Chapter Four

"So, you're going to kill us if we don't manage to exonerate your son before his execution?" Chloe asked. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Not you," the woman said. "Just him. And technically speaking, I already have."

Lucifer raised his eyebrows. "Really?" He made a big show of looking his very-much-alive self up and down, wiggling his fingers in front of his face, then at the ceiling. "Because you seem to have done a pretty piss poor job of it."

The kidnapper sighed. "You probably can't feel it much yet, but while you were unconscious, I injected you with…well, let's call it a virus. A highly lethal one. You'll be lucky if you make it the full twenty-four hours."

"Why should we believe you?" Chloe asked, fighting the cold knot that was starting to form in her gut. "You could just be saying that to get what you want."

"When his symptoms start to manifest, there'll be no doubt. But if you need proof now, check his right arm."

Chloe nodded at Lucifer, who unbuttoned his right cuff and rolled up the sleeve. They both stared down at the crook of his arm, where Chloe could clearly see a tiny needle-prick, surrounded by a blue-green bruise about the size of a quarter. She shivered despite the warmth of Lucifer's jacket around her. The mark looked eerily reminiscent of the one she'd had after that deranged professor had injected her with his designer poison.

Chloe slowly looked up at the ceiling. "So, you said it's a virus?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"But…you'll give him the cure if we solve your son's case?"

"Oh, no. There is no cure. It is one hundred percent lethal. Anyone who contracts it is as good as dead."

Lucifer's eyes did flash then, looking like rubies lit from behind by hellfire. "If the Detective gets sick because of what you've done—"

"She won't. I promise you. It's not contagious from person to person—it has to be directly injected. I don't want anyone to die—not Martin, not your partner, not even the great Lucifer Morningstar. Why do you think I chose you in the first place? Because you're the only one who has a chance of surviving."

"How can he survive when you've already injected him and you said there's no cure?" Chloe challenged.

"The only reason he'll get sick is because he's stuck in there with you. As soon as you find the evidence to exonerate Martin, I'll open the door and let you out. Once you two are separated, he'll start to get better. Assuming he isn't already too far gone."

Lucifer, despite the kidnapper's assurance that he wasn't contagious, had already backed a good distance away from Chloe. He paused, however, when the woman's words sank in. His eyes narrowed at the ceiling. "How do you know that?"

"I know all about you, Mr. Morningstar. I know who you are. I know what you are. I know all of your weaknesses, your strengths, your vulnerabilities."

"How—" Chloe began.

"It doesn't matter! Right now, all you need to know is that I've watched you—both of you—for some time. I know you're good people—" The woman laughed bitterly "—yes, the Devil himself is a good person—imagine my surprise at that—and you'll both work hard, not just to save Mr. Morningstar's life, but to save an innocent young man, as well."

Chloe blinked against the burn of tears in her eyes. "If you truly believe that, then let us go. I promise I will use every resource at the LAPD to solve your son's case before his execution. I'm a mother, too. If my daughter's life were on the line…" She swallowed roughly. "I can't imagine what you're going through, and I admire you for doing whatever it takes to save Martin, but this isn't the way."

Chloe stared up at the ceiling, willing her words to penetrate.

After a long pause, the woman sighed. "I'm sorry, Detective Decker. I wish I could take that chance, but I can't. Not with Martin's life, and certainly not with his soul. If he dies tomorrow, he'll go to Hell, and I can't allow that to happen."

Lucifer—now standing even further away—shot an annoyed look at the ceiling. "If your son truly is innocent, then he will not go to Hell, I assure you."

"I'm afraid he will, Mr. Morningstar. Because, you see, Martin believes he is guilty."