Our next case was about a priest who'd allegedly 'whacked' another priest in the head. It was quite the extravaganza. We'd gotten to court, which was quite a short proceeding, and then went back to the office to await the judge's decision on if they'd accept the plea he took, which was not guilty. Once at the office, I'd decided to take a break from studying which was terribly odd for me. I never stopped studying unless I was working. Instead, I went on my phone, and immediately felt useless and lazy. It grossed me out.
"How do people just sit here and go on electronics all day?' I grumbled.
"Who are you talking about?" Asked Connor, who was doing exactly what I was.
I raised my eyebrows at him. "No one in particular."
"Mhm."
When I looked up, Michaela was eyeing us, making me shift in my seat. "Any reason you're staring?"
"You two have gotten awful...clingy lately." She observed. "More than usual. If Connor were straight I'd wonder if you were screwing."
I blinked, looking at him. My heart raced a bit.
"So what if we were?" He shrugged.
She laughed. "You're gayer than gay."
'What if I told you we were together?" Connor asked.
I inhaled sharply, completely not expecting him to say something so incredibly soon.
She looked between the two of us once again. "Well, Leo isn't laughing, so can I assume you're not full of shit?"
He nodded.
"So you aren't gay?" She breathed.
"I don't know, okay. Fuck labels." He scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "All I know is that we're together now."
"Well...congrats." She said.
I blushed, looking at Connor who was grinning. She was the first person among the many we'd have to tell. Suddenly her phone buzzed and her attention went to it. "It's Bonnie. The judge accepted his not guilty plea, so we're gonna have to take a field trip. I'll go get Wes and Laurel.' She sat up, and walked to the kitchen.
I flung myself off the couch and straightened out my shirt. "I wasn't expecting you to say something so soon."
"Me either." He rubbed the nape of his neck nervously. "It just sort of happened."
"I'm happy it did.' I smiled. "Really."
"Me too." He smiled back and I held onto his arm. "You wanna drive me?"
"Why I'd be honored." He joked.
He went out the front door and I turned around, hearing footsteps behind me. Asher stood by the office doors, ringing his hands. He'd heard us.
A wave of guilt washed over me and I walked out the door, hurrying to Connor's car.
"I came around this pew here, and I see Father Bernard layin' there with his head cracked open. You never seen so much blood. The wall was sprayed with it. His bible, sittin' on the floor beside him, was practically floatin' in it...then I saw the thurible laying next to him on the ground." The man that first saw the dead body of the priest was recounting the events for us.
'Thurible?" Connor asked me.
"The murder weapon." I responded.
"Usually holds the incense, but that's what did him in..." The man sighed.
"According to what you told the police, Father Andrew was the first person you suspected." Bonnie stated.
"I'd heard 'em fighting all week. Father Andrew hoped to take over as head pastor once Father Bernard retired, but Father Bernard wasn't seeing it go that way." He shook his head sadly.
"Thank you for your time today. It was very helpful." Bonnie said sincerely.
"Of course. Any time." The man sighed, and walked away deeper into the church.
"I want you finding out about this Father Andrew guy, see if the students at the school hate him." Bonnie stated as we began to leave. "It's imperative we get a good angle here. Leorah, you have a mound of paperwork back at the office waiting for you.' She smiled at me.
I furrowed my eyebrows. 'Uh, okay."
Connor gave me an odd look and I shrugged. "So I'll go back with you then."
Michaela, Connor, and Asher went to their cars to the Catholic school, and I got into the car with Bonnie. "Why are you sticking me on paperwork duty?"
"I lied." She stated. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Oh. Alright. About what?" I asked happily, knowing I wouldn't have to sift through paper after paper...oh the horror.
"Are you and Connor...together?" She asked.
"Yeah." I nodded, a grin appearing on my face. "We are."
She smiled as well, but didn't break eye contact with the rode ahead of her. "I'm happy for you, Leo. I just wasn't expecting Connor to..."
"Yeah. Me either..." I shrugged. "Apparently I fit him like a glove."
"He said that?"
I nodded.
"Cute."
"Yeah. Is that all you wanted to ask me?" I asked.
"No. I mean, yes, but. I think I like Asher." She sputtered.
My eyes widened.
"That's why I asked you about Connor. I had to make sure you and Asher were finished before..."
"So that's why he took it so well." I chuckled. "He has a thing for you."
She sighed. "Are you upset?"
"Are you kidding? This is great. I was so scared he'd be angry, but now that I know you two are involved, I don't have to sweat about it!" I grinned.
She smiled lightly. "Good. That's good to hear..."
Later, Connor, Asher, and Michaela returned home to tell us all about how Father Andrew was supposedly a child molester. Annalise called him in, and was questioning him.
I believe an hour had passed, considering the sun had gone down, when Father Andrew left. Bonnie and Frank had gathered together some files, and Annalise came out to discuss what she'd heard with us.
"So we plead manslaughter instead of murder?" Michaela asked once Annalise was finished.
"We can't,' Annalise shook her head, "Father Andrew believes it's a sin to testify what Father Bernard said in the booth, and evidentiary law agrees with him."
"But it wasn't a sin to crack another priests skull open with a foreign object?" I raised a brow.
"No one's debating that murder is a sin, Ms. King. But apparently this is a bigger one. Without that piece of information, we can't convince a jury that it was manslaughter." Annalise responded to me.
"What about the 'thorn birds' angle? The miniseries? You know, Richard Chamberlain, he's a priest, get's down with his lady friend? It's pretty good." Connor smirked.
"Both Agnes and Father Andrew claim their relationship was platonic." Annalise stated.
"Well yeah, that's what I used to tell my parents and our neighbor, Cole." He scoffed.
"It's not an angle we can work right now. Keep thinking." She announced before walking off.
Asher stood. "Was I right? Or was I right? It all comes back to the diddlin' priests." He impersonated an Irish man.
"So, you're happy a boy was sexually abused and killed himself?" Michaela scoffed.
See, this is why I broke up with Asher.
"No," he shook his head, "I'm happy because I'm awesome sauce."
Annalise was seen hurriedly running out of the house with coat and purse in hand. I wasn't sure where she went but I also wasn't too sure I cared.
"Stupid priest." I muttered. "One way out ruins his reputation as being married to Jesus, and the other one is a 'sin'.' I rolled my eyes.
"What can you do." Asher shrugged.
"Nothing, I guess. There really is no other angle here." I scoffed, pushing the files away. "If he wants to ruin his life, why don't we just let him."
"Because Annalise doesn't like when her students give up." Michaela reminded.
"Wah freaking wah." I sighed.
"Are you okay?" Connor sat next to me, putting a hand to my face. "You must be feverish because you seriously did not just say those words."
I slapped his hand away.
"And now your abusing me...something's wrong." He said sarcastically.
"No, I-" I groaned, rubbing my face. "I'm just tired."
"Let's go home." Connor got up, grabbing his keys.
"What about the boss lady?" I asked.
"You're sick, feverish, aren't you?" Bonnie raised her eyebrows.
I pretended to cough. "Dear me. Must be that pesky flu, Connor you should take me home so I don't infect everyone else."
"But when you're actually sick you come here and hack all over everyone." Michaela raised her eyebrows.
I fake hacked and sent her a smile.
Connor laughed. "Let's go."
I decided to stay over at Connor's again. We were laying in his bed watching some stupid Lifetime movie when I felt his cold hand rest on my thigh. I felt my leg rise with goosebumps and I looked next to him. "What's wrong?"
"Why does something have to be wrong for me to touch my girlfriend?" He smiled.
"Nothing but it was pretty suggestive." I chuckled.
"Well." He lowered it down my thigh and I swallowed.
"Wait." I pressed my hand to his chest and pulled myself up so we were level. "Not yet."
He seemed to be a bit upset. "Too soon?"
"I just feel like a bit of a slut I guess." I muttered. "I mean...Asher and I...it wasn't that long ago that..."
"Asher Jr and Leo Jr were doing the frickle frack?" He smiled.
I nodded slowly. "I don't sleep around. I'm not that girl."
"I know you aren't. I don't see you like that, Leo, you know that. I'm more a slut then you would ever be. You're like, heavens angel."
"Well I wouldn't go that far." I laughed nervously.
"If you don't want to now, that's okay. I can wait for you." He kissed my head and pulled me closer. "I love you, so I can wait for you."
"Thanks." I smiled, snuggling into him.
Somehow, someone had convinced Agnes to testify that she and Father Andrew did indeed have relations. And that is exactly what she'd been doing until Father Andrew plead guilty for the very last time, and threw himself right in the slammer.
Me and Connor were walking out of the room when Michaela called us over to watch Wes and Laurel bicker.
"She's gonna freak out." Laurel whispered.
"Who's gonna freak out?" Michaela asked. "Rebecca?"
"What do you have to ask her?" Inquired Connor.
"Nothing..." Laurel tried to brush us off.
"If she killed Lila." Wes stated.
"Are you joking?" I mumbled.
"He doesn't know anything, he's-"
"She lied to me." Wes cut Laurel off. "She said she didn't know the guy who lived in my place before me, but she did and he saw her come home wet the night that Lila was killed."
"Wet?" Connor shook his head.
"From the water tank." Wes explained.
"We don't know that." Laurel scoffed.
"Rebecca said she didn't go looking for Lila at the sorority house, but there's an eyewitness who says he saw her there around the time Lila was killed."
"Yeah, but we proved Sam was there." I said.
"Maybe he wasn't though." Wes shrugged. "Rebecca could have been putting those coordinated on his computer that night."
"Which is just speculation." Laurel said.
"Where is she?" Michaela asked.
"No, we can't just go-"
"No! Where the hell is she?" Michaela demanded.
Wes shrugged. "She should be coming home tonight."
"So we go to Wes's and we wait for her." I stated.
"Let's do it." Michaela agreed.
"Guys, this is ridiculous." Laurel scoffed.
"No, it isn't." I said. "It sounds plausible to me. I don't know about everyone else..."
We all were left staring at Laurel, who was quite clearly out numbered.
"Fine." She sighed.
We were all grouped around the staircase when Rebecca got home. "What is this...?"
"We need to talk." Michaela stated.
We all entered Wes's apartment, sitting Rebecca on the bed, with the rest of us surrounding her.
"Spit it out Psycho, you killed Lila, right?" Connor spat. "And you played waitlist over her like-like some loser?"
"Played all of us." Michaela corrected.
"Why are you letting them do this?" Rebecca pleaded with Wes.
I stepped in front of him. "You don't get to manipulate him with your sad little looks, and your goth little puppy dog eyes. No, not anymore. So talk straight with us and stop beating around the damn bush."
"I'm not manipulating anyone." Rebecca scoffed.
"But you lied!" Connor stated. "You said you didn't know the Rudy guy."
"I didn't." Rebecca said.
"Then how come he ended up in a mental institution?" Laurel asked.
"How should I know!?"
"You do, though. You called the police on him the same night Lila died." Laurel pointed out.
"He was having a nervous breakdown."
"Or, a drug overdose. That was you, right?"
"Drugs don't make people crazy!"
"Yeah, but they can make you an unreliable witness in case your neighbor comes back from campus soaking wet the same night she had a fight with a girl who ended up dead in a water tank." Laurel spat.
"I mean this...Wes."
"No! Stop looking at him." I got closer to her and slapped the back of my hand across her face. "You ruined our lives! Our lives! Do you understand that? I was supposed to be bettering myself, making myself something because the rest of my horrible, terrible family is just trash. I was supposed to do something good with my life, but instead, you got all of my friends caught up in some shit show with the man that supposedly murdered your best friend, then I walk in, and I help chop him into pieces because I'm a witness now and my DNA is everywhere, and oh look at that, I have some kind of responsibility in it. We were supposed to have good lives." I yelled. "And you fucking ruined it the day you waltzed into Wes's. So now, you will tell us the truth. Every horrible fucking secret you swept under your rug that night that you haven't told anyone yet. I swear to G-d...if you don't...I will fucking destroy you. So tell us the truth. Did you kill Lila."
Rebecca was eyeing Wes, and in doing so, pissing me off.
"Answer the question." He said, teary eyed.
"I found the campus cop." She said after a few moments. "His name's Rodger Loftus. He was fired a couple days after Sam disappeared. Some sorority girls filed a report that he was stalking them. I'm guessing that was Annalise and Frank, right? They knew we couldn't have him around, or he might remember what he saw that night. So they made him go away. He had to move to Delaware to get a job. He works as a security guard at the Mega Super Shop. Guess that's why he never saw the news. Don't make me call him."
A few moments passed before I jumped her and slammed her against the wall, shocking everyone else. "Is anyone else going to help me tie her up, or am I alone?" I grappled with her, struggling to keep her against the wall.
Connor and Wes grabbed her while I ran for the duct tape and taped her wrists. She began screaming, so I taped her mouth. "Bathroom." I demanded. "Now."
I taped her to the tub and shut the door behind me. I sighed. "Someone call Annalise."
When she entered she peered around the room and I was staring at her intently. "What's going on?"
I sighed nervously, opening the bathroom door for her to peer in.