How They Got Away With Murder I Book One

Chapter Thirteen-Part Two

~Alyssa POV~

      Alyssa and Connor left the house to go back to Alyssa's apartment, where she would put her hacking skills to use.

      "You know, Chad's pretty good looking." She joked, and Connor nodded in agreement. She resumed typing, and when she found something interesting, she gasped.

      "Oh." Connor leaned forward.

      "What'd you got, Garcia?" She peeled her eyes away from the screen and looked at him questionably.

      "Did you just Criminal Minds me?" Walsh smirked.

      "I think that's going to stick." She shook her head, and then pointed to the computer.

      "What?" He mumbled, and she clicked through the photos of Chad that were posted on his 'HumpR' account. 

      Connor chuckled. "Oh my god."
~~~~~
      At trial, Chad was on the stand, and in his hands were the pictures Alyssa had found online. She wasn't sure how to feel, as she still wasn't too sure Jolene was innocent.

      "Can you confirm that this is you in these photos, Mr. Manning?" Bonnie asked, and the man handed the papers to her with a frown.

      "It is."

      "And they're photos you posted on 'HumpR', a gay hook-up app?" Winterbottom queried, and the prosecutor stood.

      "Objection—Relevance?"

      "I'm simply trying to figure out why Mr. Manning hasn't told the prosecutor or this court that he's gay." Bonnie explained, and Prosecutor Winthrop exclaimed,

      "Your Honor!"

      "Counselors, approach the bench." The two lawyers did just that, and conversed silently amongst themselves. Alyssa exchanged a short glance with Connor, who sat next to her. After a minute, the judge addressed the court.

      "Ladies and gentlemen, please disregard Ms. Winterbottom's entire line of questioning of Mr. Manning." Alyssa slightly slumped in her seat, evidently disappointed. Even though she wasn't sure about the client's innocence, she still had failed to do her job effectively. She flinched when a hand grasped her own, and her eyes flickered to her hand, and then up to Connor, who smiled softly. She gratefully returned the gesture, and the two remained silent, yet their eyes spoke a thousand words alone.
~~~~~
      In the halls of the court, the students all hovered by Bonnie and a representative of the hospital as they conversed with one another, just loud enough for her to hear.

      "You need to settle. Tell Mr. Manning to write down a number. We'll pay him." He stated. "You're out of your depth here. Get Annalise out of her sick bed, or wherever the hell she is, so she can fix this." He began to walk away when Bonnie uttered a single word.

      "No." He stopped in his tracks. 

      "Excuse me?"

      "We're not settling." Bonnie claimed confidently. 

      "The hospital—" He started, but Bonnie cut him off.

      "Isn't my client. Now if you'll excuse me." She brushed past him, and past the law students, to which Asher muttered something to her under his breath.
~~~~~
~Karmen POV~

      The next morning, Michaela had gathered the murder group in an isolated area of the court and explained to them something she found out the prior night.

      "She told the detectives that Nate tried to get her to plant evidence on Sam, and when she wouldn't, he threatened to hurt her." Karmen glanced at Wes, whose face was neutral.