What the Nanny Saw Read Online Free PDF

that.”
    “I want to talk with you openly, Ali,” said Felix, looking serious.
    “I’m not for sale.”
    “What do you think I want from you?”
    “I think you want to pump me for information that you can use to sell more copies of your newspaper,” said Ali. “I think you want to use your relationship with the Skinners to further your own interests and make a fast buck along the way. Or you’re going to try to persuade me to sell my side of the story to the highest bidder.”
    “I’m not Max Clifford,” Felix protested, stirring his own tea so vigorously that it slopped over the side into the saucer and splattered the front of his T-shirt. He didn’t seem to notice. “I don’t do those kind of stories. I cover financial news, the economy, business, the stock market. I work for a broadsheet, not a tabloid.”
    “It was your newspaper that had the photograph of them dressed up in Greek costumes that I took in Corfu,” said Ali accusingly. “You’re all the same.”
    “I didn’t steal that photograph,” said Felix. “Lots of newspapers had it.”
    “Then how do you know it’s missing?” Ali accused him.
    “Because Bryony told me,” he said. “Look, I know it’s difficult to know who to trust at the moment, and I’m not asking you to trust me. What I want to know is if I can trust you.”
    Ali looked up and frowned at him. He had one of those perennially youthful faces where it looked as though a toddler had etched in the wrinkles as a jokey afterthought. His cheeks were ruddy, alcohol rather than fresh air, Ali thought, and he had an almost girlish bow mouth the same shade as his cheeks. His face was embarrassingly open, as though he retained a childlike innocence that made it impossible to conceive of him doing anything duplicitous. It was as if he had been designed to be as unthreatening as possible. As someone used to being the keeper of other people’s secrets, Ali recognized a kindred spirit.
    “This isn’t a ploy. I’m not that complicated. If I was more Machiavellian I might have ended up marrying Bryony,” he said, reading her mind. “It’s because I still care about her that I’ve asked you to meet me.”
    “I’m not sure how I can help.”
    “Do you understand what is going on? Do you understand the nature of the accusations against Nick?”
    “I think he’s been accused of corruption and his finances are being investigated by the Financial Services Authority, and it all has something to do with what’s going on with all those banks at the moment.”
    “A good summary.” He paused. “Do you know that there are all sorts of rumors about Bryony and Nick swirling around London? There are people digging around for stories. Looking for corpses.”
    “What sort of stories?”
    “They’re trying to build a picture of how all this could have happened. Do you have any theories? What could have led a man to make such a catastrophic series of judgments that were so contrary to his essentially cautious nature? Did you notice anything was wrong? Did he seem imbalanced in any way?” Ali rested her elbow on the table, hand on chin, adopting her most thoughtful pose.
    “Nothing ever feels quite right when you move in with someone else’s family,” she began. Felix put up his hand.
    “That sounds like a well-rehearsed response. If you can’t give me more than that, then I might as well leave now. Do you understand how serious this all is?”
    “Look, sometimes you think things are odd for the wrong reasons. What I mean is that your instincts are right but your conclusions are wrong. Also, you have to remember that I come from a very different world, so the things that I found strange might be perfectly logical to someone from their background.”
    “I want to be completely candid with you, Ali, because you are the only person in a position to help here.” The furrows in Felix’s face deepened until he looked so anxious that Ali thought he might be about to cry.
    “What’s