SOME KIND OF HEAVEN ↝ Mazikeen

↳ TWENTY-THREE

Disappointed yet again, Izzy looked back to Chloe then, though she remained painfully aware of how close Maze was to her, her strong arm almost grazing Isadora's own and the thrilling scent instilled in her dark waves lingering in the air. She tried her best to ignore it, focusing solely on the detective, and then Lucifer, who interjected with his own opinion of the case — Joe Fields was still an odd addition to the equation because apparently, he had smiled at Chloe, which would have made no sense if he was truly innocent. "You sure it wasn't like a sad smile? Like a silent apology, or something?", Izzy tried to offer different perspectives, but Chloe was already digging through the papers, shaking her head.

"He wouldn't smile at me. The—the prints that Ella found on the van, they gave us Rodney Lam, but there were other prints. They just cleared as prison personnel, like Deputy Warden Perry Smith", Chloe explained, and at this, Izzy finally snapped out of her own thoughts and perked up at the potential suspect — indeed, why would the warden be a part of the transport? Unless, of course, he was there to murder the guy he had given a false sense of freedom. And that also meant that Perry Smith was the same guy who had orchestrated the murder of John Decker, and that made Izzy gulp in discomfort, yet also some kind of hope of finally catching the real bad guy.

"He's our guy", Chloe grabbed her keys, "let's go."

As Lucifer began to argue that perhaps Dan would be more helpful, and Chloe insisted that she needed her partner on this, Izzy stood up from the chair but twirled around to look over to Maze one last time. The demon met her gaze, but that was enough to render Isadora speechless, and instead of offering some consoling words or even waving goodbye, she just shut her open mouth and clenched her jaw before turning on her heel. Maze had had her opportunity to answer, and she hadn't, and right now, Izzy's priority was doing her job and catching the criminal. The deep sea of emotions could drown her later.

—————

MUCH TO THEIR dismay, Dan had faced Chloe, Lucifer, and Isadora at the yard of the prison with bad news — the warden had gotten away just before the LAPD's arrival, meaning that the detective's father's killer was still walking free. But, they were closing in on him, and that was what Izzy tried to convince Chloe of as they were walking back to the house, with Lucifer trailing behind them.

"I feel like a failure", the blonde confessed with a heavy sigh, and Lucifer was already disagreeing, just as Izzy was, both of them shaking their heads in utter disbelief.

"We'll catch the guy, okay? You will. You're so close, and whatever you need, you know the whole department's got your back, especially us", Izzy had thrown her arm over Chloe's shoulders, using it to draw calming circles on the woman's bicep while squeezing her close to herself. As they toppled closer to the front door of her apartment, shared with Maze and Trixie, the latter of which was staying the night with Dan, Lucifer chuckled from behind them.

"Yes, precisely as Izzy said. And now that your offspring's with Dan, I suggest you crack open a bottle of wine, or three", he added his own piece of advice to the mix, and with a careful smile, Chloe started to dig out her keys while Izzy dropped her hold on the detective and stepped over to Lucifer, the two of them exuding support for their friend.

"Thanks, Lucifer. You too, Izzy. You know, you didn't need to come back all this way. Your mom had a pretty long day too, I wouldn't blame you if you ran back to her arms right about now", Chloe pointed out, sneakily trying to insist that she didn't need the company or the hovering, but it barely worked on either of them. However, Isadora had other intentions too.

Blushing slightly, the deputy shrugged, hoping that the moonlight wouldn't give away the redness of her cheeks, or the small twitch of a smile threatening to bloom on her soft lips. "I know, and I will, but I wanted to make sure you got home safe. And, I was kinda hoping to see Maze. Uh, a friend told me that I shouldn't be discouraged even if she seems kinda off, so... I'm gonna talk to her", Izzy let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding in, and when her eyes gave a glance to Lucifer, she found the man smiling down at her carefully.