The Nanny Part 39

"Believe me," said Nick. "Something's definitely happened to make her finish with him. It's too much of a coincidence. You mark my words."

Pippa looked at him as he drove and started to stroke the back of his head.

"Oh, you're so clever," she said. "I do love that in a man."

"Well of course," said Nick. "I'm in CID."

Precisely one hour later, Josh sprinted to the nursery, almost falling over his long legs with the effort.

Why had he been late all day? He didn't understand it, he'd done nothing, yet he'd been late for everything and the house looked so bad that if Zak came home just then he'd probably be distraught that he'd missed the burglars. Josh suddenly realized he hadn't eaten anything all day. It dawned on him that he'd never seen Jo have lunch, let alone take a lunch hour. Not only that but it felt like bedtime even though everything indicated to the contrary, such as his watch and the daylight. When he finally arrived at the nursery, with a st.i.tch and low blood sugar, there was a big queue of women waiting. They all turned to stare at him. He tried to smile, but his st.i.tch was so bad it came out as a grimace. The women turned away again. He wanted to ask them questions. How did they fit eating into their daily schedule? How did they get there on time? Every day? How did they keep their clothes so spotless? Would they-could they-teach him?

When Pippa ambled beside him, looking like a Timotei ad, he was overjoyed.

"h.e.l.lo!" he cried. "Have you spoken to-have you seen-how are you?"

"Hi!" she beamed. "What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?"

"Oh, just looking after the kids. Took some time off work. Otherwise, Vanessa might have to get another nanny in."

"Oh!" exclaimed Pippa. "I see."

"And I know how much the kids love Jo," he rushed.

Pippa nodded. "You look absolutely awful."

"Thanks!" he said. "I feel absolutely awful."

A four-year-old hurtled off his scooter and landed in the fence beside them.

"So have you heard from Jo?" asked Josh, stepping away from the fence.

A mother in front of them finally flipped. "If you tell me one more time you're going swimming tomorrow," she told her six-year-old, "I'm not letting you go." Her six-year-old turned round and told someone else.

"Yes," said Pippa, "I spoke to her this morning."

"Oh yes? How is she?"

"Her mum's downstairs and her talking's really improved, so they're just waiting for her to be able to walk upstairs and get to the toilet."

"And how...and how is Jo? She seemed a bit stressed when she left. I mean-"

"Well, she is a bit upset."

"Why?"

"Well, because of Shaun."

"Why? What's happened with Shaun?"

Pippa nudged him forward, and Josh suddenly found himself at the front of the row facing a Montessori teacher with an expression that told him talking would no longer be tolerated. He smiled warily at her.

"Name?"

"Josh."

"We don't have a Josh."

Pippa stepped nearer. "Tallulah," she helped. "And Georgiana."

"Oh I see!" grinned Josh. "Sorry. I'm Josh."

"I'll just check," said the teacher, unimpressed.

Josh turned to Pippa. "I'm definitely Josh," he said.

"I know, sweetie. She's gone to get Tallulah."

Tallulah was duly fetched. She came out with a small smile on her face.

"h.e.l.lo, Josh."

"h.e.l.lo, Tallulah."

Georgiana followed her and walked toward Pippa.

"h.e.l.lo, sweet pea."

"h.e.l.lo, Pippa, I painted a fish," said Georgiana, presenting Pippa with a picture of a something between a shark and an elephant.

"That's wonderful, darling," enthused Pippa. She grinned at Josh. "Well, I guess I'll see you-"

"Have you got time for coffee?"

She grinned. "Yeah! Why not?"

Josh turned to Tallulah. "Would you like that, Tallulah?"

Tallulah turned thoughtfully to Georgiana.

"Can I be the girl this time?"

"No," said Georgiana. "You have to be the boy because you're taller than me and you have darker hair than me."

Tallulah looked up at Josh.

"No thank you, Josh," she said quietly. "I'd rather go home, if you don't mind."

"Oh. Right." He turned to Georgiana. "Oh go on," he coaxed the little girl, "let Tallulah be the girl."

Georgiana ignored him. "Where's my baby brother?" she asked suddenly.

Pippa blinked.

"Oh dear. He's in Nick's car," she whispered. She looked at Josh.

"Josh, can we make that another time?"

"Yeah-yeah, of course."

Pippa grabbed Georgiana's hand and fled without a glance back. Josh watched her go.

After a moment, he felt a small hand slip into his and grip it firmly. He looked down and saw Tallulah. He knelt to her height.

"She says I'm like a boy," Tallulah explained in a very small voice, "because I haven't got hair like her."

"Well I don't think you're like a boy, gorgeous."

Tallulah gave him a slow grin and then, overcome by sudden shyness, dipped her head and looked up at him through her bangs.

"Oh yes," he said, squeezing her hand tight and kissing the top of her head. "You are all woman."

Nick and Gerry sat in their car, waiting for a call on the radio.

"So," said Gerry. "Jo's a free agent then, is she?"

Nick nodded through his hamburger.

"I think you owe me some money, my friend." Gerry smiled.

Nick finished his mouthful. "Apparently, she's not free for the reason you put the bet on."

"Oh yes? Go on, Nicholas. I am all ears."

"It turns out," said Nick, finishing his lunch, "that she just realized she wasn't in love with her boyfriend anymore."

Gerry let out a honk. "Yeah right," he said.

Nick turned to his friend. "You seem admirably confident, if I may say so."

"Well, my friend, it's my firm belief that she's just putting what politicians call a 'spin' on it."

"Gerrard," said Nick, "I love you like a brother, but I don't want to see you making a p.r.i.c.k of yourself. Hard as it may be for us to fathom it, I don't think she fancies you."

"Convince me."

"She told her closest friend she doesn't. And girls tell their friends everything."

Gerry stared at Nick in dismay. "Call yourself a policeman?" he cried. "I'm disappointed in you, Nicholas."

"Why?"

Gerry resettled himself in his seat, facing Nick. "She's hardly going to tell her best friend she does fancy me, is she?"

"No," said Nick. "Because she doesn't."

Gerry sighed dramatically and shook his head. "No, because she knows her best friend would tell you, and you would tell me. And that would make her look keen. And the whole point of the chase is that the woman is not meant to be keen. Otherwise, there's no chase." Gerry tutted. "Honestly, Nicholas, you're meant to be in CID."

Nick shook his head.

"I believe Pippa on this one."

"Rule number one. Don't believe a woman who has intimate knowledge of Mr. Squiggly. Rule number two, look at the evidence, not at what's coming out of the suspect's mouth."

"Mr. Squiggly?"

"Evidence: She's finished with her boyfriend of six years right after meeting me."

Nick was silent.

"And she went on a date with me."

"Where you didn't so much as cop a feel. No pun intended."

"She was still someone's girlfriend then," explained Gerry. "She's a loyal la.s.s; I like that in a girl."

Nick was silent.

"I'm telling you," said Gerry, "there's a chemistry there. She's the one who went all, 'Oh, I'm a stranger in a strange land,'" he mimicked. "'Look after me, you big burly policeman.'"

Nick smiled. "That was an uncanny impersonation, Gerrard. Sounded just like Julie Andrews."

"Nicholas. I am on her tail. And what a tail, if I may say so."

"You may."

"And, let's not forget, my good friend, that if it wasn't for her 'Ooh, and your friends can meet my friends blah blah blah' you wouldn't have even met Pippa. So aside from the fact that you owe me big-time, the least you could do is support me on this."

They sat in silence for a while.

Gerry was the first to notice the atrocious smell, but he didn't want to mention it. When it got unbearable, he turned to see where it was coming from.

"Jesus Christ," he whispered.

Nick followed his gaze.

"Not quite," he muttered. "h.e.l.lo, Sebastian James."

Later that day, Pippa phoned Jo. "You'll never guess who I met at nursery today," she said.