Page 45 of Murder on the Upper East Side

Oliver caught the bartender’s eye and ordered an Empire Mule.

‘Senior year, he got pretty steamed at Madison when she accused him of driving the knife deeper into Elle’s heart over winter break. Remember?’

Her eyes fluttered closed. She could picture the Prescott entry hall, its gleaming herringbone floors, and Madison striding through the doors in her fox fur coat. She’d thrown a series of barbs at Theo until he’d snapped.

‘I remember,’ she said finally. ‘His temper flared a couple of times that year, always at Madison, always because she’d go for the jugular.’

Oliver took a slug of his drink. ‘Maybe that’s what he meant.’ He scooted his barstool even closer. ‘You know they just had a falling out, right?’

She raised her glass to her lips, trying to keep her hands from shaking. ‘What falling out?’

Oliver’s eyes sparkled. ‘You really don’t follow anyone from Prescott on socials, do you?’

‘I follow your YouTube account.’ She gave him a smile. ‘But no, generally not. Honestly, I had my fill of online gossip in high school.’

Oliver laughed. ‘Fair, but you’re missing out on all the fun. Our former classmates stay being messy AF.’

Hannah laughed in spite of herself. ‘So what went down between Madison and Theo?’

Oliver cracked his knuckles and settled back on his stool. ‘In a nutshell, Madison had a long-standing brand partnership with Concord Hospitality on Insta.’

Hannah nodded. Following his graduation from Princeton, Theo had joined his parents in running the Fitzgerald family’s elite restaurant group. This much she knew.

‘Theo’s become quite the philanthropist in recent years,’ Oliver continued. ‘He’s forever posting about the latest organisation he’s supporting, always something about ending world hunger, blah blah.’

‘Oliver!’

He rolled his eyes. ‘Whatever. It’s an important cause, I get that. He’s just sosanctimoniousabout it. Like, does he really care?’

She shrugged. ‘Maybe he does. Anyway, what does this have to do with Madison’s brand partnership with the Fitzgerald family business?’

‘I’m getting to that. Earlier this year, Theo announced he was starting his own foundation, a charitable arm of Concord. Rich kids ending hunger in urban areasor something.’ He flapped his hand. ‘I’m sure it’ll be great.’

‘And Madison’s partnership with Concord Hospitality was meant to bring publicity to Theo’s fledgling foundation?’

‘Big time. Except three weeks ago, the day after her hubby’s news dropped, she announced that the Sinclair Group, a longtime competitor of Concord Hospitality, would be catering all of Winslow’s mayoral campaign events.’

Hannah mulled over his words. ‘So Madison ditched Concord for the Sinclair Group?’

He nodded. ‘Precisely. George Sinclair was Winslow’s classmate at Regis, so it’s not exactly a surprise they’d toss Theo out like last week’s maki rolls. Madison swore on socials that the decision was strictly business, but it was obvious that Theo took it to heart. “Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimised by Regina George,” amIright? Anyway, he posted that Madison’s decision was selfish and short-sighted, then immediately deleted the post. But not before a zillion people screenshot it. They haven’t been on speaking terms since.’

Hannah forced down another sip of water. She’d spent the better part of the last two hours with Theodore Fitzgerald, and he hadn’t breathed a word to her about his feud with Madison.Had she just slept with a killer?

She pushed her glass to the side, feeling ill. ‘Thanks, that’s useful context to have.’

Hannah spun around on her stool, eyes sweeping the club. Theo wasn’t back yet. Elle sat stiffly with Beatrice in the dining room, both looking like they wished they were scrolling on their phones. A small group of Prescott teachers and school officials were clustered together in the library: Ms Caldwell, Mr Harris, Ms Briar, and two women in their mid-twenties she didn’t recognise. Probably new teachers. They weren’t exactly smiling and laughing, but they seemed to be making the most out of the strange, unsettling evening – chatting, sharing an open bottle of rosé. Probably wishing they were far away from their former students and the old drama that had culminated in an alarmingly violent crime.

At the far end of the library was Ami, feet curled up on an armchair, book open in her lap. It struck her that she’d barely seen her little sister since Hannah had been pulled upstairs to speak with the detectives, which was probably mostly her own fault. She’d been more than a little preoccupied.

‘Excuse me,’ she murmured to Oliver. ‘I need to take some notes while everything’s still fresh, and I should probably catch up with Ami.’

‘Of course.’ He grinned. ‘Let me know when I can be of more help.’ Then he turned and busied himself with the bowl of nuts, sorting the pecans onto his napkin.

Moments later, Hannah placed her hand on Ami’s shoulder. ‘I need to show you something.’

She guided her little sister over to the reading nook, then tugged on the spine of the bronze book to open the door.

‘Pretty cool, right?’ she said when they’d both stepped inside the small vacant room and settled on the chaise, door closed behind them.