𝑮𝑹𝑬𝒀 - Eddie Munson [2]

FIVE

FIVE|FINDING EDDIE

Bernadette pressed her foot down on the accelerator, speeding through Hawkins as she desperately searched for Eddie. The news of Chrissy Cunningham's death had already spread through Hawkins and she knew Eddie would quickly become everyone's number one suspect.

The brakes squealed as she slammed her foot down, stopping in front of the Family Video store. She slammed the door behind her, bursting through the front doors and instantly spotting Dustin.

"Where is Eddie?" She questioned immediately, walking straight up to the shorter boy. "You're part of that club, you must know where the leader is?"

"I'm trying to find him." Dustin answered, gesturing to the phone in his hand. "But no one has seen him since last night."

"He slept at mine last night but disappeared during the night." Birdie casually stated, ignoring her older brothers protective questioning. "He didn't do it. It's somehow back, I don't know how to explain it."

"No, I felt it too." Max stepped forwards, agreeing with her.

"Max." She opened her arms, the ginger girl going straight for an embrace. "I hope you've been well."

"No better than you." The girl said truthfully, avoiding the stare Birdie gave her, understanding her pain.

"I wish I could have taken you with me." Birdie squeezed her shoulders comfortingly before turning back to the boys. "But that's not important right now, we need to find Eddie."

"Max, fill them all in." Dustin ordered, going back to typing away at the computer. Bernadette sat behind the counter, listening to what Max had seen, including the parts involving seeing her sat outside the trailer. She filed her nails, watching as her brother flirted terribly while the others tried to find any information on where the Hellfire Leader could possibly be hiding.

"Hey, guys, I might have a lead." Max announced after putting the phone down.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, apparently, Eddie gets drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick, and sometimes Eddie crashes there." She explained to the group, everyone smiling hopefully with the news.

"Sounds promising." Robin nodded along. "Where does this Reefer Rick guy live?"

"See, that's the thing." Max sighed with defeat. "No one knows. He's more of a legend than someone that people actually know."

"What about a last name?" Birdie quizzed, hoping they could go off with some more information.

"I don't know that either."

"Bet the cops know the last name." Steve stated, not paying attention as he reorganised the tapes. "I mean, listen, if this Reefer Rick is actually a drug dealer, I guarantee you he's been busted at some point. Means he's in the system."

"The cops?" Dustin stood up, questioning his friends option. "Really, Steve? That's your suggestion?"

"I think they should be filled in on what we know, what's going on." He argued back, leaning his body against the counter.

"You think Eddie's guilty, don't you?" Birdie slapped her brother in the back of the head, staring at him in shock.

"So everything I said is a lie?" She raised a brow at him.

"Whoa, I believe in innocent until proven guilty, all that constitutional shit." Steve justified himself terribly. "I just, you know, don't think we can rule it out."

"That's precisely what we're trying to do here, Steve." Max spoke up, staring at him confused.

"And maybe we'd have a little bit more luck if you spent less time trying to find a girlfriend and more time trying to find Eddie." Dustin said condescendingly to the older boy causing Robin and Bernadette to snicker quietly to themselves.

"Somebody has to attend to the customers." Steve tried to defend himself, gesturing out to the empty store.

"Especially if they're babes, right?" Robin teased him with a wink.

"Hey, not fair." He pointed his finger at the two girls still laughing to themselves. "I attend to all customers equally, babes and non-babes alike. We've got a very big selection in here. It can be super overwhelming for people."

"Yeah, it can be." Robin cut him off, standing up straight as a she smiled excitedly. She rushed over to the computer, silently typing away while the others gathered around her confused.

"What are you doing?" Birdie raised her brow at the girl, curious what sudden idea had come to her mind.

"Maybe we don't need a last name." She stated as if the answer was obvious. "Twelve Ricks have accounts here."

"Lots of Rick's." Max reminded her.

"So, let's narrow it down." Robin continued typing, pulling up each Rick's latest rent. "Rick Alderman's latest rentals are 'Annie' and 'Dumbo'. Chances are drug dealer has a family?"

"Not likely." Birdie grinned proudly, squeezing the girls shoulder gently.

"All right. Rick Conroy." The girl moved down to the next Rick on the list. "'Sixteen Candles', 'Teen Wolf', 'Romancing the Stone'." A collective 'no' filled the room. "Okay. Rick Joiner. 'Mask', 'Footloose', and 'Grease'. Rick Kimbrough. 'The Blue Laggon' and 'Splash'. Rick Lipton. 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High', 'Cheech & Chong's Next Movie', 'Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams', 'Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke'."

"Lipton?"

"Spelled like the tea." Robin agreed, looking for the address attached to the Rick. "2121 Holland Road."

"That's out by Lovers Lake." Dustin said quickly. "Middle of nowhere."

"It's the perfect place to hide." The group quickly left the store, locking the door behind them as they jumped into Steve's car, agreeing it was a quieter approach.