When Secrets Surface (Book #1)

Chapter 17

Dorothy's POV

I woke up feeling something cold on my forehead. My sinuses felt extremely congested. I spotted Sophie sitting at the edge of my bed.

"Why is there a towel on my forehead ?" My voice sounded nasal.

"The dust may have triggered your allergies  when you went searching for the DNA test," Sophie said.

"Can still go to my upcoming surf off? " I asked.

Sophie scoffed, "If Mom thinks you're okay. Right now just get rest".

I groaned. Sophie just laughed, "You're so stubborn, in your words 'chill' ".

"Haha, What about Trillive?" I asked.

"Don't worry think about getting better. I'll deal with him," Sophie said.

"The last time you tried to interrogate someone, you came back on the brink of sobbing," I mumbled.

"What did you say? I didn't quite hear that," Sophie raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing!" I responded on impulse.

***
I picked up a tissue and blew my nose for the fifth time this minute.

I sat on the sofa with a big tub of ice cream and a box of tissues.

"Shouldn't you not eat ice cream, "Sophie said, holding the living room's door handle.

"Shut up, you're not the one with the flu. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude," I apologized.

"Where is my real sister because she would NEVER EVER apologize for telling me to shut up," Sophie said in disbelief.

"The flu is shrinking my toxicity," I said laughing but I broke into a fit of coughing.

"Sorry," Sophie said as she lightly tapped my back.

Sophie's POV

I was standing in front of Ryan Triville who was currently glaring down at me.

I gave him a quick explanation of why was currently at his doorstep.

"Please sign this contract," I held it out to him and handed a pen over to him.

"What is this?" He asked in utter confusion.

"Oh don't worry, it's just a consent form that would give me the absolute permission to record everything you say. Which can be used against you in the court of law when the evidence against you is too great and suggests that you have committed foul play," I said casually.

He huffed and reluctantly signed my contract.

I turned on my recorder and stared him dead in the eye.

Ryan Trillive: How did you get my address?

Sophie :Don't worry about it.

Ryan Trillive: That's creepy to the max little girl. To just go around tracking down people's homes. Don't you think?

Sophie :I'll be the one asking questions from now on... not you. Got that Trillive.

Ryan Trillive: Ugh, fine no reason to be feisty about it.

Sophie: How did you view Mr David Gordon?

Ryan Trillive: He's a nice guy just pissed me off every once in a while.

Sophie :[scoffs] That seems so childish to me. You sound like a literal man- child right now to be dead honest with you.

Ryan Trillive: It's not that it was just like he was the teacher's pet. Mr Brian's favorite so sometimes it was annoying that Mr Brian always trashed my ideas and loved his.

Iris told me that Mr Brian did see my Dad as some sort of money-making machine.

Sophie: So is that a good enough reason to abduct someone? In your honest opinion.

Ryan Trillive: Woaaaahhhh are you accusing me of kidnapping and proceeding to murder your, father? That's very far-fetched. I have a line where I draw a limit and murder draws that line. So he wasn't my favorite person that doesn't mean I should take him out and leave his family completely devastated. How can I despise him if he's dead? I have to keep him alive to have more reasons to hate him.

Sophie: You're using the words 'hate' and 'despise' a lot. Which is suspicious. Evidence shows that most 45% of murders happen in the heat of anger.

Ryan Trillive: 45% is not a good enough percentage to support that fact.

Sophie: Are you suggesting that you may have killed my father and dumped his body somewhere?

Ryan Trillive: No, No I am just countering your opinion.

Sophie: It's not an opinion, Trillive. It's a fact. I have been researching serial killers, murderers, and abductions.

Ryan Trillive: So you're a crime- obsessed teenager. What you wanna be a detective or something?

Sophie: No, I just want to seek the truth. The truth and nothing but the truth. Wait. You're trying to sidetrack me. I'm being side-tracked by an immature, narcissistic man-child.

Ryan Trillive: I didn't kill him, Sophie

Sophie: How come we found your fingerprints in his car's trunk?

Ryan Trillive: I have never touched his trunk or go near his car otherwise I would have smashed it.

Sophie: So far, the only logical explanation could be you... you killed him placed his body in the trunk and buried him in the forest and abandoned him and his car. The police claim the car was never found.

Ryan Trillive: What if I loaded something into his trunk? Why are you thinking from a foul play aspect? Let's think about it from a reasonable aspect.

Sophie: I'm thinking from a foul-plat perspective because you may be the killer.

Ryan Trillive: Sophie to be completely honest with you, even though I didn't particularly like him I didn't have a good, sensible enough reason to murder him.

Sophie: So why were your fingerprints in the car???

Ryan Trillive: I'm being framed, Sophie. It wasn't me.

Sophie: You keep suggesting that but from what I am hearing  ... [Trillive's phone rings]

Ryan Trillive: So sorry, Sophie I need to take this it's probably from work and could be an emergency you know. I need to pick up this stupid phone. Perfect. Hello... really... really..... God, I'll be on my way right now. Sorry, Sophie. Urgent meeting

Sophie: But...

Ryan Trillive: You can excuse yourself out of my house.

Sophie: Sure. Sure.

Why was he so reluctant to tell me why we found his fingerprints?