Page 82 of Murder on the Upper East Side

Hannah’s breath caught. She nodded along while Elle laid out the details of Theo’s senior year pact with Madison. ‘She made me believe – madeeveryonebelieve – that it had been Teddie in those bedroom shots with Gemma. Then when I still hadn’t ended things, she manipulated him into breaking up with me.’

When she was done, Elle’s eyes shone. She studied Hannah’s face. ‘But you knew all that, didn’t you?’

Hannah flinched. ‘Most of it. They were arguing at Madison’s after-prom party. I overheard.’

‘And you didn’t say a word.’

Hannah sighed. ‘I’m sorry. You deserved to know the truth, but Madison threatened to make Ami’s life hell for the next two years, and you know she was serious. I had to look out for my little sister.’

Elle gave her a tight smile. ‘I get it. I probably wouldn’t have told me either.’

Hannah returned her smile, then Elle’s eyes hardened again, and the moment passed.

‘Anyway, I was furious with Madison. All this time, she’d let me believe Gemma Phipps was responsible for destroying my planned-to-perfection future with Teddie.Wewere supposed to be the Queen and King of New York – not Madison and Henry. But it was never Gemma. Dating a Fitzgerald gave me a serious edge, and Madison couldn’t stand it.’

‘Theo said more or less the same, that night at the party.’

‘Teddie’s a smart boy.’ Her voice was bitter.

A knot formed in Hannah’s stomach. Elle had arrived at the Lenox Club tonight furious with Madison, and so had Theo. He’d been so convincing when they’d spoken earlier, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility that the two of them had planned her murder together. She shifted, tucking her legs beneath her. Maybe allowing herself to be led into this closet hadn’t been the brightest idea.

She drew in a deep, calming breath. Elle’s motive was crystal clear, but something told Hannah to trust her anyway. If Elle had murdered Madison, there would be no reason for her to choose Hannah as her confessor, and Elle was still Elle. Most likely, there was another reason she’d finally decided to open up.Elle wanted something.

Hannah straightened. Time was ticking away; she had to take control of the conversation and bring things back to Mr Harris before Elle revealed her true purpose.

‘Theo said something else that night, at the after-prom party. He accused Madison of breaking their pact. He said he knew she’d been in a secret relationship all spring, and she didn’t deny it. Alex knew too; he was sure it was someone at Prescott, but he didn’t know who Madison had been seeing.’

Elle rested the back of her head against the cabinet door. ‘Oh, that.’

So shedidknow. Hannah leaned in, her face close to Elle’s. If she was going to get the information she needed, she’d have to lay all her cards on the table. ‘It was Mr Harris, wasn’t it? Madison’s secret boyfriend.’

Elle keeled over in laughter, sending Hannah reeling back. Her hands hit the floor behind her, and she caught herself. Elle was laughing so hard tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

What the fuck?Hannah’s brows narrowed. A relationship between a student and a teacher was unethical at best, traumatising at worst. Did Elle think it was some kind of joke?

Finally, Elle recovered enough to sit up straight again. ‘Sorry, but no.’ She swiped at her eyes. ‘Madison hated Mr Harris, and he hated her right back. You were there, you saw them in class. There’s no way they were secretly screwing around.’

‘It would have been a pretty good act, if they’d wanted to keep their affair a secret,’ Hannah challenged.

Elle shrugged. ‘I guess, but still no. Madisonwasdating someone senior year, but it definitely wasn’t Mr Harris.’

‘Who then?’

Elle pressed her lips together.

Hannah pushed. ‘Elle, come on. This could be important. SomeonemurderedMadison, in case you’ve forgotten.’

‘Oh fine, but Madison’s high school romance had nothing to do with tonight’s events. Spring of senior year, Madison and Beatrice got together. They were cute. I knew, and Bash knew. No one else.’

Hannah’s eyes widened as her mind reeled back to that spring. She’d asked if Beatrice was dating someone, and she’d told Hannah in no uncertain terms that it was none of her business. Which had been true! Inwardly, she cringed at the decade-old memory.

‘And Madison kept it a secret because she didn’t want it to get out that she was dating a girl?’ Hannah asked.

Elle shook her head. ‘I thought so, at the time. But it was only a secret because she couldn’t let Teddie find out she was breaking their pact. She wasn’t willing to take the risk that Teddie and I would get back together.’

‘Christ, okay…’

‘Beatrice didn’t get it, though. She wanted to go public, and Madison wouldn’t let her. Beatrice was really hurt, and eventually, she broke it off. A couple of weeks before graduation.’