Page 66 of Murder on the Upper East Side

‘The painting means nothing,’ Madison was saying, her voice a low hiss. ‘She’s taunting you.’

‘It’s not like that.’ Bash’s voice was thick withwhiskey. The night was still young, but this clearly wasn’t his first. ‘What Elle and I have—’

‘Is meaningless,’ Madison cut in. ‘In a few months, Elle will be at Harvard. She’s going places, while you, my dear, are headed back to Prescott this fall.’

‘That’s a lie,’ Bash snarled. ‘You’ve been spending too much time onThe Upper Edge.’

Hannah eased herself into a seated position on the flagstone, back to the sofa. From the bar cart, Beatrice narrowed her eyes, and Ethan leaned so far forward, trying desperately to listen, he looked like he was about to tumble out of his chair.

‘I don’t get my information from vapid gossip accounts. I have it on good authority from Harris that your first draft was the laziest, most derivative garbage he’d seen in Prescott history.’

Hannah frowned. Had Mr Harrisreallydiscussed another student’s paper with Madison? She was an expert in getting what she wanted, in and outside Prescott walls, but it still seemed unlikely. And when Hannah thought about it, Madison’s words were nothing more than a twist on what Beatrice had shared with them only moments ago. A crueller version, to be sure, but that was Madison’s way. When they’d been talking to Beatrice, Madison had defended Bash, but now here she was, tearing him down.

‘Forget Elle,’ Madison was saying. ‘She has her sights set higher than you.’

Hannah mulled Madison’s words over. Perhaps it was very simple. Beneath all their sniping and powergames, Madison loved her best friend. When she believed Theo had been cheating, she’d encouraged Elle to break up with him. Now, sensing something romantic brewing between Bash and Elle, she was trying to put a stop to a union of which she didn’t approve, before it got started.

‘I have things under control,’ Bash snapped. ‘With Harris, and with Elle.’

‘Maybe with Harris,’ Madison quipped. ‘I suppose everyone has their price. But don’t delude yourself – Elle is a queen, and she’ll never touch the wares half of Prescott has sampled. You’re not her type.’

Bash stood abruptly, and the sofa back slammed into Hannah’s head. She clasped a hand to her mouth to stifle a surprised yelp as Bash stalked away from Madison and the fire pit. Silently, Hannah stood and brushed off her dress, hoping she’d escaped their notice.

She needn’t have worried. At that moment, everyone’s eyes were trained on the street-facing side of the deck, where Tyler Marsden stood on the narrow lip of the wall, arms extended, walking it like a tightrope. Hannah’s hand flew back to her mouth. They were two storeys above East 73rd Street, below them nothing but hard concrete.

She’d assumed Bash had made a sudden exit from the Madison tête-à-tête because he’d felt angry and attacked, and while surely that was true, she now recognised the real reason for his hasty departure.

‘Getthe fuckdown from there, Tyler!’

Tyler looked at Bash, startled. ‘It’s all good. We’re just having some fun.’

Bash’s voice was low, deadly serious. ‘I said get down.Now.’

Tyler shrugged and hopped off the wall. ‘Chill, okay. I’m an athlete. I have excellent balance.’

‘Go fuck your balance,’ Bash hissed. ‘We’re not insured for guest use on the roof. If you take a header, it’s my ass on the line. Now get out.’

‘What?’ Tyler looked taken aback.

‘Everyone!’ Bash screamed, his face turning red in the lantern light. ‘Get the fuck off my roof,now!’

For a moment, everyone was silent, frozen. Bash’s words hung in the air.

Hannah sucked in a sharp breath. Then, almost in unison, the entire party rose and hurried to the door.

24Saturday, 13 June 2026

4:14am

When Beatrice had vanished down the second-floor hall, headed to the Caraway Room, Edward returned to prowling the club’s first floor, taking his deputised role as NYPD errand boy with a touch too much solemnity for someone who was also a suspect, Hannah thought. She looked around, waiting for her moment to slip upstairs after Elle and Bash. Ami had found a plush throw and was dozing on a library armchair. Alex paced the length of the lounge. At one of the dining tables, a game of gin rummy had broken out. All around, guests were dozing or drinking.

Perhaps Elle and Bash had gone up to the roof, the most private part of the club. Hannah could still clearly picture Tyler Marsden teetering on the low wall, a shit-eating grin on his face.Fucking idiot.

Or even more likely, they were in the MacAllister Room. It had been Bash’s preferred place to hole upsenior year. Now, a thousand bucks said Bash and Elle were holed up there, together. Maybe they’d gone off to take advantage of an empty room in the same way she and Theo had earlier tonight. But there was another possibility. Perhaps Elle and Bash intended to discuss their friend’s murder, away from the eyes and ears of the party – and the cops. If it was the latter, she needed to hear what was being said.

Hannah paused, considering her next move. Earlier, when Theo had opened the cabinet door to lift a brass key from its hook, no one had batted an eye. He wasn’t a Beaumont, but he was Bash’s best friend. A regular fixture at the Lenox Club and practically family. Hannah, on the other hand, was very much an outsider here. There was no way in hell she’d get away with snagging a room key without raising suspicion from Edward or the cops.

Reluctantly, she surveyed the club until she spotted Theo in the dining room, hand on a window curtain he’d pulled aside, staring out onto the nighttime sidewalk. She walked over and placed a hand on his elbow.