Not Quite Dead Yet
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Chapter 18
Overview
Jet and Billy use Ring camera footage to confirm Sophia lied about why she returned to the Masons’ house on Halloween. Checking earlier dates, they discover a pattern of Sophia dropping off baked goods, entering briefly, and returning again while the family is away.
A July 4 video reveals Sophia accidentally drops Jet’s prescription Lotrel bottle, then later appears to bring it back and remove it from her pocket inside the house. The discovery shifts suspicion toward Sophia possibly stealing and tampering with Jet’s medication, and Jet and Billy rush to examine the pills.
Summary
Jet and Billy rewatch the Ring footage from Halloween and confirm Sophia returned to the Masons’ house at 3:24 p.m. for about five minutes, despite later claiming she only came back because she forgot her phone. Jet points out this conflicts with Sophia texting Luke at 3:06 p.m., and she also flags an earlier “Call me” text at 10:52 p.m. when Sophia and Luke were supposedly together.
They debate what Sophia could have been doing inside the house, including whether she might have unlocked the back door earlier to help someone enter later. To test whether the Halloween visit was unique or part of a pattern, Jet recalls other times Sophia delivered baked goods while the family was out.
They pull older Ring videos. On August 30 (Jet’s mother’s birthday), Sophia drops off a cake around midday, enters briefly, leaves, and then returns again at 1:33 p.m. for another short visit. The repeated quick in-and-out visits make Jet and Billy suspect Sophia’s stated “forgot my phone” excuse is a cover story.
They check July 4 footage and see Sophia arrive just minutes after the Masons leave, as if she had been nearby waiting. As Sophia leaves, something falls from her jacket pocket: a prescription pill bottle. Jet zooms in and recognizes it as her own Lotrel (amlodipine), which she takes daily for blood pressure related to her kidneys.
In a later clip the same day, Sophia returns with the bottle still bulging in her pocket, then leaves with the pocket flat, implying she put the pills back. Jet and Billy conclude Sophia has likely been taking Jet’s medication and returning it, possibly tampering with it, and they decide to go to Jet’s house immediately (while Jet’s parents are out) to inspect the pills.
Who Appears
- Jet MasonAnalyzes Ring footage; realizes Sophia lied; recognizes her Lotrel bottle; insists on checking the pills.
- BillyHelps review videos, proposes theories about access, records times, and agrees to rush to Jet’s house.
- SophiaSeen on Ring footage making repeated brief house visits; caught with Jet’s prescription bottle; suspected of tampering.
- CameronSophia’s baby; present during the recorded visits that expose Sophia’s suspicious behavior.
- Dianne MasonJet’s mother; appears in July 4 footage leaving the house; her birthday prompts an earlier suspicious visit.
- Jet’s fatherAppears in July 4 footage leaving for errands; his absence enables Sophia’s unsupervised entry.
- LukeReferenced via Sophia’s texts and alibi timing; his messages deepen doubts about Sophia’s story.
- JJ LimMentioned in past context and July 4 conversation; remains the police suspect but not central here.