Page 83 of Murder on the Upper East Side

Maybe her Mr Harris theory was dead in the water,but there was still something here. Madisonhadbeen in a relationship she’d kept secret, on her terms. Was Beatrice still angry with Madison all these years later?

‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Elle said, interrupting Hannah’s train of thought. ‘But Beatrice moved on years ago. She’s engaged to Swan Aduba now – the singer? Anyway, you’ve got it all wrong.’

‘Then tell me. What did you learn from the detectives?Do you know who killed Madison?’

Elle stretched out her legs and crossed them at the ankles. ‘I saw him, with my own eyes, following her down the hall to the ladies’ room.’

‘Who?’

‘He was wearing that tacky emerald green jacket. The lights were out, but even in the darkness, you could see it shimmering in the hall. It stood out like a sore thumb.’

Hannah felt herself go still. ‘Oliver?’

Elle nodded. ‘The detectives got multiple reports tonight. A man in an emerald green tux walking down the hallway towards the restrooms just after the lights went out. They didn’t ask you about it?’

Hannah shook her head. ‘I spoke to them first, remember? No one would have tipped them off yet.’

‘Right, well. They asked me more questions about you and Oliver Morgan than they did about me. Their investigation is narrowing – but they must not have enough to make an arrest. Which I guess is good for you.’

Slowly, Hannah shook her head. It was norevelation that she was still a person of interest – but Oliver? Something about this didn’t feel right. Sure, maybe Oliver had been walking down the hall after Madison – to the men’s room. His presence in her vicinity shortly before her murder was entirely circumstantial. It held no more water than Hannah speaking to Madison minutes before she died.

‘But why would Oliver kill her?’ Hannah asked. ‘Yes, she made his life miserable at Prescott, but she made lots of lives miserable back then. Oliver’s moved on. He’s doing fantastically well for himself now. I truly don’t think he gives two shits about Madison DuPont.’

Elle tilted her head to one side. ‘You and Oliver stayed close, right? Do youreallynot know about what went down on Henry’s campaign?’

Hannah shrugged. ‘Oliver did some videography for Henry. That’s all he told me. Frankly, I thought everything between Oliver and Madison was water under the bridge.’

‘Hardly. Madison got him fired.’

‘Fired?’ That’s not what Oliver had said earlier.I recorded a couple of 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.

Elle continued. ‘She told Henry they didn’t need “new money trash tainting his campaign”. Classic Mads. But there was more to it. I can’t get into the details, but suffice to say that prior to RichardBeaumont’s death,beforeBash’s takeover of the company, Richard and Henry were involved in something illicit. Madison was terrified that the scandal would break and Winslow’s name would come out. So she blackmailed Bash.’

Hannah’s mind clicked and whirred. Elle was being deliberately vague, but she could fill in the missing pieces from the conversation she’d overheard earlier in the night. Bash’s words came crashing back.I vowed that this time, I wouldn’t let Madison win.

‘Except Bash wouldn’t stand for it,’ Elle said, confirming Hannah’s memory. ‘He refused to be blackmailed. Instead, he told Oliver everything.’

That made Hannah sit up straight. ‘Why?Bash and Oliver aren’t exactly chummy.’

‘No. But Oliver had the online platform to bury Henry, if Bash gave him the word. It was a calculated move on Bash’s part. Leverage against Madison.’

‘Okay, I’m following.’

‘Madison was positively apoplectic when she found out, of course,’ Elle went on. ‘She wasn’t about to let Oliver Morgan, of all people, hold a single scrap of power over her. So she demanded that Henry fire him, then she started a campaign to sabotage his YouTube channel. You may have noticed his follower count has taken a header in the past few weeks?’

Hannah shook her head. She hadn’t noticed, but then again, she paid as little attention as possible to that sort of thing. And Oliver hadn’t breathed a word about any of it.

‘When did you learn all this?’

‘Bash and I had a few little chats tonight.’

Hannah had eavesdropped on one of them, but clearly she’d missed a few key details. Still, she wasn’t convinced that any of this added up to Madison’s violent death.

‘Is that it?’ she asked. ‘I believe Oliver was angry with Madison. But murder, really?’

‘Yes, really!’ Elle’s eyes flashed.

Hannah gave her an appraising look. ‘If you want me to buy that Oliver killed Madison, you’re going to have to tell me everything he knew. Thedetails.’