"That doesn't make any sense." Debbie said, eyes trained on the road in front of them as Lily sat in the passenger seat, knees curled up to her chest with her head leaning against the window. Tears continued to streak down her face as she reached up to wipe her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Chrissy was found in Eddie's trailer? What do the police think happened?"
"Well, it's not hard to figure out he's suspect number one." Lily said. "Officer Daniels claimed they're just trying to get all the facts, but he was asking me about the relationship between Eddie and Chrissy, and whether or not he had any reason to want to hurt her. It looks really bad, Debs, but there's no way he could've done this. Not like that."
The image of Chrissy lying facedown on the carpet with her arms snapped behind her back flashed in Lily's vision, and she shook her head, trying to force it back out. Instead, she tried to fill her mind with images of Chrissy smiling, happy and alive, to counteract it, but it just made her cry harder at the thought of her friend meeting such a violent end.
"What makes you so sure?" she asked.
"I know Eddie." Lily said adamantly. "This is the guy who skipped second period last year to run to the middle school to give Max his lunch because we didn't have time to make our own that morning and we didn't have any lunch money. He's not capable of doing that to anyone."
Debbie nodded, listening intently to Lily's words as she pulled into the parking lot of Family Video. The lot was nearly empty, despite being a Saturday, with a few cars milling out, and she parked up front, turning the key in the ignition and killing the engine. Lily stepped out of the car, pushing open the front door as the bell jangled overhead.
Inside, Max, Dustin, and Robin all stood behind the counter, three phones set up on their workspace as they all spoke on their respective calls, pacing and trying not to get tangled in each other's cords. Around the store, Sara, along with Steve Harrington, helped the few customers that milled about, eager to have them check out their movies and move on with their days to leave the group alone to their work.
"What's going on in here?" Debbie asked, following Lily into the store as she studied the setup before them.
"Welcome to base of operations," Dustin welcomed them with a grin.
"Base of oper-what now?" Lily asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Max, what's going on?"
"You might want to sit down for this one." Max said to her older sister. "You're not going to like this."
Lily's eyebrows furrowed together as she stepped closer to the counter. "Maxine, tell me what's going on."
"I was thinking about it after you went with the cop, and last night, after you left for the party, the lights started flickering at home. I didn't think anything of it, you know it's a piece of shit, until I heard Eddie screaming, and then I saw him run out of the trailer, get in his van, and drive off. He was scared, Lils. So we think that maybe... something else killed Chrissy." Max explained, her voice lowering at the end.
A pit formed in Lily's stomach, feeling like a boulder weighing her down as she shook her head, Billy's bloody face flashing in her memory. That was impossible. The gate had been closed last summer, Chief Hopper had given his life to make sure of it, and Eleven was nowhere near Indiana to reopen it. The monster she saw in her nightmares was gone, trapped in the hell dimension it'd come from, and she was moving far from Hawkins after graduation to ensure it could never come near her again.
"No," she said, shaking her head adamantly as she took a step back, towards the exit, where she bumped into Debbie, who instantly reached out to steady her best friend on her feet. "Absolutely not. No way. I can't do this again."
"Do what?" Debbie asked, a confused expression crossing her face. "What's going on?"
"I'll fill you in later, Debs," Robin promised her sister. "But for now, Eddie's in danger and we can't get a hold of Nick, so Lily, you might be our best shot at finding Eddie and figuring out what really happened to Chrissy."
"How could I find him?" Lily asked hesitantly after a moment.
"Do you know of a guy named Reefer Rick?" Max asked. "According to one of his friends, that's where Eddie gets his drugs, and sometimes he crashes there."
"I know the name." Lily confirmed. "That is where Eddie gets his drugs from, at least he did when I knew him, but I don't know where he lives, or if Eddie even still talks to the guy."
"Do you know anything else about him?" Dustin asked. "Any last name, place he hangs out at?"
Lily shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know anything aside from just that name."
The bell jingling overhead at the store alerted the group of a newcomer, and where Lily expected to see another Hawkins native coming in to rent a movie, stood a visibly shaken Nick. The dark eyeliner she usually wore across the bottom of her eyes was notably absent, and she seemed to turn in on herself, her eyes not quite meeting the group before her.
"There you are," Steve said, abandoning the movies he was attempting to organize and joining his friend at the front door, Sarah following close behind him on Nick's other side. "We couldn't get a hold of you, thought maybe you were with Eddie, or that something had happened to you."
"I stayed at Nancy's last night after the game." Nick explained. "We got to the school for the Hawkins Post meeting, to get the victory articles written and printed, and suddenly, my trailer was all over the news covered in police tape. Great, right? I obviously panicked, Nancy and Fred gave me a ride home, and the police instantly took me in for questioning. Turns out my brother's now a wanted murderer, and they can't find him anywhere. Wayne's beside himself, he's the one who found the body, and-" her voice cut off as she finally took in Lily standing in front of the counter next to Debbie. "What the fuck is she doing here?" she asked harshly.
"I'm just here to help," Lily tried to explain, but Nick shook her head.
"No you aren't." she insisted. "You think he's guilty, don't you? You and Chrissy were friends, why the hell would you be here to help the last person to see her alive? You just want to find him so you can turn him in to the cops."
"Nick," Robin said softly, shaking her head. "We don't think Eddie's guilty. We want to find him because we think something... else happened last night."
The color drained from Nick's face at Robin's words. "Something else like..."
Steve nodded as her voice trailed off. "I know you said you never wanted to involve Eddie with any of this shit, but I don't think he has a choice anymore. If this is what we think it is, we need to find him, and between you and Lily, I think we can."
"Do you know a Reefer Rick?" Max asked. "Do you know where he lives? Or even his last name?"
Nick shook her head. "I've never met him." she said. "Eddie always refused to get me involved in his shit, so he'd never take me there. He used to crash there, though, if he and Wayne ever got into an argument or if a deal ran especially late. If he's hiding anywhere, that's where he'd be."
"Wait a minute," Robin said, turning as she dove into the chair in front of the store's computer and began typing furiously.
"What are you doing?" Max asked, attempting to peer over Robin's shoulder.
"Maybe we don't need a last name." Robin said, and Lily hurried behind the counter as the younger Buckley girl hit the enter key, a list of names coming up in the customer database. "Twelve Ricks have accounts here."
"That's a lot of Ricks." Max mused.
"So, let's narrow it down." Robin said, clicking on the first Rick to pop up on the list. "Rick Alderman's latest rentals are Annie and Dumbo. What are the chances our drug dealer has a family?"
Max shook her head. "Not likely."
"Alright," Robin said, moving onto the next name on the list. "Rick Conroy, Sixteen Candles, Teen Wolf, and Romancing the Stone."
"No," Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at the screen.
"Okay, Rick Joiner." Robin said then. "Mask, Footloose, and Grease."
"Nah," the group murmured.
"Rick Kimbrough, The Blue Lagoon and Splash."
Steve chuckled. "Definitely not."
"Okay, Rick Lipton." Robin moved on. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams, Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke."
"Bingo," Dustin said with a satisfied grin as Lily nodded, her eyes scanning over the movie titled on the screen.
"Lipton?" Max asked, and Robin nodded.
"Spelled like the tea." Robin confirmed. "2121 Holland Road."
"That's out by Lover's Lake." Dustin spoke up.
"Middle of nowhere." Max stated.
"It's a perfect place to hide." Robin agreed.
"What are we waiting for?" Nick asked. "That's where Eddie is, let's go."
Sarah, Steve, and Robin looked around uneasily at the customers still milling about inside the store, seemingly unaware of the group's realization, and then to the clock on the wall. There was still plenty of time left before the store was due to close, and the three of them knew they'd get an earful from Keith if he caught word the store was closed early.
"You guys go ahead." Sarah spoke up. "I can handle the store."
"You sure, Sare?" Robin asked, but the girl nodded.
"Positive." she said. "Now go find Eddie."