"Flo, where's Hopper?" The detective asked the secretary of the police department.
"He left an hour ago to the Byers' house." she replied back.
"Thanks." Before the detective left, he grabbed a few donuts.
"No problem, honey." Flo said as the detective headed out.
On the way to the Byers' house, Enigma noticed Joyce at the shop where she worked. She appeared to be looking for something. He decided to ask her some questions about what Hopper had found out back at her house. When he entered the door, it was then that he noticed how tall he was when he found Joyce checking out with a phone and he seemed to tower over her and a little over the cashier, who looked to be the manager. He looked at her, and back at the manager.
"Whatever she is buying, I will pay for it." he then said. After Enigma paid for a telephone and a pack of cigarettes, they headed out to Joyce's car.
"You didn't have to do that, you know." She then said on the way to her car. Stressed. I don't blame her, not after what happened to her kid.
"Think of it as an apology for being rude to you yesterday. I'm sorry if I wasn't the nicest guy back at the station. I haven't had this kind of case in the last few months, so it's kind of hard for me to sympathize with others." the detective said, putting away the phone and giving Joyce the cigarettes.
"Don't worry about that. That can't be the only reason why you came to see me." she said, taking the cigarettes and lighting one, inhaling deeply on the thing, and exhaling smoke.
"You're right, it's not. I need to stop by your house. With your permission, of course."
At this she got upset. "Why?! Hopper was JUST THERE! Why do YOU need to go snooping around my house?!" Yep, stressed. Definitely stressed.
"Because I can see things and smell things that Hopper can't. He might be good at finding clues and putting the pieces together to a basic scenario, but me? I can do so much more. I could probably even found out what really happened. Also, calm yourself. I will never know or understand how you feel, but I have never given up on a case. And I won't start now."
"...Alright, alright, you can come."
"Thanks, Joyce." said the detective as he walked off in some random direction.
"Where are you going? Don't you have a car? Do you want to ride with me?" yelled Joyce as she started the car.
"Don't worry, I know a shortcut!" yelled the detective as he faded into the crowd.
...
20 minutes passed until Joyce got back home. She got out of the car and brought the new telephone with her, when she heard someone walking around talk to themselves.
"Hello?" she said a little scared.
"Oh, hello Joyce! Just looking around the house and the shed, gathering clues." replied the voice of the detective.
"Could you let me in please? There might be something I've missed."
"Sure, sure." the mother stuttered as she let the detective in her house. The detective took her phone off her hands and carried it in for her. As he looked inside, he noticed SEVERAL things that were off to him. He set the phone down and the first thing he did was go to the phone and noticed the burn marks on the headset. Irregular. A storm couldn't have done this sort of damage. For a storm to mess with the telephone poles is one thing but this, this is another.
"When did this happen?" he asked, turning to her.
"Just last night. I got a call and I couldn't hear anything besides scratching and what sounded like growling noises, but then I heard what I thought was my little boy." The worried mother was starting to get upset, so the detective held her hand, saying,
"Shhhh, it's alright I'm here now. I'm gonna figure out what happened last night. Ok?" She nodded and let the detective do his thing. Hmmm, a small hole in the wall. From the lock on the doorknob. "It appears he was chased by something or someone, judging from this hole. Must've really wanted to get away from whatever it was." He then went along the carpet and the closed bedroom doors, noticing things no one else would've. "He thought you were here, so he tried to get you for help, but you weren't here. He was frantic about it, running back and forth to your doors banging on them." Seeming to be following something on the ground, Enigma went outside and looked at the shed with Joyce close behind him, worrying nonstop about Will. "He sought refuge in the shed." noted the detective, walking over to the shed. "Stay back." He said sternly to Joyce. Pulling out his magnum, he slowly reached for the door, with Joyce gripping his shoulder. Then he abruptly yanked the door open his gun pointing straight ahead. "Nothing...You can let go now."
"Sorry." He went to the workbench and saw...bullets? An air rifle? The way the bullets are arranged show desperation in defending oneself. The rifle's sweat prints show the kid's fear of whatever it was that was chasing him. The way it was on the ground revealed that the boy was taken. The detective then unscrewed the lightbulb and inspected the fuse. "It's brand new, I replaced it yesterday." Joyce explained. He nodded in response. If the lightbulb is new, then why is it already a quarter of the way burnt? The detective then screwed the lightbulb back in, and began muttering to himself, putting the pieces together.
"So then that means that...but then...so then...however...that would mean that...the hell?" It was at this point that the detective noticed a slimy pinkish-reddish substance on a vent. He smelled it. It's nothing I've ever seen OR smelled.
"What? What do you see?" Enigma jumped; he'd forgotten she was still there.
"Nothing, just some cobwebs. Come back to the house, and I'll tell you what I've pieced together."
...
"So, here's what I think happened. You said Hopper found his bike by the road, yes?" the detective asked.
"Yes, yes he did." Joyce replied back, with a cigarette in her shaking hand.
"Ok. Will was on his way home from the Wheelers' house when he saw something that must've frightened him, causing him to fall off of his bike. It was nighttime so he didn't see what it was. He ran home leaving his bike behind, slamming the door into the wall causing the hole in the wall, then locking it. He then ran over to his brother's door and your door trying to...Joyce? Are you ok?" the detective asked with concern as the terrified mother looked more and more scared as the detective spoke. He gently took her hand and held it, and she squeezed his in response. "...trying to wake you up to get help. Eventually, he saw the creature or person in the window and ran out the door to the shed to get a weapon to defend himself. He locked the door and hastily grabbed his air rifle and bullets and frantically tried to load it. As soon he was ready, he was...you know." The mother then broke into tears and put her head into her hand. The detective went over and hugged her, and she cried into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry." the detective apologized.
"No, thank you for everything." She said.
"I WILL get your son back." the detective reassured her, she nodded in response. The detective got up and left, but not before replacing the phone and asking "Are you going to be ok on your own?" She nodded again. The detective reluctantly left and Joyce watched him leave out the window. A fog swept through, to the point where she couldn't see him anymore. A few seconds later, the fog was gone and so was the detective.