen. "She was going to ask you, but I reminded her about your appointment today. Although, if you would rather go fishing with the rest of them?"

For a millisecond Sara wanted to say yes. That she would have loved to sit by the pond, soak up the sun, maybe throw a fishing line in to see if the trout would bite, just be a normal teenager for the afternoon. Forget the last three weeks completely. But that ach from seeing her mom in hell, knowing the person who caused her to be there was still out there not being punished stopped her.

"No," she said softly. "It's fine. Like you said I have the appointment with Detective Espinoza."

Dan had just finished settling the sketch artist in O'Hara's office, when he saw Sara and Mrs. Stock through the office window being led towards the office by another officer. He smiled and waved them over. He wouldn't tell her this, but Sara looked like she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night. Her hair was pulled back in a messy braid, and the dark circles under her eyes were even more prominent.

"Thanks for coming in." He smiled at them then pointed to the woman sitting on the other side of the desk. "This is Ms. Montenegro, she's on loan to use from the Jeffersonian in Washington DC. She'll be our sketch artist for the day."

Sara nodded, "I kind of figured that, with the paper and colored pencils."

The young woman stood up and came out from behind the desk, smiling brightly as she extended her hand towards Sara. Her hark hair framed her olive tone face and while the hand she offered was slender, Sara could see charcoal marks on the outside of her hand. "Hi Sara, it's nice to meet you. Call me Angela."

Sara took the offered hand and gave Angela a half smile. "It's nice to meet you Angela."

Angela motioned to the empty seats, "Let's get started." She waited while Sara sat in the left one while Mrs. Stock took the one on the right, and then Angela positioned herself directly in front of Sara. The sketch pad and a charcoal pencil sat in her lap. "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

Sara shook her head, "I'm not sure I want to. I'm here to describe the man who killed my mom. Not have a heart to heart with a complete stranger." There was a sharp tap on Sara's left arm.

"Don't be rude, Sara." It was Mrs. Stock. "I'll not have a charge of mine being rude."

Sara looked back at Angela, who didn't seem phased by her impolite comment. "I'm sorry Ms. Montenegro." She looked down at her hands, "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I tend to be a little snippy when that happens."

She nodded, "I understand. I just a baby and my husband and I aren't getting a lot of sleep." She set the sketch book and pencil on the desk, reached over and took Sara's left hand. "I know my questions are going to seem a bit odd, and truth be told they might not make a lot of sense to you. But trust me, they will help me paint a better picture of your mother's killer, I promise."

Sara nodded, but she really didn't see how talking about herself would help Angela draw her mom's killer.

"Alright then," Angela picked up her sketch book and flipped to a clean sheet. "Before all this happened, what would you in your free time?"

Lucifer waited till Detective Douche had settled the girl and her guardian in the office before coming out of the interrogation room. The Detective had 'requested' he stay in there till Dan settled the two of them and drew the blinds. He figured with their backs towards the window that would be good enough, considering Dan had not yet pulled the blinds.

He noticed Chloe walking towards her desk and headed towards her, "Well the child and her guardian are here." He nodded towards the office. "And I believe Ms. Bledsoe should be here any moment."

Chloe picked up the Fenn file and nodded, "An officer is escorting her up here now." She motioned towards the interrogation room, "After you."

Before Lucifer could lead the way, his phone rang. "I'm sorry." He pulled his phone out of his inside breast pocket and was about to click ignore when he noticed it was Amenadiel. Considering his brother never called him, he figured it was better to answer. "I had better take this Detective." He didn't wait for an answer, just turned and headed towards the elevator for a little privacy.

Chloe rolled her eyes but at that moment she noticed a uniformed officer directing Cora Bledsoe towards her. "Thank you for coming." She held the door open and Cora walked in.

"I just have a few follow up questions." She took a seat across from Cora and opened the file. "So, you told Detective Espinoza that morning you were at the register?" Cora had her hands in her lap, her spine straight as an iron rod, and only responded with a sharp nod. "At what point did you leave the register?"

"Before the shooter walked in." It was clipped and sounded incredibly rehearsed.

Chole nodded as if what Cora said confirmed something, "Alright, so before that you were facing the door, correct." Another sharp nod. "And what made you leave the register?"

It was clear she hadn't practiced for these kinds of questions. "I…I don't understand why that's important."

Smiling Chloe closed the file and laid it down, "We're just trying to get a clear picture of everything that happened that day. So, what made you leave your register?"

"I needed to go to the bathroom."

"And do you often leave the register opened and unattended?"

"Well, of course not," Cora blurted out.

"So why did you leave it this time?"

"I didn't leave it open."

Chloe opened the file again. "But you did leave the register. I have a statement from Sara Fenn that says she saw the register was opened before the shooting started and that you were nowhere to be seen."

Cora rolled her eyes, "Sara had her back to me, plus she was in shock and bleeding, her memory is mistaken."

"Sara says she didn't turn around until after the first shots were fired. You say you left he register before the shooter walked in," Chloe countered as she closed the file, and leaned across the table, "Sara would have been facing you when the shooter walked in. She would have seen you leave and whether or not the register was opened. Perfect view." Chloe leaned back, "Now, if you left right as or right after the shooter walked in then Sara's back would have been to you. So, which is it?"

"Well… I mean… I guess I might have been at the register, but I saw the gun and ran. I know it was a cowardly thing to do but I was scared. I mean the guy had just shot Matt. What was I supposed to do?"

The doors behind Chole opened and Lucifer walked in, "I'm so sorry to interrupt but I am a little confused. Now I wasn't there when the Detective interview the child, but I am pretty sure the report I read said the child saw you at the counter right up until Matt was killed." He took a seat next to Chloe, "So that means you saw the shooter walked in with a gun, you saw Matt get shot and rather than warn the child, you ran away and just happened to leave the cash drawer opened?"

Cora looked flustered. Her eyes were darting between Lucifer and Chloe. "Well… I mean there was a lot going on." Her eyes landed on Lucifer, "Wait a minute, I know you. You were there right after it happened."

"Of course I was there. The Detective and I are working the case together."

Cora shook her head, "No, you were there before the detectives got there. You were wearing a white t-shirt and jeans."

"See, I would never wear jeans." Just the thought of denim touching his skin was enough to make him feel violently ill. "Besides we are getting off topic." He fixed his gaze on the woman in front of him, reached over and took her hand. "Tell me Cora, what did you desire? What is it you really wanted?"

Chloe had seen this so many times, Lucifer would get bored and want to speed the investigation a long so he would use his mojo thing.

"I… I wanted Liz to stop favoring Matt," she finally stuttered out. "He was a drug addict and she still wouldn't fire him. He wasted his money on drugs, but did Elizabeth fire him? No! She fricking paid for his rehab. And when that looser relapsed, she still wouldn't fire him. She created a whole new job and let the pathetic excuse of a human keep working there. No, I needed her to see that Matt was bad news."

Lucifer still had her hand and kept his eyes focused on her, "How were you going to get what you desired dear lady?"

"Vince."

"Whose Vince," Chloe asked.

"My cousin. He…" She blinked and pulled her hand out of Lucifer's grasp. "I… I… I think I…" she blinked again realizing what she had just said. "I think I want my lawyer."

"Yes," Sara told Angela when she turned the sketch towards her. "That's him." She took a deep breath; it was like Angela had pulled the image of the shooter right from her mind and put him on paper. The dirty blonde hair, the silver stud in his left ear, even his muddy brown eyes. Granted there were a second pair of eyes with hazel coloring in the margin of the picture, due to the colored contacts Sara remembered him wearing. She reached out to take the sketch from her carefully. "You are amazing. I don't think I have ever seen a more life-like portrait."

Angela gave her a big smile as she go to her feet, "Well I only drew what you saw. And I have to say, you were very detailed oriented. Most times I do this it's hard to get the person to focus on the little things."

Sara handed to sketch to Detective Espinoza, who took it and slid it into a large manila folder, as Angela made her way to the door. "I have a fairly decent memory. Again, thank you." Sara stood up to shake her hand.

Angela paused at the door but didn't take the offered hand, instead she pulled Sara into a tight embrace. "I am so sorry for your loss Sara. Truly I am."

It took a moment of stunned silence before Sara returned the kind gesture. She closed her eyes and gave her a tight hug, nodding her thanks. When Sara opened her eyes, she was facing the window looking out of the office and into the precinct. That's when she noticed Cora being escorted between two officers. "What's Cora doing here?" She released Angela and before anyone could stop her, she was out the office door and standing in front for her former co-worker.

"Cora? What's going on?" Cora refused to meet her eyes. Sara looked from the two officers back to Cora, her eyebrows furrowing once she noticed the handcuffs. "Did… did you have something to do with my mom's death?"

Cora still refused to meet her eyes, looking everywhere but at Sara. She could feel her temper starting to rise to the surface when Cora refused to answer her. She barely noticed that Detective Espinoza had taken her by her left arm and was trying to lead her away. She also didn't notice Detective Decker and Lucifer were starting to make their way over to them. Sara just shook her head.

"No," she shook off Dan's grip, her left-hand latching onto Cora's right arm squeezing, "Look at me Cora!" Sara's voice carried through the precinct and a few of the other officers and staff actually stopped what they were doing to look over at the commotion. The woman tried not to but was compelled to look at the young girl in front of her. "Now tell me the truth! What do you have to do with my mom's death!"

"I hired my cousin Vince to make it look like Matt's dealer was robbing the place. I told him there would be about three hundred in the register and he could keep it. But it got out of hand when Vince shot Matt. He panicked."

"Panicked! He shot my mom three times point blank! He then shot Matt in the chest just because he wouldn't let go of his leg! That wasn't panic! That was murder!" Sara was seeing red now and her grip on Cora's arm tightened, she kept her eyes locked on the woman her mother had considered a friend. "Tell me the truth, why did you do this?"

"Because Matt was a drug addict. I had to make her see. Matt was an evil person."

Sara shoved Cora's arm away from her because she could no longer stand touching it. "No." Moving fast before anyone could stop her, Sara balled up her left fist, taking care to not tuck her thumb, and punched Cora in the face. The two officers weren't quick enough, and Cora went down. Sara towered over her, "You are the evil one. If I ever see you again, I swear to whatever God you believe in that I will end you."

Dan wrapped his arm around her waist and Sara finally allowed him to lead her away as the sting of tears filled her eyes. He led her back to the office they had been using and set her in a chair. It looked as if Angela had already left and Mrs. Stock was right there beside her talking to Dan. "What was that about?" Apparently, she hadn't heard the conversation, but she had seen Sara hit Cora. Rather than go into detail about how Cora had betrayed her mom and gotten her killed, Sara just looked at the woman and pleaded, "Can we please just go home?"

Mrs. Stock nodded, "I'll go get the car." She gave Dan a quick nod and left.

Dan knelt in front of Sara, "I'm so sorry Sara. I should have pulled the blinds down. You weren't supposed to see her leaving."

She wasn't sure what to say. If Dan had pulled the blinds, Cora would never have confessed, and she wouldn't now know who was responsible for her mom's death. Yes, Vince might have pulled the trigger and Sara was very sure there would be a special place in hell for him, but Cora had been the one to hire him to try and teach her mom a lesson. A lesson Liz and Matt had paid for with their lives.

Fighting back a sob that wanted so badly to tear through her, Sara shoved that emotion to the back and tried to focus on the next step. "Will she be charged with murdering my mom and Matt?"

"Well," Dan told her looking out the office window. "She did just confess to planning the robbery, and she did give a motive. She'll be taken into custody and we'll get some uniformed officers staking out Vince's place. So, it's looking pretty good." He looked back to her, "How did you get her to confess like that?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders. Truth be told, she had no idea how she got Cora to tell the truth. She just knew she wanted the truth about what why her mom was gone, and she knew Cora knew something. Granted she never figured Cora hated Matt enough to orchestrate something like this. "I don't know, I just needed to know the truth and I knew Cora had it."

Dan looked skeptical but didn't press the issue. "I'll go see if Mrs. Stock is ready with the car."

He left the room and Sara stood up and headed towards the window. Her shoulders slumped, and the tears fell freely. Her mind was in turmoil as she gazed out over the busy streets of LA. Cora. It was Cora who was responsible for her mom's death. Cora, who had been a mentor to her when she was old enough to start working at the Coffee Shop. Cora, Cora Cora. It was all Cora's fault. But she wasn't the only one to blame. Oh no. Cora hadn't pulled the trigger. Cora hadn't shot Matt, turned the gun on Sara, shot and nearly killed her, and then murdered her mother. Oh no, Vince had plenty of blame coming his way as well. Vince needed to be punished, more than Cora.

Sara's shock over discovering what Cora had done quickly turned to anger. Anger at her and anger at Vince. But even after punching the bitch Sara still felt the need to hurt something else. And then who should walk through the door? The one only other person she didn't like. Lucifer Morningstar.

"How did you do that?" His thick British accent grated on Sara's nerves and that feeling of being mad at him for something she was sure had nothing to do with him was back. He stood with his back to the door blocking it, but she didn't feel trapped.

Quickly wiping the tears from her face Sara turned to face him, crossed her arms and glared at him. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Of course, she did but she wouldn't tell him that. She wasn't sure what had compelled her to grab Cora's arm like she had, or how she had made her tell the truth. All she knew was that she had been furious at Cora's betrayal and had wanted the woman to tell her the truth right then and there. She had felt a sensation behind her eyes, but it wasn't a sting, like fighting back tears. No this was a burning, like a rage trying to get out, and she had directed it at Cora, and Cora had told her the truth about what she had done to cause her mom's death.

"Oh, I think you do know exactly what I am talking about." He moved towards her, but Sara refused to flinch. She stood her ground. "How were you able to get that wretched woman to tell you the truth?"

He was right in front of her now and it was hard for her to look away. Not that she would, she met his fierce gaze. "I do not know what you are talking about," she growled out.

"Oh really." He reached for her left arm and she had to fight really hard not to pull away when he gripped it firmly. "Tell me then, what do you desire from Cora?"

Lucifer's eyes were focused and intense. She could feel a pull from him, wanting her to tell him her desire, but that was all it was. She was aware of it but felt no obligation to tell this arrogant man anything.

She stared back at him refusing to answer and waited. After a few moments he spoke.

"So, you're a complicated one, well then." He squared his shoulders and she swore his eyes widened for a moment. "What do you truly desire, Miss Sara Fenn?"

The pull intensified. She still felt no compulsion to answer him, but she did, "I desire," she spit back at him as she jerked her arm out of his grasp, "my mom back." This was what she was really made at. Even though Cora and Vince would be caught and punished, Liz and Matt would still be dead, and Sara would go on missing her mom.

She finally took a step back. "I desire for us to be a family again, and I desire for none of this to have happened to Matt and her. Or me." There was no stopping the flow of tears now and she wished she could hold them back. Not that she cared what Mr. Morningstar thought of her, but she didn't want to show him any kind of weakness. She took a step towards him and was actually surprised to see him not only take a step back but a look of confusion on his face as tears fell from hers. "Can you make that happen Mr. Morningstar? Can you bring my mom back to me?" She kept advancing, "Can you rewind time and keep Vince from killing Matt, shooting me and murdering my mom?" He was now back against the wall beside the door, still confused. "No, you can't."

She kept staring at him, and after a moment the confusion left his face, but his normal arrogant grin didn't return. It wasn't pity, the closest thing she could think of was understanding.

"You truly miss her, don't you? Your mum?" Sara nodded. He glanced at the door. "My mother recently," he hesitated. "Well let's just say she went somewhere I will never be able to follow. I will never see her again and I think I understand how you are feeling." This time when he took her arm it was gently and with an understanding no one but Detective had shown her.

She didn't care if this man had been an ass, he knew what it was like to lose his mom and right now that was what she needed. Not someone to fix the problem, or tell her it would be okay, or that everything happened for a reason. She just needed someone to understand how much she missed her mom and how angry she was about it.

She threw her arms around his waist and continued to cry. There was a moment where he hesitated but soon one arm found its way on her shoulder while the other one rested on her head. He didn't hug her back, but it was enough to make some of the hurt she was feeling, recede. Just a little. Maybe Mr. Morningstar wasn't so bad.