The Prom King: A Murder Mystery ✔

Chapter 20: Coincidence? I Think Not

"It was weird. It sounded like Darth Vader."

My suspicion was confirmed when I heard this. Sophie was being threatened by the same person as us.

"Sophie," Jonas asked, "Do you have any idea who would want to 'get even' with you? Or had access to your phone number?"

Sophie continued to wipe away her tears. "I'm pretty sure the entire school wants to get even with me for something."

"Could we see the call logs on your phone? We could probably still see the number that called you."

Sophie scrolled through her call logs while I tried finding the number that called me. "Here, I think it's this one."

The number on her phone said 973-555-1298. Mine, on the other hand, said 973-555-2532.

"They're not the same numbers, Sophie."

"But that doesn't mean it wasn't the same person! They could've used a burner phone or something. You know, the ones you hear about on TV?"

"It's possible, but--"

"You guys have to believe me. I didn't stalk or kill anyone!"

"Ok, Sophie," I began again, "Who has access to your phone number?"

"I don't have that many contacts for kids at school."

"So who are they?" I asked.

She pulled out her cellphone and scrolled through the list. She began giving us names that we hadn't heard before, or people that we hadn't become close with.

"Then there's Ethan, of course, and that's basically it."

"Hold on," I said, "You and Ethan are still talking to each other?"

"Yeah, of course! Why wouldn't we be?"

Jonas hesitantly pulled out his phone. I knew he was planning to show her the picture of that girl with Ethan.

Clearing his throat, he asked, "Sophie, have you ever seen this girl before?"

She squinted her eyes to look at the picture on his phone, her eyes growing twice as big when she saw who was with the girl.

"Why is...Did he...oh my gosh..."

I felt bad that we had to show her this picture. I mean, Sophie can be a pain, but nobody needs to get their heart broken.

"Do you know who that girl is, Sophie?" Jonas asked again.

"Um," she took a closer look, tears brimming again, "No, I can't tell. The glasses and the hoodie...I can barely see her face."

"Yeah, we thought the same thing."

"Sorry, Sophie," I whispered. She didn't reply.

I motioned for Jonas to follow me outside, leaving Sophie alone in the interrogation room. My dad had been watching us through the one-way mirror.

"What do you think, Dad?"

"Well, going back to that Darth Vader thing, we hadn't told anyone about that detail. Right now it's her words against her signature. We're gonna keep here for at least 24 hours. And we're gonna have to have another chat with that salesman. I never heard of people sending cash ahead of time to purchase a car. So she's either lying or that Robert Thomas has something to do with the murders. Or even both."

Jonas and I immediately looked at each other. "Wait, Dad, his last name is Thomas?"

"Yes."

A million thoughts collided at once in my mind. "Dad, the last name of the woman who gave Jonas that scholarship is Thomas. Don't you think that's a little too much of a coincidence?"

"That is a little strange. We can check out both of their records and see if they're related."

"Thanks, Dad. But what are we gonna tell Sophie?"

My dad sighed. I don't think he wanted to see her reaction to staying in a cell for 24 hours either.

"Don't worry," he said, "I'll take care of it."

I couldn't be any more grateful.

***

About an hour later, my dad's crew had found a link between Robert and Valerie Thomas.

"Turns out they're brother and sister," he said.

A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm SO SORRY for the super long wait for this update. I know I have not been very consistent lately in terms of updating, but I will TRY to get back on track. So...what do you all think of this information? Any guesses on the mystery girl? Why do you think Ethan is cheating on Sophie? Or is he? Please vote, comment, and share this story with your followers!

Till next time,

-shalom900