Iris

17. A Bridge Between the gods and Mankind

A lead from their seemingly never-ending greenhouse case brought Chloe and Lucifer to a local family-owned garden Monday morning. It turns out that their victim's GPS on his phone pinged this garden as one of the last places he had been before being murdered in the greenhouse. With Ella's and Dan's help, they were able to build a theory. Perhaps their victim was murdered at the garden before being dumped at the greenhouse, possibly to frame someone at the greenhouse?

There were trace amounts of heroine in the victim's blood, as well as different types of pollen on his clothes. The pollen belonged to a rather uncommon flower, indigenous to California: the Point Sal Purple Sage. This small business just happened to be the only place in a one-hundred mile radius that grows them, and it's too close to the crime scene to be a coincidence. Chloe's working theory is that the victim met with someone at the greenhouse, possibly his dealer if this case was drug-related like she thought. Given his T.O.D. and the period of time his phone said he was here, a garden employee was most likely the killer.

Unfortunately, they didn't have enough evidence to legally search the premises, only probable cause, thus leading to the judge turning down Chloe's request for a warrant.

Therefore, the only option was for Chloe and Lucifer to go undercover.

They had spent the night at the penthouse preparing for their trip to the greenhouse, gathering rings and less professional clothes for Chloe so that they would blend in and not look like cops investigating a possible crime scene.

"Ah hah! This one should do!" Lucifer exclaimed as he pulled his head out of his safe, a shining silver band with dark jewels encrusted around it being slipped onto his left ring finger. Chloe did the same with the wedding band Dan had given her oh-so-long ago. A part of her felt anxiously excited about being married to Lucifer for a day, even if it was just a cover. The idea thrilled Chloe, even if her nerves about being "married" were just as high. Even taking their current baby situation out of the picture, the rings got Chloe thinking about what her answer would be if, maybe, Lucifer brought up the idea of marriage to her, baby or no. Would she say yes at this point if there wasn't a baby on the way? She'd like to think so, but who knows?

Oh well, one relationship crisis/major step at a time, she supposed.

The next day, Chloe interlocked her fingers with Lucifer's and swung their arms back and forth as they entered a small business-center in front of the outdoor garden. Chloe forced herself to grin from ear-to-ear (painfully so after a while).

They reached a bored and greasy-looking older teenage boy working the counter.

"Hi!" Chloe raised her pitch half an octave or so, summoning her inner Candy Morningstar (blech) and clung to Lucifer's arm. He smiled with her and leaned his head over to hover over Chloe's.

"Can I help you?" The boy deadpanned, like he'd rather be doing absolutely anything at all instead of helping customers. 

Chloe made sure to speak louder than normal, but not obnoxiously so. "My husband and I are looking for flowers to spruce up our new house before baby comes!"

She ran her hand up and down her bump several times, smiling brighter and bouncing slightly on her toes. Lucifer chuckled next to her.

The boy's eyes flickered from her to Lucifer, his "murder me please" expression unwavering.

"Do you have anything particular in mind?" He asked, his tone robotic.

Chloe and Lucifer shook their heads. Lucifer added just as loudly as Chloe was being, "I shall have you know, money is not an issue. If you see something you like darling, you'll have it."