How They Got Away With Murder | Book Three

Chapter Six-Part Two

      Alyssa sat next to Karmen in court, who she had seen laughing with Connor before they entered the room. She was glad the two had made up. At least one of them could.

      "Hey." She looked up to see Laurel standing in front of their row. Before she could walk to a chair, Michaela placed her hand out.

      "You can't sit with us." She snapped.

      Laurel's eyes narrowed. "Are you serious?"

      "Stop keeping secrets and maybe you'll get your privileges back." Connor shrugged. As the brunette scoffed and retreated, Alyssa and Karmen exchanged guilty glances. They hadn't come clean about their knowledge in the situation, and she wasn't sure if they would. Alyssa knew if she told them, they'd find out how she found out, and she wouldn't do that to Karmen. Not with all the pressure the blonde was under.

      "Oh, there he is, our first chair!" Connor exclaimed as Drake took a seat at the defense table. "Ready to fail like your dad's condom?"

      The boy sighed. "Do you really have to sit right there?"

      "I just want to be ready to replace you after you crash and burn." Michaela said boldly. 

      "Or poop your pants. Hope you don't have a nervous stomach, dawg." Asher mocked. The conversation died down when Annalise marched in, immediately speaking with Drake. Alyssa was too far away to hear anything, so she instead zoned out until trial began. She noticed that the prosecutor was the same one from Toby's case as she stepped up to interrogate the victim.

      "We were all dancing, having a good time. I mean, they were even laughing at my jokes." He explained.

      The lawyer, Prosecutor Atwood as she had learned, questioned, "At what point did the defendant become aggressive?"

      "This guy bumped into me, and I fell up against her. She took the knife out of her pocket, grabbed me. I thought she was joking until I saw the blood."

      The woman turned around with a smirk and confidently strutted back towards her desk, saying to Annalise,

      "Your witness."

      "Mr. Stone, how many drinks did you have before you approached my client?" Annalise asked.

      "Three or four beers."

      "So you lost count?"

      "Argumentative." Atwood called out, to which the judge nodded.

      "Sustained."

      "Let me rephrase. This isn't the first violent altercation you've had in a bar, is it?"

      "Objection. Leading."

      Annalise refuted, "Goes to establish Mr. Stone's pattern of violent behavior while inebriated."

      "Permission to approach." The prosecutor requested, causing the two lawyers to speak with the judge silently. After a minute, Annalise inquired to the victim,

      "Mr. Stone, did you think buying my client a free drink was a down payment on a later sexual advance?"

      "Objection, counsel is badgering the witness."

      "Sustained."

      Alyssa shook her head. Annalise was failing miserably. 

      "Can you tell me what you meant when you yelled 'scissor' to Ms. Alvodar?"