Page 43 of Murder on the Upper East Side

‘Nice one.’ Bash pointed across the courtyard. From behind the coffee cart and crêpe truck, red and grey smoke swirled in slow motion up to the sky.

Theo pulled out his phone and started filming, as did Nick Von Kassel, Hannah’s primary competitor in the bean bag toss. It was beautiful – a viral moment sure to be memorialised onThe Upper Edge– but the parents and teachers were exchanging concerned looks. She caught Mr Harris’s eye, and he gave her aquick, worried smile. Clearly, this hadn’t been in the plans for the Founder’s Fair.

‘Good prank.’ Theo returned his phone to his pocket. ‘Haven’t seen that one before.’

A gust of wind sent booth liners flapping, and Hannah reached down to zip up her coat. Just then, a sharp yell pierced the courtyard, then another.

‘What the—?’ Theo started to ask.

Hannah grabbed his hand – Theo’s skin was warm, despite the cold day, and a tingle ran up her spine – and pulled him in the direction of the smoke. They arrived to find two of the canisters had tipped in the wind, sending fumes into the nearby art booth. The students selling totes and art prints poured out, coughing. A girl Hannah recognised as a sophomore – Cherry, or Sherrie – was doubled over, hacking.

‘Where’s your inhaler?’ another girl asked, tugging at Cherry or Sherrie’s Hermès handbag. ‘She’s asthmatic,’ she said to Ms Briar, who knelt beside them. Her voice quavered, and her trembling fingers struggled with the clasp. ‘It’s normally in her bag.’

A few tense moments followed, but then the inhaler was located in an inside pocket, Cherry or Sherrie recovered, and Ms Briar guided the girls away from the smoke. Hannah breathed out – and then her eyes landed on Ami. Her little sister stood in the space where the a cappella troupe had been earlier, arms crossed tightly across her chest, mouth pinched. Her scarf still hung limply around her neck, and if she’d put on another layer, it was invisible.

Ami met Hannah’s eyes, and a look of panic flashed across her sister’s face.

Wait. Had Ami…

‘Please don’t tell,’ she mouthed, and it struck Hannah that she was shaking.

Well, hell.So Ami had been behind the smoke display – a viral moment gone wrong. Hannah bit down on the inside of her cheek. She should have seen this coming. Hannah would graduate in a few months, but Ami had two more years left at Prescott. She was desperate to fit in, to make her mark. For days, she’d talked Hannah’s ear off about Founder’s Day traditions of yore, most of which she’d sourced from conversations with Alex DuPont. Hannah had tuned her out when she should have done the opposite. Maybe she could have put a stop to this before it started. The prank must have taken days to plan.

Hannah took a step towards her sister, but then the wind gusted again, and more canisters tipped. Tears stung Hannah’s eyes, and Theo grabbed her hand, sending another tingle shooting up her spine. They hadn’t had a real conversation since that night at the Lenox Club, but the spark she’d felt then was still there, smouldering. If things were different… She allowed herself to be pulled to the school doors as the courtyard exploded in chaos – students liberating urns from the coffee cart and dousing the canisters, others running, others filming, parents chasing after younger children, and teachers shouting for everyone to evacuate the courtyard.Immediately.

The Founder’s Fair was officially over.

Inside, Hannah sank down on the entry hall’s herringbone oak floor, eyes still stinging, and looked around for her sister. Ami was nowhere.

Her phone buzzed. Grace.

Hannah, hello? You promised me live footage from Old Rich Men Day and my phone has been suspiciously silent for hours. It is seventeen degrees and grey here, and I need a good laugh!

Hannah jammed her phone back in her bag. It wasn’t the first text from Grace she’d ignored lately, but cackling together over Prescott gossip didn’t hold quite the same appeal as it had at the start of the year. Especially since the latest drama was all about Ami.

‘You all right?’ Theo asked.

She nodded, swiping away tears.Goddamnit, Ami.

‘Just a little smoke in my eyes.’ She gave Theo a big smile.

Hannah leaned the back of her head against the wall, feeling queasy. She’d keep her sister’s secret, would protect Ami to the best of her ability. But sooner or later, Ami was going to push things too far, and Hannah wouldn’t be there to catch her.

16Saturday, 13 June 2026

1:08am

Ten minutes following their return from the Cabot Room, Hannah hovered at the bar, waiting for a seat to open up. Another drink would be a mistake, but she could use a cold glass of water. In a club chair near the fireplace, Theo was doing his best to comfort a sobbing Alice St Clair. On the mantel above the fireplace, the cheery burst of summer greenery looked out of place. Theo exchanged a quick, miserable glance with Hannah, then gave Alice’s back another stiff pat.

Hannah stifled a giggle. It wasn’t funny, not really. Madison was dead, and emotions were running high, especially as the night got longer and exhaustion settled across the club. But if Madison had graced Alice with so much as a like on Instagram since their graduation nearly ten years ago, Hannah would be shocked. Her crying jags – this was the third Hannah recalled witnessing so far tonight – seemed a bit overthe top. Then again, people handled grief in all sorts of different ways. Maybe she was being uncharitable. Or maybe Alice was performing for the benefit of her fellow guests…

Before Hannah could explore that line of thinking any further, Edward strode purposefully across the lounge, headed directly for Theo. With a withering look at the still-sobbing Alice, he clasped Theo’s shoulder and motioned to the stairs. It must be Theo’s turn to speak to the detectives. Hannah’s stomach clenched.

Shit.

Without a doubt, she’d had fun with Theo tonight. But she’d lost valuable time she should have spent investigating, and sleeping with him had been, quite possibly, a fatal error. Her gaze strayed to his back, retreating up the stairwell. She’d learned nothing more about Elle, and if Theo told the detectives that she’d had a crush on him in senior year, it would only bolster their case against her. The outsider looking in, wanting Madison’s friendship and Elle’s boyfriend, but getting neither.

Sleeping with him would look equally desperate, if spun the wrong way. Hannah Miller at twenty-seven, still trying to fit in where she doesn’t belong. Still trying to win the boy. Still nursing her high school wounds.And, if taken to its logical conclusion, acting out her darkest revenge fantasy against the woman who once made her life miserable.