A/N: Hi everyone! So sorry that I took so long to update! It has been a very hard chapter to write and I have had a lot going on lately. I guess you guys didn't like the last chapter very much. I really did but…I guess u didn't. Oh well! And in a later scene, which I'm sure that you will all recognize was inspired by legally Blond. Well R and R PLEASE!Thanks

Chapter 10: Guilty As Charged?

Saturday 1:51 pm

Rory sat in Colin's car determined to find out what her test was going to be. She memorized what she had written on the box, carefully making sure that she reread every detail. She wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for, but she knew that it would come to her, sooner or later.

"Well, they all have to do with the law." Rory said thinking out loud.

"Ya, that's true." Colin said trying to be as vague as possible.

"And they all have to do with cases, 3 of them dealing with murder."

"Ok"

"And some of them have to do with young lawyers."

"Ya and Reese Witherspoon was hot in that movie."

"In all the shows, they are fighting for justice."

"I love the part when she was wearing that bikini."

"And isn't Justice one of the 5 things that the LDB stands for?"

"She is hot, but so are her friends."

"Then maybe I have to go to a court room, but why?"

"I really have a thing for blonds."

"Court room….one having to do with the Law and….Murder"

"You know Steph is a blond."

"I got it! I have to be a lawyer for a murder case!"

"She really turns…what?"

"I figured it out."

"What is it?"

"I have to be a lawyer for a murder case."

"Now, you have to tell me where you have to go."

Ok I think because…wait…Stephanie does what to you?"

"Huh? Ooh nothing."

"Colin, after I finish this challenge, I am going to finish talking to you about what Steph does to you."

"What are you talking about?

"Hum, I think you know."

"I am very clueless on this subject."

"Whatever. Anyway, we need to go to a court room that deals with murder cases."

"Yes, you are correct, but what is the name of it?"

"The name?"

"Ya."

"Ummmm...Oh I know! The Place is called Orders of the Law and we have to go to the Legal Wing.

"Yes! Now, look behind your seat."

Rory put her hand behind her seat and felt around until she found a big manila envelope that was taped behind her chair.

"Has this been here the whole time?"

"Just about."

"Huh, that's weird." She said opening the envelope. Inside there was a packet of information about what Rory had to do to complete her challenge. She had to prove that a woman that is being accused of murder is innocent. But, what Rory didn't realize was that everyone of the jury was against that woman.

"Her name is Missy Johnstine and she is from California. She is being accused of first degree murder. They say that they found her with her dead best friend in her arms. She was arrested and put in custody." Rory read out loud as Colin drove to the Orders of the Law building.

"Are you nervous, Reporter Girl?" Colin asked.

"Yes and …well yes I am." Rory said.

"Just remember, that you need to make everyone think that you know what you're doing, even though you don't have a clue what to do."

"Thanks for the burst of confidence, Colin."

"I know that you will do just fine, Ror."

"Oh? And what makes you say that?"

"Well, I did fine when I had to do this."

"You did?"

"Well not this exact case per say, but I did have to do something like this."

"Really?"

"Ya and I was so nervous but I did just fine."

"Ok, thanks Col."

"Sure."

Colin and Rory pulled up to a huge building that had a big sign that said ORDERS OF THE LAW on the front. They both got out of the car and walked inside to an air conditioned room. It was a white room with dull gray carpet and felt cold and uninviting. They walked up to a woman that was sitting behind a big oak desk.

"We are here for the Johnstine case." Colin said.

"Name and relationship."

"Colin Rockefeller and Rory Gilmore. We are her lawyers." He said.

Right. Ok, up the stairs and it is your third door to the right."

"Thank you." Rory said.

"Hey Colin, are you a lawyer too?" Rory asked as she followed Colin to the room.

"No, it is just so I would be able to get in the room and watch what is going on."

"Oh."

Rory started to feel major anxiety as they approached the door. She didn't know what to say to them and she didn't know the case very well. Why would the government let her defend Missy. She wasn't even a law student. How was she going to prove to a jury that the woman is innocent? How did she know that this person was actually innocent? For all she knew, the person could be a cereal killer.

When Rory and Colin walked into the room that was meant for the Johnstine's case, it was empty. They both sat down and Rory finished looking over the rest of her notes about Missy and why she was on trial. After about ten minutes, the room started to fill up with other family and friends of Missy and some security guards. Rory's hands became sweaty and she started to tremble. The fate of Missy's life depended on her. That wasn't something that Rory liked, responsibility for someone else's life. Finally a girl, about the age of Rory, was escorted by security guards to her seat. She sat on the same side as Rory, but was separated by a big, strong man. She was a pretty girl, with dark brown hair and eyes. Her skin was a mocha color and she looked like the nicest person in the world. Rory felt so sorry for her. She could see the pained look in her eyes as Missy looked over at a girl she assumed was her sister. Rory knew that she would never do something bad to anyone. She could tell.

Rory decided to walk up and introduce herself to her.

"Hi, my name is Rory." She said smiling at the girl.

"Hello. Are you here to defend me?" Missy asked in a weak voice.

"Yes, I am Missy. I promise I will do anything in my power to prove that you are innocent."

"Thank you. I am innocent. I loved my best friend Chrisy, dearly. She was like a sister to me. Why do they think that I would do something so ludicrous as to kill my own best friend?"

"I have no idea."

Just then, the judge came in the room. Rory said goodbye to Missy and walked back to her seat. The Judge sat down and the rest followed his lead. Then he struck his desk with a mallet and pronounced that the court was in session. After that, he signaled to Rory to start her opening speech.

"Your Honor, Ladies and Gentleman of the jury and everyone else, thank you all for coming and listening to me today. I am here on one purpose and one purpose only, to get you to change your mind about Missy Johnstine. I am sure that all of you have come into this courtroom with preconceived notions about what you think really happened on April 19th of 2004. I am here to ask you to reconsider all of the facts before you start to blame Missy. Why would Missy, a 20 year old English major, want to do anything like killing her best friend, someone that she grew up with? I ask you to think about this as you listen to everything that is said today. Thank you."

Rory sat down and took a drink of water. The next lawyer came up and made his greeting. Rory tried her best, to listen to everything he said so that she would know if she could somehow use it against him later. After he finished his speech, Rory was allowed to call one person to the bench. She decided to call Missy.

"Missy Johnstine, would you please tell us your story about what happened to Christine Martin or Chrisy, as you call her." Rory said in a confident voice.

"Well, Christine, Bethany, and I owned an apartment together. We went to USC, and were all majoring in English. I was minoring in psychology, so I had a heavier schedule, juggling both work and school. We all had a schedule that we stuck to every day. Beth and I went to school and Chrisy went to work in the morning. Then Chrisy went to school and Beth went to work in the afternoon. At night, I went to work and Chrisy made dinner. We did this every day and it seemed to work out great. Then Beth got a boyfriend and everything changed. We used to spend all of our free time together but now James was following us everywhere. Whenever we went to the mall on our day off, Beth would have James come to. I wouldn't have minded it but James was always cold with me. He loved talking to Chrisy but would always go out of his way to be rude to me. I didn't like it at all. I didn't feel like I could tell Beth so I told Chrisy. She told me that she had also noticed it and was concerned. She said that she didn't like how much attention he was giving her. She told me that whenever she was with him, she felt like she was cheating on her boyfriend. On the night that she died, I remember her calling me and telling me that she had just broken up with her boyfriend, Mick. She sounded like she had been crying, so I told her that I would leave work early, since Beth had gone out with James. She told me that she would be fine and that I shouldn't worry, but after I hung up with her, I felt that something was wrong, so I went home. When I got there, I found her on the ground with…" Missy said, cutting off, her eyes brimming with tears.

"…a knife in her chest." Rory finished, feeling a lump form in her throat.

"Yes." Missy said closing her eyes as tears streamed down her face.

"Thank you Missy that will be all." Rory said.

"Would you like to question Missy Johnstine, Mr. Duncan?" The Judge asked.

"Yes, your honor, I would." He replied as he got up and stood in front of Missy.

"Ms. Johnstine, isn't it true that you were the last to talk to Ms. Christine Martin?"

"Yes."

"When did you get home that night?"

"Umm, around 10pm I think."

"And isn't it true that Christine Martin was extremely wealthy?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it true that you had always envied Christine for getting everything handed to her when you had to work for it?

"No, of course not!"

"Could it be that you killed her because you knew that her family would give you her money, since you were like her "sister" as you say?"

"No, that is not true at all. I never wanted her money!"

"Were you and Mr. Benson close?"

"Who me and Mick? Not really. I had only seen him when he would come over to pick Chrisy up."

"That is all; there will be no further questions your honor."

"You may sit down now Ms. Johnstine." The judge said.

"Thank you." Missy said.

"I would like to call Bethany Lynn to the stand." Mr. Duncan said.

Bethany was called from a sound proof waiting room and walked to the court room. She walked over to the bench and sat down after swearing to tell the truth.

"Hello Ms. Lynn." Mr. Duncan said.

"Hello." she replied.

"Please tell us in your own words what happened that night."

"Ok. Well, I went on a date with my boyfriend James that night and I had been feeling sick so I asked him if we could go home early. When we got back to my house, I said goodbye and went inside. He left and I decided that I would work from home instead of going to work but remembered that I had left my laptop there. I really needed it, so I decided to go get it. When I got back, I saw cop cars in front of our apartment building and I saw them taking Missy away. I also remember Mick talking to some police men."

"What time did you get home that night?"

"Umm at around 9:30."

"Do you think that Missy killed Christine that night?"

"No I really don't. She is not a killer."

"But she and Christine were the only ones home and there was a knife in Christine's chest."

"Missy is afraid of knives. She has always been. It started when she accidentally cut herself when she was chopping onions. Ever since, she had never touched a knife. That's why we always had Chrisy make dinner."

"Where was Christine when you got home?"

"She was in the bathroom finishing her shower."

"Did you and Christine get along?"

"Absolutely! We all did. Me and Chrisy looked like twins. We both had auburn hair and white skin. We shared clothes constantly and were about the same height. Chrisy was about 2 inches shorter though. We loved hanging out together. She was also like my sister. Missy and I used to wonder why Chrisy was with a jerk like Mick. He treated her so poorly."

"How did they treat your boyfriend?"

"They were both really nice to him. He and Chrisy really got along. Missy was a little quieter around him."

"Thank you Ms. Lynn. There will be no further questions."

"I have no questions for Ms. Lynn, your honor. I would like to call Mick Benson to the bench." Rory said.

Bethany stood up and walked back to where her family was sitting. Mick was called from another sound proof waiting room and walked to the court room. He also took the oath and then sat down comfortably on the bench. Rory stood up with her notes in her hand and exhaled a breath.

"Mr. Benson, when did you arrive at Christine, Bethany and Missy's apartment on the night that Christine was killed?"

"I don't know, it was around 9:30, I guess."

"And why did you go there, especially after Christine broke up with you?"

"I wanted to ask for her forgiveness."

"When you got to her house, describe what happened."

"Well, I walked in and found Missy on the ground, covered in Christine's blood with a knife in Chrisy's heart."

"What was Christine wearing?"

"She was wearing a shirt and some pants."

"Was her hair wet at all?"

"No, it was perfectly dry."

"And you came in their apartment at 9:30?"

"Ya."

"But, if you did, Christine wouldn't have been able to get dressed and blow dry her hair in approximately 30 seconds.

"Umm…"

"Also Missy wasn't home until ten."

"Well…"

"Therefore I believe that when you came over to beg her forgiveness, you saw Bethany kissing James goodnight. Since they look alike, you thought that it was Christine and that made you angry. You loved Christine and got furious at the thought of her kissing someone else, so you snuck in through their window and waited for Bethany to leave. Then you saw Christine making Missy's dinner and you stabbed and killed her with a knife. After you killed her, you heard someone coming, so you ran back out through the window and entered through the front door pretending that you had just arrived.

"I didn't know that it was Beth." Mick blurted out.

"You didn't, did you? Rory said suspiciously.

No damn it, I didn't! How would you like it if your boyfriend, who you loved, broke up with you and you saw him kissing another girl? That's what I felt! I felt miserable without her and when I thought I saw her kissing another man, I was mad! So I killed her.

Mick instantly put his hands over his mouth and his eyes bulged out with horror.

"Oh My God!" Rory said as she turned to Colin, who said the same thing.

The Judge clapped his mallet down and told the security guards to take him away. Then he told Missy that she was able to go home. Missy ran up to Rory and hugged her.

"Thank you so much. I'm so glad you were here! Now one else wanted to take my case." Missy said.

"Sure." was all that Rory could say. She was still shocked that she had gotten a confession out of him.

"Tell Logan thank you for me!" Missy said before running over to her mom.

"What?" Rory asked utterly confused. How would she know about Logan.

Rory walked up to Colin, who was talking to Christine's father, and sat in her chair. Missy's words kept replaying in her mind. She started to listen in on Colin's conversation with Mr. Martin.

"That Logan is a fine fellow. Now you make sure you tell him how much we appreciate all of this." Mr. Martin told Colin.

"Of course Rick." Colin replied. "We were all just too happy to help."

"And excellent work Ms. Gilmore. Logan sure picks them good." Mr. Martin told Rory giving her a wink before walking away.

"Why does everyone walk away from me?" Rory said frustrated.

"What?" Colin replied, confused.

"How does Missy know Logan?"

"Huh?"

"Why did Rick say that they appreciated this? Why did you tell him that you were just too happy to help? And why did Rick say that Logan sure picks them good?"

"Rory stop, you're rambling again."

"Sorry."

"Look. Me, Logan and Finn went to high school with Chrisy in Switzerland. We were really good friends with her and her family. Then we went to Yale and she went to USC for college. She wanted to make it on her own without her family's help. When we heard that Chrisy died and that Missy was being blamed for it, we were all mortified. We knew that we had to do something. We tried to get lawyers for Missy's case but no one wanted it, because Michael Duncan, one of Connecticut's best lawyers, was against her.

"I'm no lawyer, why did you have me do it.?"

"I'm not finished! We knew that you needed a challenge to qualify for the induction so we had you do it since you are incredibly smart and have a way of digging up the truth. If by some chance, you didn't know what really happened, I being a law major would step in for you."

"Did you know Missy?"

"Not personally but Chrisy talked about her roommates a lot when we talked on the phone."

"Wow."

"Oh, and for that last question, I think you know why he said that. And if you don't, go ask Logan, I'm sure you can have him fill you in on some facts that you don't know." Colin said with a smirk.

A/N See that little button, Review!