The car moved steadily through the morning streets of Los Angeles while Renault chatted with Lucifer in the passenger seat.
He introduced himself as being from a small town in Maine, while Lucifer gave his own name and pointed out Edward in the back seat.
Edward leaned forward between the seats long enough to introduce himself as a Chicago native before settling back again, still looking tired from the overnight flight.
Lucifer’s Nokia suddenly chimed with a new message.
When he checked the screen, he found a text from Jennifer Check asking whether Mr.
Exorcist was already heading out to fight evil again.
Lucifer smiled and replied that he had another haunted family to help that afternoon, and Jennifer quickly wished him luck.
Edward immediately noticed the smile.
“Who was that?
Don’t tell me you met someone while I was sleeping.”
Renault glanced at Lucifer and laughed.
“That expression says he did.”
Lucifer put the phone away and ignored both of them until Renault finally pulled over in front of a small shop.
The motel owner led them inside and immediately called toward the counter, warning the owner not to give his new friends a bad price.
The man behind the counter, Pete, laughed off the accusation and asked Lucifer what he wanted to sell.
Lucifer handed over the gold Rolex first.
Pete examined it carefully with a loupe, turning the case and bracelet several times before nodding with approval.
“Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, Reference 6263.
Excellent condition too.
Too bad it isn’t a Paul Newman dial, but I can still give you fifteen thousand.”
“Deal.”
Lucifer then brought out four more watches along with the gold jewelry he had recovered from Kenny’s pawn shop.
Pete inspected each piece before calculating the total, and after some straightforward negotiation, Lucifer walked away with $47,000 for the watches and jewelry, divided into a $40,000 check and $7,000 in cash.
Before leaving, Lucifer remembered the most valuable thing he had found in Storage Unit No.
13.
“Pete, do you know anything about ambergris?”
Pete’s interest immediately sharpened.
“You actually have some?”
Lucifer opened the bag and showed him the five fist-sized pieces.
Pete carefully picked one up, examined its texture and smell, and his expression quickly became serious.
“This is real, and it’s high quality.
You’re sitting on a lot of money here.”
Lucifer smiled.
“So you’ll buy it?”
Pete reluctantly shook his head.
“Not directly.
Ambergris is tied up in federal restrictions involving whales and protected marine mammals, and I don’t want that kind of legal problem.
I do know a few specialty buyers and perfume people who might be able to point you toward a legitimate way to handle it, though.”
Lucifer wrote down his number and handed it over.
“Call me as soon as you find someone.”
Pete pocketed the paper with an envious smile.
“If you manage to sell all five pieces, you’ll have enough money to enjoy Los Angeles for a while.”
“This is only the beginning.”
After leaving Pete’s shop, the three spent the rest of the morning looking for a storefront.
Lucifer first became interested in a location near Wilshire Boulevard because of the traffic, surrounding businesses, and wealthy clientele, but Renault quickly warned him that places in that area were far beyond his current budget.
Lucifer called anyway, only to lose interest the moment he heard the rent was around $4,000 a month.
He looked back at the storefront with obvious reluctance.
“I’ll come back when I’m rich.”
Edward laughed.
“At least you’ve finally learned to check the rent before signing anything.”
They continued searching until they reached North Hollywood, where Lucifer found a much more practical two-story storefront on Lankershim Boulevard.
The rent was approximately $950 a month, the street had steady foot traffic, and the surrounding neighborhood was active without being impossibly expensive.
It wasn’t the luxurious office Lucifer had imagined, but it was more than enough for a new supernatural business.
After signing for the place, the three stopped nearby for lunch.
Lucifer handed the $40,000 check to Edward and told him to handle the remaining agency setup as well as their housing.
Edward accepted it before asking the obvious question.
“What are we calling the business?”
Lucifer answered without hesitation.
“Lucifer’s Supernatural Consulting Agency.”
Edward considered it for a moment.
“That’s actually decent.”
Lucifer frowned.
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“Because I know you.”
After lunch, Edward stayed behind to deal with the storefront and apartment search while Renault drove Lucifer to the Hell Morning Show studio.
Once they arrived, Renault parked outside and reluctantly asked whether he could come along to the haunted house.
Lucifer shook his head.
“Not this time.
Go home and sleep.
If I get another safe case someday, maybe I’ll let you watch.”
Renault sighed.
“My hometown has plenty of strange stories, but I never saw anything supernatural growing up.”
Lucifer looked at him curiously.
“Which town?”
“Derry, Maine.”
Lucifer went quiet for a moment.
Then he smiled strangely.
“Trust me.
You’ll probably get your chance eventually.”
Renault seemed pleased by the answer and drove away.
Lucifer watched the car disappear before entering the studio building, where he found that he had arrived early.
Rather than bothering the front desk, he chose a sofa in the lobby and sat down to wait.
A woman sitting nearby caught his attention.
She was wiping tears from her face, and after looking at her for another second, Lucifer recognized her as the homeowner from the paranormal segment he had watched at the motel.
He moved closer and offered her a tissue.
“Are you alright?”
The woman accepted it gratefully.
“It’s my fault.
I thought we were getting a bargain on that house.
If I’d known what was inside…”
Lucifer immediately understood.
“You’re the woman from the haunted-house story.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes again.
Lucifer tried to reassure her by reminding her that an exorcist had already agreed to help, but her expression only became more miserable.
“We can’t afford the fee anymore.”
Lucifer thought for a moment before replying, “An exorcism still needs payment, but payment doesn’t necessarily mean thousands of dollars.
Sometimes the agreement itself matters more than the amount.”
“This gentleman understands.”
A man’s voice came from beside them.
Lucifer looked up and saw a middle-aged priest wearing a Roman collar, a Bible tucked beneath one arm.
The priest smiled at the woman as though continuing a conversation they had already been having.
“Mrs.
Lutz, I’ve told you before.
I can perform the exorcism without charging your family anything, provided you agree to my conditions.”
Lucifer looked from the priest to Kathy’s embarrassed expression.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
So this is the other exorcist.
[Goal Tracker]