After a long uncomfortable ride, they arrived at the precinct. Chloe walked ahead of Lucifer and Persephone. She was on the phone trying to find out more about the gardener. She glanced back. Lucifer was walking with a stone-cold expression on his handsome face and his daughter was a step behind. Her dark eyes were bloodshot from crying. Chloe felt for her.
They stopped at her desk. "We got a lead on the gardener." She said to Lucifer. "We can go question him."
The Devil nodded grimly. "Very well." He responded quietly.
"We can drop Persephone off at Lux on our way." Chloe said trying to reassure her partner.
Shaking his head, Lucifer looked back at his child. "No, she'll wait here." He spied an empty desk near Chloe's. "Is anyone occupying that desk?"
Chloe shrugged. "I don't think so." Her phone rang and she excused herself.
Turning to Persephone, Lucifer pointed to the desk. "Sit." His voice was cold and firm.
"Why?" The teenager shifted her stance and looked up at her father.
"Don't question me, child. Sit." He repeated with anger in his voice.
Persephone sat with a huff and folded her arms. Her dark eyes glaring at her father. "Now what?"
"You will remain in that seat while the Detective and I go to question the gardener." He explained.
"Why?"
A low growl came from the Devil's throat. "I said so."
Persephone groaned and sat back in the chair and rested her arms on the desk. "Can I go to the restroom?"
"Fine. Go to the restroom or get a soda. But other than that, you will sit there."
Chloe walked back to them. She quietly listened to the exchange between them. She was curious about Lucifer's punishment. He bragged about doing so in Hell. She wondered how he would handle it with his own child. Persephone sat with her arms folded. She tapped Lucifer's shoulder. He turned to her. "They figured out what was used to stab- "she paused when Persephone looked at her. "I'll explain more in the car."
"Stabbed her with what?" Persephone asked Chloe.
"What did I say about that?" Lucifer said to the child.
"Dad, I want to know." She whined.
"Not yet." Lucifer's stated firmly.
Persephone scoffed and folded her arms again. She pulled out her phone from her bag and started playing around.
"I don't want her to know the details quite yet" He said quietly to Chloe.
"I understand. Let's go then." She grabbed her keys. "Is she going to just sit there the whole time?" She pointed at Persephone
"She better." He looked at her playing with her phone. He walked over and held out his hand to her. "Phone."
"What?" Persephone narrowed her eyes at him.
"This is supposed to be a punishment. Now give me your phone. Sitting there texting that pierced lad isn't much punishment." He took the phone from her hand.
"This is so unfair." She mumbled.
He placed the phone in his jacket pocket and looked down at her. "It's punishment. It's not supposed to be pleasant. I could come up with something much worse. Trust me." He growled. He scanned the room and walked over to a printer and picked up a blank piece of paper. He set it in front of his daughter with a pen. "Now I want you to write on their 'I will not disobey my father', one hundred times in Latin."
Persephone narrowed her eyes "Latin? I don't know Latin."
"Yes, you do." He responded.
Persephone thought for a second. "I know Latin apparently." She shrugged her shoulders and began writing.
Lucifer smirked slightly. "Ready, Detective?"
Chloe had watched the exchange. "Sure." She eyed Lucifer. "Does she really know Latin?"
"Sure, she does. All my children know Latin. Among other languages." He started walking out of the precinct with Chloe on his heels.
"Children?" Chloe shook her head. "You have more?"
They reached the elevators. Lucifer was facing away from her waiting for the doors. He shrugged. "Had." He responded quietly. The doors opened and he walked onto the elevator. He turned around and eyed the detective.
"Had?" Her curiosity was piqued. This man was an enigma to her. His delusion of being the Devil notwithstanding. She had only a few days earlier learned he had a daughter. Now he had others. Had. "What do you mean by, had?" She asked him.
His expression took on a slightly sad look. He sighed and looked down at her. "I would rather not talk about it, Detective. Right now, I would like to focus on what happened to Joanie."
"Fine. Sorry. I didn't mean to push." She looked away from him.
The doors of the elevator opened and they walked out to the car. Lucifer got into the passenger side. For a moment, they were silent as Chloe started the car and pulled into traffic. They headed towards the address they had been given.
Persephone's hand cramped as she wrote the phrase in Latin. She was a little surprised it had come natural to her. She understood every word and phrase. Of course, her father would know every language. English hadn't even existed when he was a child. She found she knew other languages. She began writing the phrase in other languages. Some ancient dead languages. Some in other scripts. It was less punishment and more self-discovery. Before she knew it, the paper was filled up. Sighing she set the pen down and looked around.
Picking up her bag she rummaged around till she found some money. Getting up she walked over the vending machines. Humming she fumbled around with her money to get a soda and a snack. She listened as people entered the room behind her.
"You must be Lucifer's kid?" A male voice asked as she turned to leave.
She shrugged. "I don't know if I must but I am." She replied. She looked over the man. A Hispanic man with blue eyes. He didn't have on a uniform. He had a badge attached to his belt and a gun.
"I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I'm a fan of her movies." The detective said to her.
"Oh, thank you." Persephone said sadly. She started walking back to her seat.
"Lucifer is really your father?"
Persephone scoffed. "Yeah." She responded sarcastically. "Why?"
"He just doesn't seem like the father type." The man said to her.
"I get that a lot. But yes, he is really my father." She opened her soda and took a sip. "You don't sound like you like him very much."
"He rubs me the wrong way. I don't like the way he hangs out with my ex-wife all the time. He really doesn't belong here. He just wants to sleep with her." He explained. He found he unloaded more truth than he meant to. He looked at Persephone. "Sorry. I don't know why I said all of that."
Persephone knew it was because of her ability to draw out truth from people. One of the abilities she inherited from her father. "Oh, you must be Detective Douche." She smirked. "Sorry." She sat down at the desk. "Don't worry I won't say anything to him."
"My name is Dan." He chuckled.
"Okay Dan." She smiled and took another sip of soda. "My Dad is just a regular dad to me. I know he seems odd to a lot of people. Trust me." She wasn't going to tell him the truth about Lucifer. She was old enough to understand the importance of keeping her angelic heritage secret.
"He is more than odd." Dan scoffed.
Persephone sighed. She knew her father rubbed people the wrong way. Most people did not believe that he was the Devil. He was honest. Completely honest. He had no filter and said whatever came to his mind. It sometimes caused arguments with her mother.
"Well, anyway I hope we find out who killed your mother. We are doing everything we can." Dan said to her. "I have to get back to work." He then walked away.
Sighing Persephone lowered her head to the desk. She felt tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. It was still difficult to think about her mother. She missed her. It hadn't fully registered that she would never see her again. She closed her eyes and before long she was asleep.
The black cruiser raced through the streets of LA. Chloe and Lucifer rode in silence. Lucifer was looking out the front window with the same stone faced expression. Chloe was starting to miss his normal personality. Since finding Joanie he had been quiet and reserved. She knew he must be dealing with grief. She wished he would talk to her. She was willing to help him in his time of need. She glanced at him. She swore she saw tears glistening in his dark eyes.
"Do you have something to say, Detective?" He asked without looking at her.
"Are you okay?" She blurted out.
"No." He responded concisely. "I spent millennia punishing people in Hell. But I must say punishing my daughter was unsettling."
Chloe ignored his Devil delusion. "Punishment is never pleasurable Lucifer. It's necessary to teach them a lesson for their actions."
"I know." Lucifer sighed. "Still. I have never had to punish her before."
"Never?" Chloe laughed. "Like ever?"
"No. Joanie was the one who did that. Persephone is a good child. She rarely ever needed discipline or punishment."
"You sound like Dan." Chloe mumbled.
"I beg your pardon? I sound like Detective Douche?" Lucifer was offended. How could she think he was anything like Dan. He scoffed and folded his arms.
"Yes. Dan leaves me to discipline Trixie a lot." Chloe took note of the offense in Lucifer's voice. "I hate being the bad guy. I really do. We need to be united even though we are separated."
Lucifer glanced at her. He really wasn't in the mood to listen to the detective's problems. They were here to solve Joanie's murder. Still he made like he was listening and nodded. "I see." He replied.
They remained silent the rest of the ride to the location. They found themselves entering a lush property in Malibu. A large Spanish style mansion loomed in front of them. They stopped in front and a man opened the door. He was wearing an expensive suit not unlike Lucifer's.
"Can I help you?" An irritate French accented voice asked them.
Chloe held up her badge "I'm Detective Decker with LAPD and this is my associate Mr. Morningstar. I am looking for Jorge Velasquez, I believe he is a gardener."
The man nodded. "Yes, I am familiar. Why do you need to speak with him?"
"It's in regards to a murder investigation." Chloe responded.
The man nodded. He pulled out a cell phone and texted someone. "He will be here shortly. You can question him out there"
Chloe nodded. "Thank you"
Lucifer lit up a cigarette and leaned against the car. Chloe stood nearby waiting impatiently for Jorge to show up. The dark eyes of the Devil looked around the extravagant property. He was impressed. This was the kind of place he could see himself living. The ladies would flock to him in droves. He took another drag of his cigarette. A man was driving towards them in a golf cart.
He stopped a few feet from the car. He approached Chloe. "I am Jorge." He said with an accented voice. He held out his hand to her.
"Detective Decker." Chloe shook his hand. "We just want to ask you some questions."
Jorge nodded. "okay." He shifted and looked at Chloe and eyed Lucifer. "Who is he?"
Chloe gestured to Lucifer. "This is Mr. Morningstar. He is my partner." She felt Lucifer eyeing the man. Lucifer stood over a foot taller than him. His nearly black eyes seemed to be looking into his soul. Chloe turned to Jorge. "I'm here about Joanie Lynn Collins."
Jorge made a face. "I'm sorry to hear about her." His tone was less than sympathetic.
"I here you had a fight with her about a week ago," Chloe stated.
"An argument." Jorge eyed Lucifer again. "She didn't want to pay me. My crew and I worked ourselves to the bone for her. But nothing was ever good enough. She wasn't satisfied ever. She still owed me money. I threatened to sue her." He explained. Anger rose in his voice. "I put a lot into her place. I am behind on my bills."
"I imagine that would cause a lot of anger for anyone."
"It did. But I didn't hurt her. I was taught to never hit a woman." Jorge glanced at Lucifer. He narrowed his eyes. "You are her boyfriend?"
Lucifer dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and stamped it out. He saw the annoyed look on Jorge's voice. He stood up straight, towering over Jorge. "No." He replied.
"I saw you there all of the time." Jorge glanced at Chloe.
"We had an arrangement." Lucifer shifted.
"Look, man. I didn't hurt Miss Collins. She made me mad but I didn't do anything to her. I quit and walked out." He folded his arms.
Chloe sighed. "We found soil in her wounds. Forensics believes the stabs wounds were made by type of weeder."
"What are you implying?" Jorge started to get angry. He held up a finger towards Chloe. "I told you I didn't touch Miss Collins. Now, I have to get back to work." He started for the golf cart.
"What about your employees?" Chloe followed him.
"No. My guys are good men. They didn't do anything. It's time for you to leave." He started the golf cart and glared at Lucifer and Chloe.
"Well, I am going to have to question them. I'm going to need a list of their names."
"No. I have nothing else to say." He pressed the accelerator on the golf cart but found it wasn't going anywhere. He looked back to see Lucifer casually holding onto the golf cart. He didn't appear to be strong enough to hold it. "What the hell, man?"
Lucifer held the golf cart. He watched wheels' spin as he held the flimsy little vehicle. Jorge looked back at him. A hint of fear in the short man's eyes. A smirk quirked onto the Devil's face. "Why are you so eager to get away Jorge?" Lucifer asked him.
He punched the accelerator on the golf cart. The tires dug into the dirt. He turned to Lucifer again. "I told you. I didn't do anything. Neither did my workers. We all left."
"Are you confident that none of your workers could have done this?" Chloe questioned him.
Jorge sighed. "I'm sure."
"You are lying." Lucifer let go of the golf cart and it lurched forward causing Jorge to fall over the steering wheel. He landed on his back. Lucifer leaned down and picked Jorge up. He looked him in the eyes. "Can you honestly tell me that all of your workers are completely innocent?"
Jorge found it difficult to look away. The taller man's gaze had a way of holding his. He found his mouth opening on its own. "No. I tried to do something nice. Give them a second chance. I hired a couple of fellas straight out of prison. They are good guys who made stupid mistakes. They have families to support." The truth flowed out of him. "But one of my guys seemed to be really taken by Joanie. I mean who wouldn't be but, Joey seemed to be really into her. She flirted back."
Lucifer listened intently to the man. His dark eyes examining him. He felt the truth flowing out of the man. The detective was standing beside him listening as well. "Go on." He said to Jorge.
"Anyways I remember Joey was slacking on the job one day. I went to look for him and he came running out of the house with a look on his face I didn't think I'd see on a guy like him. He didn't say a word and just left. I asked Joanie about it but she wouldn't say anything. But I remember her kid standing there looing smug." He paused for a moment. "I don't know if he tried something with Joanie or what. I was unable to get a hold of him."
Chloe nodded. She was quite intrigued by the story. "Do you have any other information on Joey?"
"His last name is Robles. I don't know his new phone number though. He had a parole officer. That's all I know." Jorge sighed. "Now, I'm telling the truth about needing to get back to work. Is there anything else?"
"No. Thank you." Chloe patted his arm.
Jorge nodded and got into the golf cart and drove away.
Chloe looked at Lucifer. "I guess it's back to the precinct."
The Devil sighed. "Very well." In his mind, he was going over what Jorge had said. Did his daughter do something to the other man? He knew she had some of his abilities. But even the Devil didn't know the extent of her power. He had done his best to teach her how to control her powers. He didn't want her doing anything that would elicit too much attention from his Father. Though a child of his wouldn't go complete unnoticed on earth.
"Are you coming?" Chloe called to him.
Broken from his thoughts, Lucifer nodded. "Yes Detective." He turned heeled and headed to the cruiser and got in beside Chloe. They rode back to the precinct in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts.
Lucifer walked towards the desk he had left Persephone sitting at. He smiled. She had her head down on the desk. He could hear a soft snore emanating from her. He looked down at the paper he had her write her punishment phrase on. He picked it up and shook his head. The different languages it was written in was a thing of beauty to him. He found himself proud of her. This child was so much like him it almost scared him. Gently he placed a hand on her arm. "Persephone." She didn't respond. "Persephone, wake up." He said a little louder.
Persephone jolted awake and gasped. She raised her head and looked up at him with slight confusion. Her hair disheveled. She blinked. "Dad?" She replied.
"Yes darling." He placed the paper on the desk. He noticed her eyeing it.
"I know you wanted it in Latin. But- "
Lucifer laughed and held up a hand. "It's quite alright." He smiled. She matched his smile. "Gather your things." He pulled her phone from his pocket and placed it on the desk. She picked it up and began gathering her stuff.
"Lucifer." Chloe came up behind him. She observed the scene. The two of them smiling at one another. She shook her head. "We found Joey Robles's parole officer. But he won't be in until tomorrow. So, I think you can head home. If we hear anything else, I'll call you."
Lucifer nodded. "Thank you, Detective." He glanced at Persephone. "Are you ready?"
Chloe noticed the paper on the desk. "Did she do all of this?" There were Chinese characters and Arabic as well as many other languages.
"Yep." Lucifer said. "She is quite extraordinary." He smiled at his daughter.
"It's amazing. How?" Chloe questioned him. How did a sixteen-year-old know these languages? It seemed impossible.
"I told you. I am the Devil. I know all languages known to man. It would stand to reason that my offspring would inherit that ability." He smirked and took the paper from Chloe.
Chloe started to say something and shook her head. "Goodnight Lucifer."
"Right." Lucifer turned to Persephone. "Let's go." He smiled at Chloe. "Goodnight Detective." He then started for the door with Persephone close behind him. They walked outside to his car. He opened the passenger door and watched as Persephone slid in. He closed the door and walked to the other side. He slid in next to her. Then drove off towards Lux.