[Lucifer] Ch: 18 & 19 [Case closed] (Patreon)

Words: 3.9k. I managed to fit the entire case in this one.

Chloe stopped after entering Lux.

The nightclub was packed.

Music shook the floor beneath her heels while lights moved across hundreds of people dancing, drinking, and talking over one another. She had barely taken three steps inside before several heads turned toward her.

Apparently, the blue dress had been a better choice than she expected.

Chloe ignored the attention and looked around the club until she found exactly who she was searching for.

Lucifer stood at the bar.

And, as usual, he was flirting with a beautiful woman who happened to be a famous celebrity.

Alexandra Daddario stood beside him with a cocktail in one hand, smiling while Lucifer leaned comfortably against the bar and gave her his full attention.

Chloe stopped for a second.

'Seriously?'

After showing up at her apartment that morning, telling Dan that he was asking her on a date, cutting her off before she could deny it, and leaving her standing there in one of the most awkward situations she'd experienced in months, Lucifer apparently had no problem spending the evening flirting with someone else.

A small wave of irritation rose inside her.

Then Chloe sighed.

'Why do I even care?'

She was here because of a murder investigation. Whatever Lucifer did with Alexandra after they finished talking was his business.

Chloe walked toward the bar.

Lucifer noticed her before she reached them, and whatever Alexandra had been saying immediately disappeared from his attention.

'Holy crap! She's hot!'

The dress hugged Chloe's body in ways her usual work clothes never did, while her loose hair fell around her shoulders.

Lucifer smiled as she stopped beside them.

"Well, Detective... you look rather ravishing," He said after looking her over from head to toe.

Chloe gave him a flat look, though the compliment landed harder than she wanted it to. "Don't start."

Alexandra's expression changed slightly when she heard the title. Her smile remained, though she straightened and became noticeably more careful.

"Do I need to call my lawyers?" Alexandra asked, looking between them. 

Lucifer chuckled and lifted his glass. "Nothing quite so dramatic. Detective Decker is currently on medical leave."

Chloe looked at him sharply. "You really don't need to announce that."

Lucifer continued as though she hadn't spoken. "However, she believes your charming LAPD has arrested the wrong man. Our little photographer may be an invasive dung beetle with the moral character of wet garbage, but he isn't Marcus Vale's killer."

Alexandra lowered her drink.

That got her attention.

Lucifer turned slightly toward her, the playful edge in his expression fading as he continued. "If Nick Hofmeister didn't kill Marcus, then whoever did is still walking around freely. And since we don't know why Marcus was murdered yet, there's no guarantee the killer has finished whatever they started."

Alexandra's eyes moved toward Chloe. "And you're investigating this while you're on medical leave?"

Chloe released a quiet breath before resting one arm against the bar. "I'm supposed to be recovering, and if my lieutenant finds out I'm working an active homicide behind the department's back, I could get suspended."

Alexandra stared at her.

Chloe gave a small shrug. "I've had better weeks."

Lucifer smiled proudly and gestured toward Chloe with his glass. "You see why I like her?"

Chloe glanced at him. "Nobody asked."

Alexandra looked between them before a faint smile returned. "So you're secretly investigating a murder together?"

"Exactly," Lucifer replied.

"No," Chloe said at the same time.

Alexandra laughed.

Chloe sighed and corrected herself. "He's helping because he somehow gets people to tell him things they normally wouldn't tell anyone."

Lucifer placed one hand over his chest. "My talents finally receive the recognition they deserve."

Alexandra took another sip from her cocktail while studying both of them. Whatever she had expected when she walked across Lux to meet Lucifer, secretly assisting an off-duty homicide detective probably hadn't been included.

Chloe glanced toward the crowded nightclub before returning her attention to Alexandra. "I actually wanted to talk to you."

Alexandra nodded carefully. "About Marcus?"

"About what happened before the blackout," Chloe replied. "If you don't mind, can you answer a few questions? It'll be off record."

Alexandra said, "I really don't want to get into more trouble than I'm already in." She then looked at Lucifer.

"Help us out, Alexandra," He said with his classic smile as he looked into her eyes. "I know you want to."

"Umm~" Alexandra pressed her lips as she failed to resist his charm. "Haha... you're something."

He continued to smile. "I know. So, come on... Say yes. Help the detective out."

"Because it's the right thing to do," She said with a little smile.

"Correct. We can't let a killer roam free, can we?" He said.

"No, we can't."

"Right, so... say yes."

"Okay, fine." She gave in completely. "Yes. I'll tell you what I know, but you've got to promise me that I won't get into any trouble." 

"You have my word," Lucifer said with a little nod.

Chloe watched the whole thing and still couldn't understand how he did that. 'What's the trick? Damn it! I don't get it.'

"Where were you right before the lights went out?" Chloe asked.

Alexandra thought for a moment. "Near the bar. Marcus was talking to people by the pool earlier, but I wasn't paying much attention to him."

"Was he arguing with anyone?"

Alexandra's expression became more thoughtful. "Marcus argued with people constantly. That wouldn't exactly narrow things down."

Lucifer nodded solemnly. "The deceased was exceptionally gifted at inspiring hatred."

Chloe ignored him. "Anyone specific that night?"

Alexandra glanced toward her table across the club, then lowered her voice. "I saw Marcus arguing with Dillion earlier that night."

Lucifer looked delighted. "And suddenly tonight becomes useful."

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "What did you hear?"

Alexandra lowered her voice further. "Marcus had been sleeping with Dillion's wife behind his back. Dillion had just found out she was pregnant, and the baby was Marcus's."

Chloe's expression changed immediately.

Alexandra took a small sip from her drink before continuing. "Dillion was furious. He kept yelling about how Marcus had already controlled his whole life, and now he'd slept with his wife and gotten her pregnant too. Marcus barely sounded sorry about it, which only made things worse."

Lucifer stared at Alexandra for several seconds before taking a slow drink from his glass.

"Well, that certainly changes things," he said. "Sleeping with your son's wife is already spectacularly awful behavior, but getting her pregnant takes family betrayal to an entirely different level. And here I thought my family was dysfunctional."

Alexandra gave a small nod. "Yeah, it was bad. Dillion was furious."

Lucifer set his glass against the bar and glanced toward Chloe. His earlier amusement had faded beneath a much more serious expression.

"That gives dear Dillion one hell of a motive," he said. "Money, control of the studio, years of resentment, and now he discovers his father slept with his wife and fathered the child she's carrying. I've seen people kill family members over considerably less."

Chloe was already working through the new information in her head. Dillion had inherited from Marcus, stood to gain control of the studio, and had apparently discovered one of the worst betrayals a father could commit against his son.

"Did Dillion threaten Marcus directly?" she asked.

Alexandra thought back carefully. "He said Marcus was going to regret what he did. I don't remember him saying he'd kill him or anything like that."

"What happened after their argument?" Chloe asked.

"Dillion walked away," Alexandra replied. "Marcus stayed near the balcony for a little while. He looked annoyed, but from what I saw that night, Marcus looked annoyed whenever somebody didn't do what he wanted."

Lucifer gave a small nod. "A charming personality right until the very end."

Chloe glanced at him before returning her attention to Alexandra. "How long was that before the blackout?"

Alexandra looked toward the ceiling for a moment while trying to reconstruct the night.

"Maybe fifteen minutes, give or take," she said. "I went back toward the bar afterward and talked with a couple of people. Then the lights suddenly went out."

"What did you do during the blackout?" Chloe asked.

"I stayed where I was," Alexandra replied. "There were hundreds of people around, everyone started yelling, and I couldn't see anything. Somebody bumped into me hard enough that I almost fell, so I moved toward the pool because I remembered there was more open space around it."

Lucifer watched her closely, though he didn't interrupt.

Alexandra took another sip before continuing. "The emergency lights came back on pretty quickly. That's when I saw Marcus lying beside the pool."

Her expression changed as the memory returned. The excitement from earlier had disappeared completely, leaving a faint unease behind her eyes.

"There was blood everywhere," she continued. "And Nick was kneeling beside him with his hand inside Marcus's jacket."

Chloe nodded slowly. "And that's when you grabbed Nick?"

"Yeah," Alexandra replied. "He saw me looking at him and tried to run away. I thought he had killed Marcus and was trying to escape, so I grabbed his jacket before he could get anywhere."

Lucifer looked impressed again. "You tackled a suspected murderer while wearing an evening dress."

Alexandra gave him a small smile. "It looked like a good idea at the time."

"Quite attractive as well," Lucifer replied. "Dangerously careless, perhaps, but still attractive."

Chloe looked at Lucifer without amusement. "Can we focus on the murder?"

"I am focusing tremendously," Lucifer said as his eyes briefly returned to Alexandra. "On several things simultaneously."

Chloe ignored him and looked back at Alexandra. "Did Nick have a knife or anything else he might've thrown away during the struggle?"

"I didn't see one," Alexandra replied. "He had his camera, and I remember his phone being on the ground nearby. I didn't see a knife or anything else in his hands."

Lucifer rested one elbow against the bar. "Which fits his story rather nicely. The little parasite sees a corpse and immediately thinks about stealing something valuable instead of checking whether the man is alive."

Alexandra frowned. "What was he stealing?"

"Marcus's phone," Chloe answered. "Nick admitted he was searching the body because he wanted whatever dirt Marcus had stored on it."

Alexandra looked disgusted. "Seriously?"

Lucifer gave her an unpleasant smile. "Apparently death wasn't enough to interrupt his career ambitions."

Chloe went quiet for a moment, mentally going back through everything Alexandra had told them.

Dillion had argued with Marcus roughly fifteen minutes before the blackout. He had just discovered that his father had slept with his wife and gotten her pregnant. He already had years of resentment toward Marcus, stood to inherit millions after his death, and would gain control of the studio.

That was considerably stronger than anything they had on Nick.

"Did you see Dillion leave the party at any point?" Chloe asked.

Alexandra hesitated.

"I don't know," she said. "After their argument, I stopped paying attention to him. There were so many people there that he could've left, gone downstairs, stayed somewhere on the rooftop, or disappeared into one of the private suites."

Chloe nodded slowly. "Did you see him after the lights came back?"

"I don't remember seeing him," Alexandra replied. "Everything got chaotic once Marcus was found. People were screaming, security was running everywhere, and then the police started separating everyone."

Lucifer turned toward Chloe, his expression carrying the satisfaction of a man who had just watched several pieces fall neatly into place.

"So," he said, "our grieving heir threatens daddy shortly before daddy gets stabbed during a conveniently timed blackout, and nobody can confirm where the son went afterward."

Chloe glanced toward him. "It makes him interesting. It doesn't make him guilty."

Lucifer smiled slightly. "Which is precisely why you're so much fun."

Chloe shook her head before looking across the nightclub.

"Where is Dillion?"

Lucifer's smile widened as he lifted his glass and pointed toward the VIP section upstairs.

"Enjoying the inheritance early, apparently."

Chloe followed his gesture.

A man in his early thirties sat behind the glass railing above the main floor, surrounded by producers, models, and several bottles of champagne. He wore an expensive black suit and looked remarkably relaxed for someone whose father had been murdered less than twenty-four hours earlier.

Chloe watched him for several seconds.

"Let's go talk to him."

Lucifer finished his scotch and placed the empty glass on the bar.

"Now our date is finally getting interesting."

He turned toward Alexandra before following Chloe upstairs. The playful look on his face softened slightly as his eyes moved across the crowded VIP section above them.

“It would be better if you stayed down here,” he said. “Things upstairs might become rather loud, and I’d prefer you didn’t get hurt again.”

Alexandra looked toward the glass-railed level, then back at him. She seemed ready to argue for a moment, though the concern beneath his usual charm changed her mind.

“Okay, I’ll stay right here,” she replied. 

Lucifer gave her an approving smile before turning toward Chloe. “Shall we confront the grieving son during his tasteful celebration?”

Chloe was already walking toward the stairs. “Try not to threaten anyone.”

Lucifer followed beside her while adjusting the cuffs of his suit. “That seems unnecessarily restrictive, Detective.”

They climbed the wide staircase leading toward the VIP section. Two security guards stood near the entrance, though both stepped aside once they saw Lucifer. They knew the owner of the club.

Dillion Vale sat on a leather couch surrounded by several people who looked more interested in his money than his grief. Two models sat close beside him while a young producer laughed far too loudly at something that clearly hadn’t been funny. Several open champagne bottles rested across the table, along with glasses.

Dillion noticed them approaching and frowned.

Chloe has already recording everything on her phone. She made sure to angle the camera part properly before entering.

“Well, look at you. Daddy gets stabbed to death, and less than twenty-four hours later his useless little sperm donation is already drinking champagne surrounded by women who’d probably forget your name the moment your inheritance disappeared.”

Dillion’s smile vanished.

“The fuck did you just say?”

Lucifer glanced toward Chloe.

“See? Barely capable of forming a sentence without profanity. Marcus really did leave the family empire in exceptional hands.”

Dillion stood up.

“Who the hell are you?”

Lucifer smiled.

“Lucifer Morningstar. Club owner, occasional consultant, and currently the unfortunate man forced to look at your remarkably punchable face.”

Chloe stepped closer before Dillion could respond, but Lucifer was already looking directly into his eyes.

His expression shifted.

The playful amusement disappeared, replaced by that strange intensity Chloe had seen several times before.

Lucifer stepped closer.

“What is it that you truly desire?” he asked, looking into his eyes. “Tell me that little darkest secret of yours. The disgusting thought you keep hidden underneath all that expensive cologne and daddy’s money.”

Dillion’s face went blank.

His shoulders relaxed.

Then a smile slowly appeared.

“I wanted to fuck my stepmom,” he admitted.

Chloe’s eyebrows rose. 'And here I thought Lucifer was too much. What the hell is wrong with these people?' She wondered.

Lucifer stared at him for a moment before giving a small nod.

“Of course you did. Somehow, incest-adjacent revenge sex feels perfectly appropriate for this revolting little family.”

Dillion continued smiling.

“My dad fucked my wife,” he said. “So I wanted to fuck his.”

Lucifer leaned slightly closer.

“And did you manage to do the nasty after killing dear daddy?”

Dillion’s smile widened.

“Oh yeah.”

Chloe immediately looked toward Lucifer. She still didn't know how he did that. He simply asked, and they confessed. 

Dillion kept talking. “After I killed my dad last night, everything became mine. The studio, his money, the houses... everything.” He laughed proudly. “And obviously, I took my prize.”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

“Your stepmother.”

Dillion nodded proudly.

“I fucked that bitch last night.”

Chloe stared at him.

Dillion looked happier with every word leaving his mouth. “Then I threw her out this morning along with that whore of a wife. They both thought they were getting something from me after everything they did.”

Lucifer’s expression turned disgusted. “Bloody hell. Your father may have been a walking pile of human sewage, but somehow you’ve managed to crawl out of the same toilet looking even worse.”

Dillion laughed, but then the full meaning of his confession finally caught up with him as he got out of the trance. His eyes moved from Lucifer to Chloe, then toward the people around the VIP area who had heard every disgusting word come out of his mouth.

“What the fuck did I just say?”

Lucifer smiled pleasantly. “Oh, nothing terribly important. You merely confessed to murdering your father, taking his fortune, shagging your stepmother afterward, and throwing her out alongside your pregnant wife. Quite an impressive collection of reasons to spend the foreseeable future behind bars.”

Dillion’s breathing quickened as panic replaced the confidence he had carried moments earlier. Chloe stepped closer, keeping her eyes fixed on him as she said, “Dillion, don’t do anything stupid. Just stay where you are...” She saved the live recording and then opened the call list to call the cops.

That warning came too late.

Dillion suddenly reached inside his jacket and pulled out a handgun, raising it toward Lucifer from barely an arm’s reach away.

“Stay the fuck back!” he shouted.

Lucifer’s expression changed immediately.

With Chloe standing right beside him, there was no room to play around with a loaded weapon. Before Dillion could properly settle his finger against the trigger, Lucifer moved.

His hand became little more than a blur.

One instant, Dillion had the handgun pointed at Lucifer’s chest. The next, his fingers closed around empty air while Lucifer stood exactly where he had been, calmly holding the weapon in his own hand.

Dillion stared at his empty hand, completely stunned.

“What the fuck?”

'I love super speed.' Lucifer looked at the handgun before giving Dillion an unimpressed glance. “Really? After confessing to murder in front of a homicide detective, your brilliant solution was to pull a gun on the Devil?”

He turned toward Chloe and handed her the handgun.

“Here you go, Detective.”

Chloe took it, though her eyes remained fixed on Lucifer.

She had been standing right beside him.

Dillion had pulled the handgun, and Lucifer had simply taken it from him faster than Chloe could properly see his hand move.

Lucifer noticed her staring and gave her a small smile.

“Something wrong, Detective?”

Chloe looked down at the handgun in her hand, then back at him.

“We’re talking about that later.”

Lucifer’s smile widened. “I look forward to hearing whichever increasingly desperate explanation you invent this time.” He then turned his attention toward the garbage of a human. “Actually, Dillion, before you disappear into the charming embrace of the justice system, I have one little question for you.”

Dillion swallowed and looked at him warily. He was still confused about how the hell did Lucifer took his gun and why the hell did he confessed everything?

“Did you ever wonder why your father left everything in your name?”

Dillion frowned.

Lucifer continued before he could answer. “Think about it carefully. According to you, your dad despised you enough to shag your wife behind your back, humiliate you, get her pregnant, and destroy whatever remained of your marriage. Yet when he dies, you inherit all his fortune.”

Dillion’s expression slowly changed.

Lucifer tilted his head while watching the uncertainty spread across his face. “That seems rather generous for a man who supposedly hated his son that much, wouldn’t you agree?”

Dillion stared at him without answering.

Lucifer’s smile became colder. “Unless, of course, somebody lied about something.”

Chloe looked toward Lucifer, already understanding where he was going.

Lucifer kept his eyes on Dillion. “Your wife told you the child belonged to your father, correct?”

Dillion’s mouth opened slightly.

“Did you ever actually confirm that?” Lucifer asked. “A DNA test, medical records, anything remotely resembling evidence before deciding dear old Dad deserved a knife through his chest?”

Dillion stood completely still.

The anger disappeared from his face as something far worse began replacing it.

Lucifer leaned closer. “Or did your wife simply tell you that Marcus was the father, knowing exactly what hearing those words would do to you?”

Dillion’s eyes widened.

“I...”

Lucifer gave him a pitying look. “Oh dear. You didn’t check, did you?”

Dillion said nothing.

He did not need to answer.

The stunned expression on his face told them everything.

Lucifer slowly shook his head. “So there is a very real possibility that you murdered your father over something that may never have happened, then celebrated by shagging your stepmother and throwing your wife onto the street before bothering to confirm the one fact that started this entire pathetic disaster.”

Dillion’s breathing grew uneven as he stared somewhere past Lucifer, his mind clearly racing through every conversation with his wife and every assumption he had made afterward.

“What if she lied?” he whispered.

Lucifer’s expression carried absolutely no sympathy. “Then I imagine prison will provide you with plenty of quiet evenings to think about it.”

Chloe called the officers still working the Vale investigation. She kept the details brief, telling them they had Dillion, that he had confessed to Marcus Vale’s murder, and that she needed officers waiting outside Lux to take him into custody.

There was no reason to send uniformed cops marching through a packed nightclub and turn the entire party into another Hollywood spectacle.

Lucifer certainly was not going to allow that inside his club.

Later, Chloe escorted Dillion downstairs through the private corridor beside the VIP section, keeping him away from the main dance floor. Lucifer followed long enough to make sure Dillion did not attempt anything else, while the music continued pounding through Lux and most of the guests remained completely unaware that a confessed murderer was being quietly removed from the building.

The officers met them through the staff entrance at the rear of the club.

Chloe handed over Dillion and the handgun, quickly explained what had happened, and watched as the officers placed him in cuffs before leading him toward an unmarked car waiting outside.

Dillion barely resisted.

He looked completely distracted now, his earlier arrogance gone as Lucifer’s question continued eating away at him.

Maybe Marcus had betrayed him.

Maybe his wife had lied.

Either way, Dillion had already killed his father before finding out which one was true.

Once the car pulled away, Chloe looked toward Lucifer.

“There we are. Murder solved, party uninterrupted, and the champagne remains blissfully free of police officers," He said. "So, if you aren't busy, why not celebrate our little success with a drink?"

"After everything I've heard... I think I could use a drink or two," Chloe said with a nod. "Trixie is at Dan's so... yeah. But you have to tell me how you snatched the gun."

They began to walk inside Lux.

"Super-speed," Lucifer said.

"Of course. You're the devil, so super-speed is one of your many powers," Chloe said with a heavy sigh.

"So you believe me now." 

"Nope."

Quick poll: Is it too early to have sex with Alexandra? Or should I take things slowly and then have the sex scene?