It was just past one in the morning, several hours since the incident and emergency crew were still at the crime scene cleaning up the mess from the explosion. And it looked like it would take a few more hours still. What was left was a stained road from James Colbert, it resembled large bloody snowflake that expanded across the street.
"I'll be right back." Ella told them as they exited the vehicle. She rushed off to go talk to an officer she clearly knew because she greeted him with a famous Lopez hug.
An officer raise the yellow tape to allow Maze and Lucifer to go through. He has been gone for several months now, but they still recognized him.
Lucifer let out a heavy sigh when he saw the aftermath of the scene that had unfolded here. He would be more than happy to never have to see this street every again, but he knew that probably wouldn't happen since Lux was just down the street. The Devil looked up at saw his home standing tall and proud just off in the distance. This put a smile on his face. It has been too long since he last stepped inside.
The devil slowly made his towards the centre of the scene, with his demon following close behind him.
"You saw it all, didn't you?" Maze asked, even though she knew the answer. She could see it in his eyes. "In hell?" She had been itching to ask him without the human around.
"I did." The man kept on walking until he was standing exactly where Chloe stood. "Even had a little chat with the cretin who did this." His hand waved to the dark red on the cement. "He was utterly useless." He paused for a moment before he looked back at Maze. "She was standing right here. You were back there with Dan." Lucifer pointed behind him, the woman nodded her head. "The shooter was in that window." He looked up at the window. "You didn't see them shoot her?" He questioned the woman.
"No. Our focus was on the bomb." Maze admitted. "How were we supposed to know there was a shooter?" She became defensive with the question, but she was more upset with herself that she didn't notice anything.
"So, no one saw it." Lucifer pinched his nose and closed his eyes with frustration, his mind was running a million miles a minute. He was having a hard time focusing on anything, because it just brought him back to the image of his love laying in the hospital bed.
"James Colbert! Freeze."
"The Detective, she knew his name." Lucifer opened his eyes.
"Whose name?" Maze was confused.
"The bomber. How did she know his name?" This was a rhetorical question, he didn't expect the demon to reply.
"Yeah, we received an anonymous tip. Gave us all the detail, including his name." Maze answered casually.
"We?" Lucifer scoffed, wondering what she meant. Realizing that it was out of character for her to be there. "Why were you there, Maze? Are working for the LAPD?"
"Yeah. Chloe and I are partners." The demon spoke casually, she could see the hurt in his eyes when she said partners. "The position was opened since you left us." The woman added coldly.
"I had no choice, Mazikeen. It was my duty to protect humanity." Lucifer defended himself, jaw clenched with irritation.
"No. You didn't give me a choice. How many times have asked you to take me home? Then you just up and leave without me." The woman emotions where getting away from her, her voice shaking with anger. "How could you?"
"Maze, I..." The man started but was interrupted.
"Hey, so I was getting the low down. Apparently..." Ella jogged towards the two. The woman stopped mid sentence when she noticed the tension between the them."Woah, is everything okay?" The two spoke at the same time.
"Just great." Maze spat.
"Fine and dandy." Lucifer sneered.
"O...kay, then." The woman didn't believe them, but she continued anyway. "So, apparently, there was no indication of shooter or anything. Just one crazy guy with a bomb. Sorry Lucifer."
"Well. They're wrong." The man was blunt. "They just didn't know where to look." Lucifer stated before he pointed at the window. "The bullet came from that fourth story window."
"How would you know?" Ella gave a quizzical look. "You weren't here when it happened? Were you?"
"Nope. I was in bomber's Hell loop. In Hell." Lucifer told the truth, bluntly. He knew the scientist would never believe. She still believe that he was a method actor. He could show her that he was in fact the devil, but he needed her and didn't want to fry her brain just yet.
"Right. Of course "Hell" The woman did air quotes. "Still going with that story are you?"
"I think it would be worth checking out." Maze spoke up. The women was still mad, but she wanted what Lucifer wanted. Punishment.
"Indeed." Lucifer agreed. "Shall we?"
Ella eyes shifted between the two, she knew something was up but she just shrugged it off. "I guess it doesn't hurt to check." Ella let out a sigh.
"Lovely." Lucifer gave the woman a weak smile.
The trio walked down the hall of the fourth floor of the apartment building, counting down the doors to where they believe the window would be. They stopped at apartment 410. Lucifer knocked on the door to see if anyone was home. When there was no answer he was about to turn the knob of the door when Ella grabbed his arm.
"Wait. Fingerprints." She pulled out a disposable glove and used it to turn the knob.
"Right" Lucifer took a step back. "Good call, Miss Lopez."
To her surprised it was unlocked. Lucifer, being the gentleman that he is, went in first. He slowly walked, scanning the room to see if someone was there. The place was vacant. No one had lived there for a while. As dust had settled on the counter tops and stands of cobwebs decorated the light shades. The decided to three split up and search different areas in the small apartment.
Lucifer made his way into the bedroom, it was also empty. He walked to the window and looked down into the street. He knew that this is where he saw the shadow standing. He took a closer look and noticed that the window was slightly opened, about an inch or two. "Miss Lopez!" He called out. The woman rushed into the room, Maze right behind her. "This is where it happened."
"O…kay." Ella said the word slow as looked up at the tall man as if he was crazy. "Lucifer, look, I don't think…" But she stopped when she noticed something on the window frame. "That is fresh." She pointed to the large scrape.
"You were saying." The devil had a smug look on his face.
"I don't know how, but you might be on to something." Ella took a closer look around the window. "The disturbed dust over here could be where he rested the rifle. The window slightly open, just enough for the nuzzle. Then when he pulled it out her nicked the frame." Lopez was miming as she was narrating what she though happened.
"Well, isn't that interesting. Do you believe me now?" The man was pleased with himself as he asked the woman with his eyebrows raise.
"Don't get too excited. We haven't found anything yet." Ella sighed. "I can get a team in here and dust it for prints."
"Ellen, I thought you were always positive." Maze asked, her head tilted as she examined the woman before her. "What's wrong? Don't you want to catch the bastard who did this?"
"Of course I do, but I thought he was taken care of already." Ella looked out the window for moment. "It's just… it so hard to do this. Again. I just don't want to get my hopes up because no matter what or who we find. It will not change the fact Chloe is fighting for her life right now." The woman was attempting to hold back her tears. "It just really sucks, you know."
"It does indeed suck, Miss Lopez." The man pulled her into a hug, even if it made him uncomfortable. He knew that she needed it but didn't realized that he needed just as much. Lucifer looked up and noticed Maze had turned away from them as she wipe a tear away. "I can't think about..." The man stopped when they were interrupted by Ella's ringtone.
"To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilization. To boldly go where…"
"It's Dan." Ella answered the phone and put the phone on speaker. "Hey Dan. What's happening? Is everything okay?"
"I don't know." The man voice was shaky. "She was doing fine, she was stable. Then the machines were going crazy. They took her out. Some complication or something. They don't seem to have the answers. I don't know what to do. I…"
"Wait. Chloe was shot right." Ella looked at Lucifer who nodded his head. "And if no one saw it or knew about it, the doctors probably don't know what they were looking for. They would assume everything is external." The woman's voice raced. "Dan you need to tell them she was shot…where?" She looked to Lucifer for the answer.
"The left side, just below the rib cage." Lucifer quickly answer, his heart pounding in his chest.
"What?" The man on the phone was confused.
"Just tell them Daniel." Lucifer barked at the phone.
They stayed on the phone and listen as Dan told a nurse about the gunshot wound. Eyes remain on the phone while they waited for him to returned.
"Okay, now what?" the man's voice was tired.
"Now we wait. Dan, hang in there. We are on our way." Ella turned off her phone. "Okay, we better get back. Lucifer?" Ella and Maze both looked up only to realize that Lucifer was already gone. "Lucifer?