Page 57 of Murder on the Upper East Side

‘Like I said, it was nice when she left Prescott.Quiet.Not to speak ill of the dead, but honestly,before tonight I hadn’t given darling Madison a passing thought in years.’

‘Oh bullshit.’ Oliver rested his arm on the bar, leaning across Hannah towards Ethan. ‘Weallknow that’s not true. And you were at the big to-do announcing Winslow’s campaign this spring. I saw you rubbing elbows withdarling Madison.’

Ethan dismissed it with a shrug. ‘Henry’s father worked with my uncle for years. I wasn’t there for Madison.’

‘Admit it,’ Oliver pressed. ‘You’re as obsessed as you ever were. More even. I saw your latest—’

The bartender placed a fresh tumbler in front of Ethan, and Oliver shut his mouth. Hannah eyed the bourbon longingly, but ordered a ginger ale.

‘That’sbullshit,’ Ethan countered. ‘You and Madison were never friends. She despised you. What wereyoueven doing at the campaign announcement? Maybe you’re the one who’s still obsessed.’

Hannah shrank back, caught in the middle – literally and figuratively. This wasn’t exactly how she’d planned for her chat with Ethan to play out, but Oliver was on a roll now.

‘To the contrary. I was there because I was hired to be, by the Winslow campaign, as a videographer. Madison had nothing to do with it.’

‘You’re working for the Winslow campaign?’ she asked, surprised. Oliver’s politics were far left of Henry Alcott Winslow’s last time she’d checked.

‘Oh, not really.’ Oliver flapped his hand dismissively.‘YouTube keeps me busy enough. I did a couple of events, but it was just a favour. Our politics don’t mix, but there’s a history.’

Ethan leaned in. ‘Youknow the Winslows?’

Oliver shrugged. ‘A little. Henry is one of Morgan Row’s many high-end clients, has been for ages. My mother assisted him in the purchase of a new condo a few years back, and he guested on my channel. This was before he and Madison began seeing each other, of course. Anyway, I recorded a couple of campaign events for Henry, then I found him a full-time videographer. I really don’t have the time for gig work these days – and I certainly don’t need the money.’

Hannah stifled a smirk in her ginger ale. Oliver’s bluster was clearly for Ethan’s benefit, but it was still extremely cringe.

‘Excuse me.’ She pushed back her barstool and slid down to the floor. ‘Ethan, lovely catching up, but I’m afraid I need to visit the ladies’ room.’ Leaving her shoes where they were, beneath the bar, she headed in the direction of the open bathrooms off the dining room. Shedidneed to use the facilities, but mostly, she’d gotten all she was going to get out of Ethan Astor with Oliver there ‘helping’.

On her way out of the restroom, Hannah ran almost headlong into Bruno Alvarez, who was exiting the men’s room directly opposite.

‘Oh!’ he said, startled. ‘Hannah.’

‘Bruno.’

‘I’ll just be…’ He made a vague gesture towards the bar.

‘Actually.’ She reached out and snagged his sleeve. Bruno was dressed in a navy tux, although the jacket had been long since discarded. His collar was unbuttoned, and he’d rolled his sleeves halfway up his forearms. Hannah noticed he’d also ditched his dress shoes for a pair of Lenox Club slippers. His hair was still long – longer, actually, than it had been in high school – and his face was dusted with carefully manicured scruff. He was more handsome than Hannah had remembered, and a good six inches taller.

He looked down at her, something she couldn’t quite read in his eyes.

‘Can we talk for a moment?’ she asked. ‘About Ethan?’

Bruno’s eyes travelled to the bar, where Ethan was still sitting, sipping his bourbon. Oliver had gone, and she wondered where to.

‘I don’t know…’ He was leaning almost imperceptibly away from her.

‘Sorry,’ she said, removing her fingers from his sleeve. ‘Let me start over. Nice to see you, I know it’s been ages. Also, I didn’t kill Madison. Now, can we talk?’

Bruno’s shoulders relaxed, and a smile tugged at his lips. ‘Fine.’ He motioned her to a long table at the back of the dining room, far from the platters that had been laid out. A plaque hung on the wall above, designating this table as the Augustus Willem LenoxHonorary Table, and Hannah wondered idly what Bash’s great-great-grandfather would think of a murder in his supper club.

‘I was just catching up with Ethan,’ she began, ‘and he mentioned you’d fallen out of touch.’

‘Is that how he put it?’ Bruno gave a sharp laugh. ‘When Will and I got engaged, Ethan completely stopped speaking to me. We hadn’t been together in seven or eight years at that point, but he was jealous. We’d stayed friends, but I had no idea he still thought about me that way. We’d both been in other relationships. Honestly, it weirded me out a bit.’

Almost imperceptibly, he shivered.

‘You’re sure it was jealousy? Maybe he just doesn’t like Will.’

‘No.’ Bruno shook his head. ‘I’d been with Will for years at this point. They’d hung out. Everything was fine until we got engaged. I think… deep down, I think Ethan always thought we’d find our way back to each other someday. Did you know he blamed Madison for our breakup?’