The devil's sister

"The heroin you found at Naomi Austen and the heroin in chef Javier's stomach are different, not the same," Ella told them.

"Meaning… Javier junior might not be the murderer," Chloe said.

Chloe and Lucifer had returned to the precinct after their lunch with Penelope and were now updated by Ella on what she had found so far.

"Junior might get his heroin from an other dealer than Naomi," Lucifer said.

"Naomi said he was clean," Chloe reminded him. "Suppose that is true. How is the mercury mixed with heroin then?"

Lucifer looked at her, giving that a thought. "Someone wants to frame him, but that someone doesn't know he is clean nowadays."

"Does the staff at the restaurant know he is clean?" Chloe asked.

Lucifer shrugged. "We didn't ask that during the interviews."

"We need to talk to junior again," Chloe decided. "Why are you smiling Ella?"

"It's so interesting to see how team Decker-Morningstar makes the next step."

Chloe moved her desk phone in between them. "I just give him a call."

"Javier?"

"Detective Decker, LAPD. I have one more question."

"Yes?"

"Who of the staff of the restaurant knows you are clean of heroin?"

"I don't think they know. I told my dad this morning. Just as I told him I'm vegan now."

"You're vegan. He didn't know?"

"No. He ordered Anne the same dishes for both of us and was surprised I didn't eat the meat. He didn't want to waist it, so he ate my meat."

Lucifer sat straight and did bend over to the phone. "He did eat your meat?"

"Most of it. He shoved it on his plate. It was a bit to much and a bit was left. I made a remark of asking for a doggy bag."

Lucifer and Chloe stared at each other. "Thank you," Chloe said in the phone. "That was helpful."

"Anne thought she would get the restaurant," Chloe said to Lucifer and Ella. "But the prodigal son comes home and she is afraid he will inherit."

"And she put poison in his meat," Lucifer said.

"Which ends up on senior's disk."

"And when there is a leftover on senior's disk, Anne thinks she can safely eat it," Lucifer finished.

"Wow. The devil and the detective solving the case." Ella applauded.

Chloe shook her head and grabbed the phone again. Minutes later she ended the call with: "Guess who left the hospital without properly checking out."

"Anne Martin?"

Chloe nodded and grabbed her car keys. "To Sol de Javier, Lucifer."


They caught Anne while she took a small bag with heroin from a hidden locker in the kitchen. There was a table between them with some large containers of cooking oil.

"That is the heroin you used while killing pops?" Lucifer asked.

"I didn't kill him. I loved pops."

"You wanted to kill junior," Chloe said. "We figured that out, yes. Except you didn't realize that Junior changed while he was away. He stopped eating meat. I suppose that is the heroin you used?"

Anne kicked the table, the containers with oil fell over. Oil splashed on the floor and over Chloe's and Lucifer's pants. Anne lit a lighter and threw it at Chloe. Chloe saw the burning item coming to her. To fast to step aside. Not fast enough for something to appear in between, something large, white and shining. It was one of Lucifer's wings that flashed forward. It hit the lighter full flight and knocked it aside.

The woman stood as frozen, eyes wide opened, fists against her mouth. "You are…"

"A civil consultant of the LAPD. Nothing else. Don't say anything. No one will believe you and it will only buy you a one way ticket to the looney bin."

Anne swallowed and tried to step back, but stumbled over a bucket. Chloe was with her before the sous-chef could get up and handcuffed her.

"He…"

"He is my partner," Chloe said. "Just that."

"Wings…" Anne was still stammering. "Lucifer…He is…"

"Yes, he is. Keep that in mind now you murdered a fellow human. If you hope to clear your conscience," Chloe whispered in Anne's ear, "confessing during the interrogation might help."

Lucifer winked at Chloe and smiled. "How well played, detective."


In the precinct was the paperwork waiting to finish the case. Chloe had a message that Dan was out to help a colleague, detective Don Madden, with a case. They decided to first grab a coffee and drink it with Ella in the lab. "Someone stabbed to death," Ella could tell about Madden's case.

Lucifer gave Ella an update on how Anne Martin was arrested, although Chloe had to add one detail: "He saved my life. There was oil all over me. If it had catch fire, I wouldn't be here." Chloe looked at the door to see it was closed and then whispered. "He used his wings to push that lighter away."

"Girl, you were saved by angel wings." Ella turned to Lucifer and grinned. "You're her guardian angel."

"More her guardian devil, miss Lopez."

"That is only a technical detail, Lucifer."

"Only a detail? You take all the celestial stuff remarkably easy," he said with a smile.

Ella shrugged. "I have always believed and also, since I was young I…" She shook her head. "That doesn't matter."

Lucifer frowned. "Since you were young? Well, I think you are still young."

"Compared to you, every human is young."

"That is true." For a second he grinned, but then he looked thoughtful at Ella. "You believe in heaven and hell, in my dad and me you said when we discussed that dust."

"Yes."

"You also said you believe in ghosts? You mentioned that."

"I shouldn't have said that. You will think I'm crazy, just as everyone thinks."

"I am certainly not everyone, miss Lopez. And I never will think you are crazy. Don't you want to tell us?"

Ella now looked at Chloe. "I also will not think you are crazy, Ella," Chloe said. "You're smart. You figured out where that dust came from. We trusted you and told you the truth."

"My family said I was crazy. They gave me pills."

"Trust us," Lucifer said.

Now Ella looked at the door before whispering. "I see a ghost. Since I was eight. She is my best friend. Her name is Ray-Ray."

Lucifer raised hid hand to interrupt her. "Ray-Ray?"

"Yes?"

"About your size, Asian type, dark hair in a bob cut and heavy glasses with a dark frame?"

Ella looked at him eyes wide open. "How do you know?"

"I… She… Maybe she should tell you herself. But I know her also, so you're not crazy."

"Lucifer!" It came from both Chloe and Ella. "Now you have to tell her more," Chloe said.

"Bloody hell," he muttered. He folded his hand and closed his eyes as if he was praying. Ella looked eyes wide at Chloe, who shook her head to indicate she also didn't know what he was doing. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a young woman appeared. As Lucifer described: about Ella's size, Asian, dark hair in a bob cut and heavy glasses with a dark frame.

"Ray-Ray?" Ella whispered.

"Hi, Ella. Lu, why? I like Ella and I don't want to loose her."

"Then tell her the truth. She can handle that."

The woman looked at Ella, at Chloe and at Ella again and sighed.

"What is he talking about, Ray-Ray?" Ella asked.

"Dad won't approve this, Lu."

"Did he ever talk to you about it? He must already know," Lucifer answered.

"Ray-Ray?" Ella said.

"Ella, I… I like you. You are my only human friend and I didn't…" She reached out and put her hand on Ella's arm.

"You know Lucifer?"

"He is my brother."

"He is the devil." Ella swallowed, blinked her eyes. "So you are an angel?"

"Meet my sister Azrael," Lucifer said. "Angel of Dead."

"Why?" Ella asked Azrael.

It was Lucifer who reacted: "Why what, miss Lopez? You have to be a bit more specific."

"Why did you tell me you were a ghost?

Azrael sighed. "I thought your family would think it's weird if you talk with an invisible angel."

"I was eight years old. They thought I was insane when I told them I talked with an invisible ghost."

The angel lowered her eyes. "I didn't realize that. I'm sorry Ella."

"How did the two of you meet?" Chloe asked.

Azrael told them about a car accident Ella was involved in when she was eight, how she came to take the girl's soul, but how it appeared to be a false alarm. "...and I liked her. I kept seeing her. You must understand I'm lonely. Dead people are most of the time not in for a friendly chat."

"O, girl," Ella said and put her arms around the angel.

"Are you not angry?" Azrael whispered.

"No, sweety. Just drop by when you want to talk."

Chloe looked for a few seconds at Ella and Azrael who embraced each other. "I have paperwork to finish," she said softly to Lucifer.

Ten minutes later Lucifer joined her at her desk. He grinned. "Ella has lots of questions. For the moment Azrael has left to do her job, but she will join miss Lopez this evening to talk."


The next morning Dan was at his desk looking at the screen of his desk computer when Chloe and Lucifer entered. "Hi. Do you have a case?"

"Not at the moment, no. Paperwork, questions from the DA on older cases, you know. Why? Finished with Madden's case?"

"No, idea," Dan grumbled. "That guy is a pain in the ass. No explanations, no deliberation. He arrested someone, I have no idea why."

"So a lousy job?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah." He shrugged and turned to his computer again.

If it's a lousy job to Dan's standards, Chloe thought, it really has to be lousy. Well, it was not her case, so she sat at her own desk and accepted the coffee Lucifer brought her. Soon after the officer at the receptions calls her to tell Javier Arias asked for her. For a second she is amazed: Javier is dead, then she realizes it is Javier junior. "I will pick him up."

"I know you and mister Morningstar arrested the killer of my dad and saved the restaurant. Thank you for that," junior said when they were seated in a meeting room

"We're happy we could help," Chloe said.

"Was it just the two of you? Or were more detectives involved?"

"Ella did the forensics and Dan has been doing some research on the staff."

"I would like to thank them also," Javier said. "If possible?"

Lucifer raised to ask Dan and Ella to come in.

"I will continue the restaurant," junior said when all four where in. "That is what my dad deserves. I would like to invite the four of you to come for a diner the night before the day we open again.

"A private diner at Sol de Javier?" Ella laughed and applauded. "That is great."

"And of course you can ask your relatives or closest friend," he added. "I believe you mentioned a mother once, detective Decker."

"I have a mother and a daughter," Chloe said.

"Then they are both welcome." He looked at the other three.

"I have a friend that I would like to ask, but…" Ella looked at Lucifer. "I don't know whether she would come."

"I have no idea whether your friend would come, miss Lopez," he said. "Do I know her?"

"Ray-Ray. Do you think she…"

Lucifer grinned. "You have to ask her, miss Lopez." And to Javier he explained: "Ray-Ray is my sister."

"Both as miss Ella's friend or as your sister she is welcome. You have more relatives or friends you would like to come?"

"Maze would be nice for Trixie," Chloe whispered in Lucifer's ear.

"Maze?" Lucifer reacted and then laughed. "Maze and Azrael at one table? Well, with the urchin and miss Lopez as buffer why not. Maze as my relative."

"And you Dan?" Chloe asked.

Dan shrugged. "Trix is already mentioned."

"If my mother comes, your parents could also come."

Dan glanced at Lucifer and grumbled. "Asking them to have diner with…?"

Later that day, long after Javier had left and Lucifer went to the Lux to deal with daily business Dan approached Chloe. "I can't ask my mother to have diner with a satanist."

"Lucifer is not a satanist." Chloe couldn't help but laughed. "A satanist worships Satan."

"He is telling everyone he is the devil."

"He doesn't worship himself, Dan. That would be ridiculous."

"Him saying he is the devil is not ridiculous?" Dan asked.

"It is something completely different."

"And you think my mother can eat diner with someone who is playing the devil? She will run to a priest to beg him to exorcise him."

Chloe half closed her eyes. "A priest? And what if that priest is sitting on the table already and tells her she is save? Let me think about it, Dan."

The 'thinking' was a short consultation in the evening with Lucifer followed by calling father Frank Lawrence.


Javier's planning was to open the Sol de Javier again on the Friday after his father's funeral on a Tuesday, so on Thursday evening eleven guests were gathered for the diner he offered Chloe and her team. Lucifer had arranged for a piano to be placed in the restaurant, Chloe had reminded Ella, Frank, Penelope, Azrael and especially Maze a dozen times to watch their words; Trixie, Dan and his parents, Leonor and Alberto Espinoza, didn't know what Lucifer was and they shouldn't learn it.

"You will not tell Trix," Maze had asked.

Chloe had sighed. "Not that evening, Maze. We should, but I don't know how. But not during that diner."

Chloe couldn't hear the first words between Frank and Azrael. Ella introduced the two and Chloe could see first Frank taking the angels hands in his hands and then the two smile. Maze and Azrael was a next hurdle. The demon and the angel looked for a second at each other at several yards distance and then both turned away, Azrael to shake hands with Penelope, Maze to talk with Frank.

Dan and his parents were the last to enter. The others were still staying, talking with a glass in their hands. Kissing Penelope and Trixie was no problem, of course they knew each other. Then Chloe introduced them first to father Frank and Ella before leading them to Lucifer. "My partner and best friend, Lucifer Morningstar."

"We have heard of him," Leonor said. Dan's mother didn't take Lucifer's hand and immediately looked at Azrael. "And another young lady I don't know yet."

"Azrael," Chloe introduced her. "Friend of Ella and sister of Lucifer."

"So Azrael Morningstar," Leonor said with a disapproving look.

"I never use a last name," Azrael said. "And certainly not Morningstar."

That earned her a friendly smile from Dan's mother. "I understand."

"What does she understand?" Azrael asked Chloe when Dan's parents walked on to Penelope.

"I can't tell you," Chloe said.

They sat at the table. Javier served an appetizer and a welcome cocktail. After that Lucifer played a Disney song for Trixie and father Frank played a rock song that Chloe didn't know. Then there was soup followed by Lucifer playing 'Concerning Hobbits' and Frank playing 'Hedwig's Theme'.

"The idea is to show you the devil is a better piano player than father Frank," Lucifer said after Frank ended his play. He was standing next to the piano.

Frank laughed and turned to their audience. "As you will have heard, up to now he didn't succeed in showing that." Both grinned. "Four hand, boogie-woogie," Frank said and made place on the piano stool. They almost attacked the keys, laughing while looking at each other, changing place and continued playing with even more passion. Chloe noticed Ella, Maze and Trixie had their phones up and were apparently recording the session. Azrael was watching with her mouth open and without moving.

When they came back to the table for the next course, Lucifer bent over to Chloe and kissed her cheek. Dan's mother looked at them and frowned. "I was told you were just partners, colleagues."

Dan coughed and gave Chloe a tensed look. Chloe rolled her eyes. "We are more than partners," she answered Leonor. In the years she was married she used to call her mother; but that now sounded strange, but mrs Espinoza or Leonor also sounded wrong.

"We are friends, lovers, boyfriend and girlfriend," Chloe added, loud enough that all could hear.

"Does that mean I will get a sister, mommy?" Trixie asked.

"Well." Chloe hesitated. "We didn't discuss that, but I don't think…" She looked at Lucifer.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, urchin," Lucifer said.

"But, mommy. You always said you wanted one more daughter," Trixie pledged.

Chloe looked around. Her own mother looked tensed, Dan looked angry, Ella and Trixie disappointed, Maze and Azrael both shook their head when Chloe looked at them.

"We will have to wait, Trixie," Chloe said. "But I… I don't expect it to happen."

Javier served them the next course and Lucifer took the opportunity to whisper to her: "I'm sorry, detective."

"I'm happy with the daughter I have and I'm happy with you, Lucifer," she whispered back. "There is no reason to feel sorry."

They all finished the course, complimented Javier with the food so far and Frank and Lucifer walked to the piano again. Penelope asked for the Entertainer by Joplin, which was played by Frank. Ella asked for In the Hall of the Mountain King and Lucifer played it. Then Leonor Espinoza asked for Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring looking at father Frank. But Frank raised his hands and looked at Lucifer. "I'm sorry. I have never played that."

"You want me to play it?" Lucifer asked. "Please be serious."

Chloe didn't really know this 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring', but the Jesus' name in it suggested it was religious.

"Come on, Lucifer," Maze said loudly. "Burn your fingers."

"O, bollocks," he snapped. Maze had raised and walked to the piano with her phone high. Lucifer gave her an angry look but then played the music Dan's mother asked for.

It was great, it sounded exalted, it felt as if she witnessed the creation. Everyone just listened. When he finished playing, two miracles enfolded before Chloe's eyes.

First: Leonor came to grab Lucifer's hand. Chloe saw the shock on the faces of Leonor's son and husband. "This was the most beautiful performance I ever heard. You really understand how Bach must have loved our Good Lord."

"O, Bach was hopeless," Lucifer answered. "Sounded as if he was drinking a beer with Jesus every morning. But the best composer ever. No doubt."

"Father Frank explained to me you had a difficult childhood and hide in metaphors. But you must be a good man."

Second: Azrael turned to Maze and even started talkinng to the demoness: "May I see what you just captured with that phone?"

Maze went on one knee next to Azrael's chair and gave her the phone.

"I would like to show that to a few of my sisters," Azrael said.

"If you had a phone," Maze said, "I could send this to you."

"I have an old phone laying around," Ella said. "You can have that."

"I have never…"

"I will explain," Ella promised.

"His play is so full of emotion," Azrael said.

"I have better," Maze said. She searched on her phone to show the angel something. The demon's face and angel's face where only inches apart while they looked at the screen. "What is that?"

"The little human is painting a unicorn on Lucifer's cheek."

Azrael and Maze both laughed.

"Picture of the end result."

"He is so cute. Can I see this also on Ella's old phone?"

"No problem. I will send it to you."

Lucifer was seating next to Chloe again. "What about a unicorn?" He asked just before touching the chair. His voice raised.

Chloe smiled. "I didn't know she had filmed that. Maze, can I have it too?"