Page 31 of High Society

At just after ten p.m., Simon sits behind the electronic keyboard in his home studio, aimlessly tapping the B-sharp key. He sat down hours ago determined to write a song, or if not a whole one, then at least a chorus or a few bars. But the longer he stares at the keys, the deeper his resignation grows. Not only does he not have a new song in him today, he doubts he will ever write another. Not one good enough to share with the world, anyway.

Writing hits used to be almost as easy as breathing. Sometimes, when they were recording a new album, and Jeremy handed him a page of scribbled lyrics, Simon would compose a new tune in his head before he’d finished reading the last line. But he’s too old and too broken for that kind of inspiration anymore. Besides, Jeremy is too dead.

When his phone dings with a new text, Simon is relieved for the distraction. He looks down to see that Baljit has launched a new group chat with three letters: OMG. Below it, she sends a link to a local news story. It was posted only minutes before.

“Oh, fuck,” Simon mutters as he reads the headline: “Jang Heiress Found Dead.”

The article describes multiple 911 calls from a luxury condo building in Newport at around nine p.m. A woman was pronounced dead at the scene after having presumably jumped from the balcony of her eleventh-floor penthouse. The police haven’t released the victim’s name, but multiple eyewitnesses confirmed her to be Justine Jang.

New texts roll up the screen.

Salvador:JJ DOVE OFF HER OWN BALCONY? WTF?!?

Baljit:She wasn’t right at the group session this morning. Nothing like her chatty self!

Salvador:RIGHT?! Same when I texted her earlier tonight. Could barely squeeze two words out of her.

Baljit:Texted her about what??

Salvador:The after party for my upcoming show. She offered to help.

Reese:JJ and I were supposed to get together tonight. But I had an eleventh-hour crisis on a file at work.

Salvador:Shit happens, Reese.

Reese:But maybe if I’d called her to cancel instead of only texting…?

Baljit:What? You’d have told her not to jump?

Salvador:OUCH! Colder than ice, B!

Baljit:Like any of us could have seen this coming?

Reese:Poor JJ. She was never the same after Elaine’s OD.

Salvador:100%!! It totally freaked her out… Can’t believe she’s gone. What now?

Baljit:What do you mean?

Salvador:What happens to the tribe? And Dr. Danvers?

Liisa:How could we continue after this?

Reese:Not even sure I want to continue.

Baljit:Me, too. I’m a gambler, but two out of seven dead… Even I don’t like those odds.

Simon can’t help but think of his last conversation with JJ. All her suspicions about Elaine’s death.

Simon:I spoke to JJ earlier, too.

Reese:You saw her?

Salvador:WTF, SIMON??

Simon worries that they’ll think he tossed her off the balcony.

Simon:I didn’t see her! I phoned her! After our session. I was concerned about her.

Liisa:What did she say?

Simon:She was acting weird. Asked me if I thought Elaine’s death was suss.

Salvador:SUSS??

Liisa:What does that even mean?

Simon:Like could someone else have overdosed Elaine to make it look accidental.

Baljit:Come on!

Simon:Gets even weirder. JJ thought Dr. D suspected she was involved.

Salvador:JJ thought Dr. Danvers overdosed Elaine??

Simon:No! Other way around. She worried Dr. D suspected her of being involved.

Reese:That makes zero sense.

Simon:Agreed! I asked JJ if she knew something we didn’t about the night Elaine OD’d. But she basically hung up on me.

Baljit:Could JJ have been involved? Might explain why she was acting so bizarre.

Reese:JJ? As if!

Baljit:Something made her jump. Maybe she fell off the wagon?

Liisa:It’s a big stretch to go from falling off the wagon to falling off your balcony.

Simon:A roadie in my band used to get suicidal whenever he drank too much. Rest of us used to joke about it. Until the night he put a bullet through the back of his skull.

Salvador:WHOA! Can we ease up on the carnage and conspiracy theories?

Baljit:Should we meet to discuss?

All the others reply with yeses or thumbs-up emojis.

Simon stares at the screen, half expecting Baljit to add: And then there were five.