Raven lifted her head from her knees, overwhelmed by the sickening, heartbreaking weight of what she had learned about Marline Jade's demise. She opened her iPhone to read the text her lieutenant had sent.
Jimmy Barnes was murdered in his cell.
Raven's world crumbled the moment she read those seven simple words. Slamming the back of her head against Lucifer's vehicle, she sighed, "I need a fucking drink." A hollow void had opened in her chest, one she desperately needed to fill.
As Raven slipped her phone into her jacket pocket, Lucifer approached, his blue eyes filled with a mixture of concern and amusement. "I can certainly ensure Lux is closed tomorrow for you, detective," he said in a seductive tone, hinting that he was willing to provide her with precisely what she wanted - alcohol.
Raven responded dismissively, "Sure, do whatever you'd like." She acknowledged Lucifer's statement without any emotional reaction, simply standing up and walking to the passenger side of his car. "Take me to the LAPD," she said flatly.
Lucifer purred with slight amusement, "Of course, Detective~" He kept his concerned questions for the privacy they would have the next day. Lucifer swiftly hopped into the driver's seat and sped off, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. He executed a smooth donut maneuver as he peeled out of the driveway and onto the streets, disregarding the presence of Raven's lieutenant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raven and Lucifer arrived at the LAPD station, where Raven immediately headed to the evidence warehouse out back. Lucifer followed, curious about her plan. "Detective, what exactly do you have in mind?" he asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"We're going to search the homicide files for cases similar to Marline Jade's," Raven replied evenly. "I have a theory I want to investigate."
"What's your hypothesis?" Lucifer inquired, keeping his hands in his pockets, mindful not to touch anything without Raven's permission. As Raven and Lucifer approached the warehouse, two officers watched them cautiously, causing Raven to momentarily disregard Lucifer's previous question.
"Lucifer is with me as my consultant," Raven stated firmly. "He has clearance to enter with me." The officers, without objection, allowed them to pass.
As the officers closed the warehouse door behind Raven and Lucifer, they were met with a meticulously organized interior. Countless shelves held evidence dating back to 1982, each item carefully stored in plastic containers organized by date and time. The corresponding reports were neatly filed in alphabetical order within the cabinets.
Raven spoke calmly, "In theory, Marline Jade may not have been the unsub's first victim. The level of perfection in the crimes is uncanny - the patience, elite experience, and extreme planning evident at the crime scenes suggest this unsub has struck before. If we can identify the first victim, we may find mistakes the killer made earlier, before the Marline Jade case."
Raven, with Lucifer trailing behind, made her way to the back of the warehouse. She took a seat in a plain leather chair in front of the computer, typing rapidly to prevent Lucifer from memorizing her government information. Lucifer then settled into another plain leather rolling chair beside Raven.
Raven typed a description of the victims and their causes of death into the search bar.
Three files suddenly appeared on the screen. While Raven remained unfazed, Lucifer appeared visibly shocked. "The killer murdered three people, just like Marline Jade?" Lucifer asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. "It would seem so," Raven replied with a weary sigh, anticipating a lengthy investigation ahead. Raven's eyes scanned the computer files, taking in each disturbing image and word. The files contained details on victims from the same date over a three-year period - April 19th. "How they ignored the patterns makes me sick," Raven growled. "If the FBI saw this, they'd be here in an instant." Despite her blank expression as she reviewed the materials, Raven's raven-red eyes betrayed her true emotions - anger and disgust at the sordid information within the files.
* Alessa Carver, a 28-year-old female, was the first victim. Her body was found four blocks away from her workplace on April 19th, 20X0 - four days after she was reported missing. Alessa worked as a nurse in a hospital and aspired to become a doctor.
Her body was discovered in a closed amusement park, positioned in a praying stance. A heretic fork was stuck through her collarbone and chin, forcing her head upwards. Zip ties bound her wrists, keeping her in this praying pose, and a wooden cross had been impaled through her stomach, further securing her kneeling position.
The ticket booth area where she was found was meticulously clean and organized. Alessa's clothes were freshly laundered, and her hair had been recently dyed black, despite originally being a dirty blonde. Her makeup had been removed, but heavy black eyeliner had been applied, creating streaks down her cheeks like tears.
Forensic analysis revealed no defensive wounds or signs of restraint. Rigamortis had not set in until approximately 12 hours before her body was examined. High levels of the sedative eszopiclone were present. DNA evidence of the unsub was never found.
* Mark Thorn, a 22-year-old male, was the third victim. His body was found three blocks away from his workplace on April 19th, 20X2, four days after he was reported missing. Mark worked at an arcade and had recently gotten married to Jaylin Thorn, a police officer with the LAPD. Mark had naturally dark, curly hair that had been bleached and dyed black, matching the appearance of victim Alessa Carver. His hair was clean and neatly brushed, and his eyes were heavily made up with mascara and liquid eyeliner, leaving streaks on his cheeks that appeared to be from tears.
The forensic evidence in Mark's case was similar to that of Alessa Carver's. However, there was an additional needle wound on the left side of Mark's neck, as well as several defensive wounds on his wrists and ankles. He had also sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the heart. Rigor mortis had set in approximately 24 hours before the body was discovered inside the arcade where Mark worked, positioned in a similar manner to the previous victims, Marline and Alessa Carver.
* On April 19th, 20X1, the body of 24-year-old Elizabeth Crowley was discovered 5 blocks from her college, making her the second victim. Her corpse was found in a drive-through theater, positioned identically to the other victims. Notably, there were no defensive wounds or bruising around her wrists, where a zip tie had been used.
Raven felt Lucifer's piercing gaze burning into her from across the room, disrupting her train of thought. His intense stare conveyed deep contemplation, as if he were bored and seeking some kind of distraction. Raven sighed and looked at Lucifer, "Can you just be quiet for a few seconds?" she said, breaking the silence in the room as she tried to focus on reading Elizabeth's file. The file contained information relevant only to Raven. If another detective reviewed it, the sole noteworthy detail would be that all the individuals had seen the same therapist - Raven.
"What? I didn't say anything," Lucifer replied, tilting his head with an amused chuckle as he continued to stare at Raven.
Raven spoke bluntly as she took one last look through the files, "Your thinking interrupts me." She didn't even glance up to meet Lucifer's gaze. Shaking his head, Lucifer stood up from the plain black leather chair by the wall and the computer. He leaned in, his face just centimeters from Raven's, causing her to look up from the file with a blank stare. Raven caught a whiff of Lucifer's aftershave - a crisp, herbal scent of rosemary and lemon.
"Do I distract you, Detective?" Lucifer teased, his ocean-blue eyes glinting with amusement and a teasing grin on his lips. Raven turned to face him, grabbing his chin and pushing his face back slightly as she said, "If it wasn't true, I wouldn't tell you, Lucifer."
Lucifer's raspy yet amused chuckle filled the quiet, dark office as he stood up. Raven sensed he was using his distraction to tease her. She rose and moved to the center of the room, turning to face him as he stood beside the desk.
"The case has only one connection," Raven said blinking a few times to focus her glassy gaze on Lucifer.
Lucifer instinctively took a seat in her chair, crossing his legs and listening intently. He knew she would soon start rambling about her thoughts on the case.
"I know who that is, so what makes their next target..." Raven's eyes widened as she quickly connected the dots. This was not at all what Lucifer had expected - only a few hours after visiting the crime scene, she had grasped the full picture from the computer files.
Lucifer leaned forward with a curious, almost pleading expression, eager to understand her thought process. "Lux is closed tomorrow, correct?" Raven said. "I'm spending the night with you today," Raven's tone was straightforward and blunt.