A man charged into Linda's arms. She couldn't stop a yell of panic from escaping.

The stranger grabbed onto her. "Linda! You're safe!" He tried for a hug, but when she pushed him away, he stepped back. He held out his hands as if in surrender. "I know, I know. I have no right. I was just happy to see you." He took a quick breath, looking around furtively. His fingers twitched, but he kept his hands to himself. "I need to find Lucifer."

"Lucky you," Lucifer spoke, coming up behind the interloper. His voice was low, all but a growl. "Here I am."

The stranger pivoted to face Lucifer. Unfazed by a look on Lucifer's face that would have sent most people running, whether they believed he was the Devil or not, the man continued. "You warned me, once. I didn't listen. But I heard that warning thousands of times. I understand now. They came to let us out."

Something about the speech pattern was familiar. The stranger's words meant more than the nonsense they appeared to be on the surface.

Lucifer had taken hold of the stranger's arm. The restraint did nothing to stop the man from talking. "They offered me a deal. All I had to do when I got out was summon one of them." The stranger turned his head, taking another look at Linda. And again, the look in his eyes, wild as it was, was familiar.

The stranger turned back to Lucifer. "But I knew there was nothing they could deal for, so I refused." A grin flashed across on his face. Because you told me. The door is always open. I got out anyway." The stranger kept babbling. Listening to him was painful, almost. The last time Linda had seen someone babble like that, her late ex-husband had been trying to convince her Lucifer was the Devil.

"What deal?" Lucifer finally got another word in edgewise. The threat had gone from his expression. Instead, he seemed equally curious and horrified.

He was still holding on to the interloper's arm, his hand set off against the dark blue of the stranger's shirt. As his hand moved slightly, a flash of light caught Linda's eye. At first she thought it was a reflection, but it wasn't. The dark stone of Lucifer's ring was glowing.

Lucifer noticed. He recoiled from the stranger, pulling back his hand and stepping away. He was shaking his head and his mouth was working, forming soundless denials.

The stranger smiled, then reached out and took Lucifer's hand again. "It's OK, Lucifer. I got to do what I wanted." He turned toward Linda. "Linda, honey, I'm so sorry. I got obsessed too many times, and I went too far. But it's over now." He sighed, then smiled. "There, I got to say it. Thank you for listening."

He turned back to Lucifer and put his other hand over their joined hands. "And thank you, too, for telling me the way out."

The similarities in mannerism and speech lined up too well. The stranger bore no outward similarities, but the personality was hard to miss. And it was possible for a soul to return to Earth. If Lucifer hadn't talked about it, Linda had seen it happen with Charlotte Richards. Could it be?

Linda had to ask. "Reese?"

The stranger's head inclined, a single nod delivered with a smile. Then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into Lucifer's arms with a sigh.

Dead.

Intermezzo

Once again, I'm at the doors of the morgue. I've lost count of how often I've been here. Nothing has changed.

As I'm about to open the doors, I hear an engine rev. A biker in LAPD uniform pulls her bike between me and the doors. She removes her helmet to reveal hip-length red hair. I've seen her before, in a similar situation.
"Remember the offer from last time?" she asks. At my nod, she continues. "It's still open, if you want."

I shake my head. "No, thank you." I take a step back so I can go around her bike. "I'd like to go see my mother now."

The woman growls. She tosses the helmet, before gunning the engine on her bike again. "Suit yourself." And she drives off. I have to jump aside to avoid getting hit.