Kneel

Case 14

  "Goodness gracious, great balls of fire."

  "Lucifer."

  "I mean, I've heard of hot pants, but this really brings new meaning to the term fire crotch, doesn't it?"

  "Lucifer!"

  "Wait, I have more. Smokey Bobinson, Weekend at Bernie's."

  "His burning bush?"

  "Oh, very good." Lucifer chuckled, and I loudly sipped from my iced coffee.

  "You're really breaking out the puns without me? I'm hurt."

  "Misha!" Chloe grinned when she turned around.

  "Imp!" Lucifer also smiled and seeing them both happy at my return did feel....nice. "That was actually me, by the way. So don't tell anyone." He quickly said to the woman holding a camera. "Where have you been, you little hellion?" I debated answering with 'Hell' but I knew Lucifer would take that reply seriously.

  "Honestly, just trying to get back on my feet. Didn't go to a good place."

  "Glad to have you back, partner." Chloe said with sincerity.

  "It was only a few weeks, you make it sound like forever. So, who's the new face with the clever pun?"

  "Oh, I'm Ella!" Her face lit up with a huge grin, and she held out her hand for me to shake. "I recently transferred to the forensics lab."

  "Nice to meet you. I'm Misha."

~

  "Do not touch the charred crotch." Chloe pointed at lucifer with her pen, having to pause the scribbling in her notepad. "It's a sentence I never thought I'd say out loud."

  "It's vicious work. I mean, I reserved this kind of treatment for the truly terrible in Hell. Pedophiles, Nazis. People who put their seats back on a plane."

  "Uh-huh. Seeing as the nature of the crime is so specific, we need to figure out who had a personal grudge against the victim."

  "I'd guess at someone specifically trying to attack his masculinity." I placed my hands on my hips while glancing at the burned body chained to the pole. "A rival, someone he bullied or assaulted. Do you know when we'll get access to his emails?"

  "They're still working on it."

  "Look at you, first day back and already sniffing out a motive." Lucifer mirrored my posture, either unintentionally or to mock me. However, the stance made it stand out how one of his buttons was undone on his shirt.

  "In a hurry this morning?" I raised a brow at the man, and he glanced down.

  "Oh."

  "It's not like you to miss a step in the clothing department." Chloe furrowed her eyebrows.

  "Yes, well, I had to rush out this morning."

  "Called it."

  "Hush, you. I've got an unexpected house guest I can't get rid of."

  "Oh, right. New sex bunny that you can't shake?"

  "As much as I'd like to dig further into the 'sex bunny' comment, I'm disgusted you'd think so. That woman is most certainly not-"

  "You should see this, Detective."

  "Thanks."

  "What is it?"

  "E-mails from Nick's supervisor at Wobble. From a woman by the name of Leila Simms."

  "Let me guess. Something riveting about the latest quarterly report?"