"Jane Doe, no ID found on her", an officer of the LAPD told Detective Daniel Espinoza, as she scribbled down his orders on her notepad.

"Okay, run her fingerprints through the database and see if we can get an ID on her.. Oh, and check for any other DNA.", Dan ordered the officer who walked away, nodding.

The woman lying on the expensive carpet barely had a face.

"Poor girl, whoever she was, this is a little too much, right?", Ella cringed at her with pity.

"Well, if you ask me, worse things are being done to certain sinners down there in the Underworld...Right now, as we speak...Anyway...This IS rather unfortunate...Looks like a crime of passion", Lucifer nodded to Ella who was busy collecting the bullets ingrained on the victim's face.

After looking for possible clues at the crime scene, and finding none that was important, he headed towards his Corvette. He fished out his smartphone in hopes of calling his partner, muttering a "Bloody Hell" as he noticed the low battery level on his phone. He decided to dial anyway.

"Hello, finally! I've been trying to reach you for hours! Detective, why aren't you here yet?..."

"Lucifer, I'm busy at the moment, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Oh, what are you so busy with, at this time of the day, Detective?"

"Uh, You don't wanna know, Lucifer."

"Of course I do, come on, what's going on?"

"It's..it's nothing..I...I just...uh..Yeah... I'm on..a..uh..a..lunch date."

"You little rascal! You didn't tell me?

Who is the lucky bastard?", Lucifer joked...And she could sense a hint of jealousy creeping into his usually calm angelic voice.

Chloe smiled, but replied in haste, "Yeah, I'm sure you don't wanna know about it."

"What? Why would I be worried about him, anyway? It's not like he's my family now, is he?"

"Well...uh..."

"Please tell me he's not Amenadiel."

"No, no...It's...uh..It's a she, actually."

"Ooooh, Detective, I like your adventurous self!"

"What do you mean? It's not a date-date, Lucifer, more like a girls' hang out."

"Well, I'm quite sure the hellion will turn it into a girls' hang 'in', if you know what I mean."

"What? Why? Lucifer, it's not Maze...What am I, crazy?"

"Well, then, who is it?"

"Uh...you don't know her...an old friend of mine...Now, if you don't

mind..."

"Oh, by all means, Detective..I'm sure the case can wait until the evening."

"What? We have a case? Nobody informed me!"

Damage control. This was the only way she could relax for a bit, so he decided to leave the case out for the time being.

"Kidding, Detective...No, of course not...uh...There's nothing you need to worry about, Detective...Enjoy your hang out."

And before she could reply to him or he could mutter a "Bye" to her, his phone went dead.

"Bloody hell."

He heard footsteps nearing him.

Calling out to him was Ella, her toolkit dangling by her hand.

"Where's Chloe?"

"Uh..she's..uh...She's busy with something else."

"Hey, I have some things I need to test at the lab, so unless you're not heading back home, could you please come with me to the precinct?"

"Sure, why not? Hop in, Miss Lopez!", he gestured towards his Corvette.

It was a long way from the crime scene to the precinct, neither of them had any idea how they were going to pass their time.

"So, this car is damn good! No wonder you drive this bad boy around all the time!"

"Thank you."

"Chloe is really lucky."

"Why would she be lucky now?"

"Dude, I mean...She gets to have a ride in this baby everyday, right?"

"Yeah, right. She never allows me to take my Corvette out for work. I have to sit in the passenger seat of her boring car."

"Ugh...Too bad...So..."

Lucifer didn't pay much attention to her, but he could definitely sense something fishy.

Ella continued.

"So...Have you guys...uh...you know.."

Lucifer lost sight of the road and stared at her.

"No...Not yet."

"Ooh...what?"

"What?"

"You guys haven't made out yet?"

"Yes...I mean..No..We haven't...why are you"

"Not even a kiss?"

"Well...I...Yes...But..."

"That's a bummer...I mean...At some point, I thought...Well...you know..You guys would..uh...you know...Anyway...It's waaaaay past time you guys did it."

"Why? I must say we have plenty of time left."

"Whatever...Don't screw it up."

"I'll try not to", Lucifer cast a wary glance at the sky.

Lucifer stared at Ella in amazement as he watched her doing her seemingly mundane work, headphones and all, nodding to whatever beat she was listening to, so intent on her work that she didn't in the slightest notice the devil gaping at her like a creep. Well, not a creep, an admirer perhaps.

"Miss Lopez, what a delight seeing you at work so cheerful, so uncannily absorbed in...right, that reminds me, what are you listening to?", he clapped his hands to gain her attention.

"Oh, hey, Luc-", she glanced at him,

"-ifer..Were you here this whole time?"

"Define whole time."

She shrugged and let out a low giggle.

"Right, so the bruising on the victim's neck is very obvious, so she's been strangled to death."

"But she was shot in the head, right? Multiple times."

"42, to be exact. Yes, you would think she died from the hoard of bullets, but the shots were fired after she died. Looks like someone REALLY hated her."

Dan knocked and strode into the lab.

"Yeah, she probably had it coming.

Maxine Copecki aged 42, busted twice for possession of drugs, super illegal. Suspected for third degree murder, arrested for two armed robberies."

He thrust the case file upon the table.

"She wasn't innocent, that's for sure...Wait, did you just say she was 42? Can't be a coincidence that her age and the number of bullets on her head is the same, now, can it?", Lucifer raised his eyebrows in interest.

"Yeah, that's weird. Then the killer was probably close to her." Dan ran his fingers through his hair.

"Or a stalker", Ella offered.

"Or family", said Lucifer.

"Or you guys could tell me what the hell you think you're doing without me."

Chloe stood inches away from the trio, fuming at the tallest member with rage. But the fun part was that she was in her date-dress. A deep red dress that went down to her knees. Lucifer struggled hard to keep his eyes off her.

"Welcome, Detective! What took you so long? A date, perhaps?"

"Lucifer, it wasn't a date! Why didn't you tell me about the case? Dan? Ella?"

"I did try to leave you a message, but Lucifer told us not to interrupt your date."

"What the Hell, Lucifer?"

"Well, I did tell you", Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"About that, you LIED. Is that a first?"

"That's not really lying...It's called self preservation..."

"Really? How does it help you in ANY way?"

"At least I got to flirt with the new officer in LAPD, who was super hot by the way. Invited her to Lux for a drink sometime."

An eye-roll and a sigh.

"Ella, fill me in."

"Yeah...Okay...uh..."

Ella stared at the bantering duo in amazement.

"Well?", Chloe raised her eyebrows in impatience.

"Right...uh...I was just thinking about...you know...uh...something else...Maxine Copecki, 42, strangled to death, then shot on the face, 42 times."

"Hmm...Let's go meet the family. Dan, text me the address. Ella, are you done here?"

"Yeah, almost...Why?"

"After you're finished, we need to talk."

"But what about me?", Lucifer looked at her in confusion.

"You...Go to hell."

"I beg your pardon!"

"Just kidding... We'll go talk to the family...Now can you leave the two of us alone?"

"By all means, ladies."

"Bye Chloe, Ella."

Lucifer and Dan walked out of the lab, chatting with each other.

Chloe let out a sigh.

"Chloe, what's up?" Ella looked genuinely concerned.

"I just need to talk to someone.."

"I thought you were closer to Lucifer..."

"I can't talk to him!..He is part of my problem..."

Ella looked at her questioningly.

"Oh...Fire away..."

"I...I feel guilty about what I did...I..I lied to Lucifer that it was a girls' hangout."

"What was it?"

"It was a date. Like a real date. With Pierce. I have been dating him for more than three weeks now."

Ella's eyes turned wide as she jumped up from her seat and yelled,

"Holy what???? You're dating Pierce?!!!!! I knew it!!! But..." Her expression suddenly changed.

"But what?"

"I thought you guys...you and Lucifer...you know...had a connection."

Chloe nodded.

"Yes...Yes, yes, we did...We do...I...I don't know what to do...I like Pierce a lot...He's very sweet...and...you know...just an enigma..."

"If you really like him, then why do you feel guilty?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Wait a minute...You still have feelings for Lucifer...Don't you?...Look, Chloe...Dating someone isn't a crime...You just go with the flow...Throw caution to the wind...Do what you wanna do...But, just think twice before you take any important decisions."

"This is an important decision! It's about moving on...It's about forgetting something that we had...or have...I...I just don't know if he still feels about me that way...I'm confused...I can't ask him myself, cuz that spooks him out."

"If relationships spook him out, then why bother to have one?"

"But..."

"I think you need to talk to him."

"Yeah, I suppose I do...Thanks, Ella...It really is liberating to let your heart out to someone. See ya, bye."

"Bye...Good luck!"

Ella sighed to herself. She muttered under her breath, "What will become of these two? Ooooh...Maybe I should write a book about them...Ooohhh!!! They can be the subject of my dream novel! QUINTESSENTIAL DECKERSTAR...Ugh, what's wrong with me? I just hope they don't screw up whatever weird thing that's going on between them."

As she stepped out of the building, Chloe saw the tall shadow of Lucifer near her car.

"Hey, you ready?"

He nodded and the both of them got into the car.

"So...How was your girls' night out?"

"Uh...I...It was...uh...Actually, there's something I need to tell you..."

There was a look of smugness on his face.

"Go on..."

"You know what, after we talk to Maxine's sister, we'll head to Lux and have a chat."

"Very well..."

There was something strange in his way of talking...Well...Strange IS what Lucifer is.

"Claire, I'm Detective Decker from LAPD and this is my partner Lucifer...uh...consultant to the LAPD...We wanted to ask you a few questions about your sister."

"Sure." Chloe noticed Claire's lustful gaze towards Lucifer.

"Where were you last night at 10:45 pm?"

"Wait...You think I did it?"

"It's protocol, ma'am."

"I was here. Home. Watching Friends."

"Can anyone confirm that?"

"My neighbor...She knows I was up all night.."

"When was the last time you talked to Maxine?"

"Uh...Yesterday...uh...uh...around 6, I guess...Max was supposed to be here at 8. We were gonna binge watch Friends...It's been hard for her since she was fired last month. But when she didn't show up, I...I just thought, you know...that was Max being Max...She'd said...and I quote 'I wanna blow off some steam by spending sometime with my little sister'..."

A posh British accent filled the room.

"And watching a sitcom is the way to do that?"

"Lucifer", the threatening dart Chloe gave Lucifer was enough for him to shut up.

"Mm...And can you think of anybody who would wanna harm Maxine?"

"Well...I don't know...uh...", she hesitated.

"Oh? Go on." Lucifer's brown eyes seemed to bore a hole into her eyes.

"Everybody hated her...Three days ago, I got an anonymous call...from a man... offering me money to... to kill her... I said no...He offered more...I told him she was my sister...that I couldn't possibly...do this for the world."

"Three days ago...And you never thought to inform the police?" Chloe enquired.

"Uh...No...I was freaking out. But I did tell Max. She...But she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't deserve to die like this...Max was good people..", Claire now let the tears flow freely from her blue eyes.

"Did Max know anyone that might have had reason to threaten her this way?"

"I...I don't know...Look, we had a fallout 3 years ago and we never kept contact...It was last week that I bumped into her at the...uh...the market and we caught up and we were very happy to meet each other again after so many years...Max had just moved into LA last month."

Which means she would've had enemies outside of LA and THAT would suck for the investigation.

"Hold on, so where was she the last three years?", Lucifer tried to help.

"Um...Honestly, I don't know."

"But you said you both got along well...It never occurred to you to ask of her previous whereabouts?"

"Uh...No...Look I'm grieving right now...I just need some time to just...uh...To...Oh My God... I'm not helping you, am I?"

They weren't getting anywhere anytime soon.

Lucifer noticed that Chloe was getting uncomfortable in her tight red dress that she had been wearing for more than 5 hours.

Seeing her shift uneasily in her dress, Lucifer cut short the sister's words.

"Very well, if you've nothing else to offer to help our investigation, then we really must be on our way. The lady is not felling well." Lucifer said nonchalantly.

Chloe leaned towards his ear and whispered:

"Lucifer, now is not the time."

Chloe turned to the grieving sister and mumbled something about apologizing for his behavior.

Lucifer didn't quite pay any attention.

"We may be back tomorrow with more questions... We're very sorry for your loss...Take care, Claire."

She simply nodded while the crime fighting duo led themselves out.

"I'm not even gonna protest", Chloe gave him a weary glance.

"What? You were clearly tired. The murder can wait until tomorrow, no?"

Chloe sighed in defeat.

"You said you wanted to talk, Detective. Is everything alright?"

His deep brown sparkly eyes were something she could never resist.

She really wasn't feeling it to discuss her ongoing love life with the very man she...well..the very man she...what did he actually mean to her? Friend? No...Way more than a friend...

"Detective?", Lucifer's voice was low with concern.

"Uh...Yes...uh..Well..uh...Can I take a rain check on that?"

Lucifer's face fell.

"But...Very well...Just...Let's talk when you're comfortable...Alright?"

She felt ashamed at the thought that while she was dating Pierce behind his back, Lucifer was making sure she was comfortable.

Ugh, it sucked. The feeling that you were betraying someone REALLY sucked. He was her partner and he didn't deserve to be lied to.

"I'll drop you home. Come on", Lucifer offered her his hand, which she took without any hesitation.

"Uh...Thank you. But your car's at the station..."

"It doesn't matter. I'll uber my way to Lux."

The warm smile he gave her felt like she was being lifted up into the sky.

"Thank you, Lucifer." She placed her other hand on his, reassuringly, with a grateful smile on her face.

The way home was somewhat silent. But the peaceful kind of silent. Not the uncomfortable kind which she'd experienced when she was driving with Pierce.

There it is. That awful feeling crept over her like a dark shadow that threatened to never leave her alone.

Dating Marcus didn't sound any better than not dating anyone now...It was completely different with Lucifer...But it seems strange now that the guy isn't Lucifer...His only fault is that he isn't Lucifer...Pierce is a nice guy and all that but...She couldn't feel that undeniably strong connection with him that she'd felt with Lucifer...that she maybe still feels with him...No... Not maybe... Definitely...Maybe she should just stop this whole dating business with Pierce and think the whole thing through.

She looked over to her left and spotted a peaceful and silent Lucifer, and probably for the first time in his life, driving slowly with care, a gentle smile plastered on his perfectly sculpted face.

Ugh, how long could she deceive him like this?

"Lucifer..." She almost whispered.

He shot a quick glance at her and focused on the road, murmuring a 'hmm?'

"About what I wanted to tell you...uh..."

"No need to worry, Detective. I already know."

Her heart began to thump faster.

"You already know...um...how...how did you...", she cautiously looked at him.

"Oh, I have my ways...", Lucifer forced a smile. Pierce had felt really awesome rubbing it on his face.

"Um...uh...Lucifer, I..."

"No, no... Detective, it's...it's fine...You do what you want to do...Always...Always follow your desires...Am I right?"

"Lucifer, I know how much this hurts us...I just can't go on like this...This is not fair to...to you..or me...or him..."

"Detective, don't worry...I'm perfectly fine."

Liar, she thought.

"Just...Do what makes you happy."

Before she could say more, her apartment appeared from the right and they entered the driveway and he parked the car.

He slowly turned towards her, his brown eyes boring into her blue ones, and squeezed her hand gently. His face no longer held that beautiful smile.

"I'm going to call an Uber", letting her hand go, he said, "Good Night, Detective."

Just as he was about to open the door, she yelled.

"Wait!!"

He looked back, seeing her crush the lump filling her throat, concern filling his eyes.

"Look...I did a very dumb thing. I did NOT think this through...I'm sorry I lied to you...What do you think I should've done? Tell you everything and hurt your feelings? What would have you done, if you had been in my place?"

He knew he would regret what he was about to say.

"Well, for starters, I wouldn't have lied! If there's one sin I HATE, that's lying! And you had many chances to tell me...But you skipped every one of them..."

There it is. He was letting it all out.

"Lucifer...I lied and hesitated to tell you the truth because..I...I didn't want to deal with telling YOU of all people that I was dating someone else..."

"And here I thought we were ATLEAST friends."

His words went right through her heart piercing it painfully.

She gathered her wits and replied with haste.

"We are definitely more than friends, Lucifer. I thought you knew that by now."

Lucifer couldn't contain it any longer. But then, he usually speaks him mind. Usually. But never once had he been rude to his Detective.

So, it didn't come out really good.

"OH, ARE WE, NOW...CHLOE? DO YOU THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU MEAN TO ME? MORE THAN FRIENDS? JUST THAT?"

His eyes turned dangerously red as he yelled out the words one by one, carefully. His voice had become unbelievably low.

Chloe had never seen anything so fiery as the rare color Lucifer's pupils had turned to. She almost, for once, let herself believe that it all was real after all. That he was the actual Devil. The Fallen Angel.

Chloe, her face pale with shock, instinctively jerked back into her seat and reached for the door, almost opening it. But a moment later, she found herself releasing her hand from the handle and leaning closer to his side, as she saw Lucifer turning paler and paler, the red color disappearing from his eyes, his breathing getting faster, until he regarded himself on the mirror, after which he let out a sigh of relief.

Lucifer's breathing had skyrocketed by then. Thank Dad his Devil face didn't appear. He would've been done for good. Chloe would've run away from him...forever...Something which he has dreaded from the moment he...well...the moment he started caring. For her.

Realization crept over his face and he suddenly wanted to undo all of what he just said.

"I.. uh...I'm sorry...Detective...I...I should probably go...Good Night."

She didn't stop him this time. She was still trying to get over the fact that she'd hurt him beyond repair.

She watched him get out of the car and come to the right door, holding it open for her like a gentleman, until she finally stepped out, looking intently into his eyes.

The polite smile he gave her was so warm, but at the same time his eyes said something very different...sadness...and...fear.

Fear. Wait, what?

She has been working with this man for almost 2 years now. And not once during these years had she seen him fear something...Except the time when she was poisoned. And he had saved her. How, she still has NO idea. She could never forget what he must've gone through if he had to run away from her after that...run away from 'them'... And now, when she expected him to be angry...He was just sad...and afraid...Had he lost all that Luciferness that she'd seen in him before? Had she wronged him to such a degree that he who never feared anything, was now afraid of some silly thing such as this altercation? Or was he afraid of something else? The red eyes? Were they real? Did she mean so much to him that he practically apologized to her for being...for being reasonably angry with her?

She had so many unanswered questions on her mind which she straight away needed answers to.

But she knew she couldn't probe him any longer. She'd already done enough damage to him. Besides, the extremely lost and hopeless look on his otherwise cheery and smug face said it all. She'd completely broken him. She blamed herself for making him the broken man he'd turned into. Now she had to fix him. She simply had to. No matter what it cost her.

Before she could mutter a "Good Night" to him as well, he'd disappeared into the dark street.

It was then that she realized she'd never felt so miserable and unspeakably empty in all her life.