“It wouldn’t have been the first time.”
“She had lovers?”
Phoebe smiled at him over the rim of her glass. “You make her sound as though she’s a character in a Victorian novel, Mr. Allon. I can assure you, love had very little to do with Alice’s occasional extracurricular activities.”
“Was she involved with one of your classmates from Cambridge, a Swiss banker named Peter Hoffmann?”
“Peter? Heavens no. But why do you ask?”
“They bumped into one another at a beach café the day after you and Alice had your quarrel.”
“She didn’t mention it. But then again we weren’t on speaking terms.”
A silence descended over the table. Phoebe’s gaze lingered for a moment on Peel, who took the opportunity to pose his first question. “Did you know that Alice had an auto accident not long ago?”
“She told me that a tree leapt from the forest near Wickham House and hurled itself in front of her brand-new Aston Martin roadster. Why Edward bought it for her is beyond me. Alice was an absolute terror behind the wheel of a car.”
“Did she happen to tell youwhyshe was behind the wheel of a car at two fifteen in the morning?”
“Evidently she and Edward had a terrible row.”
“About what?”
“She wouldn’t say. But I had the impression it was serious.”
“Why?”
“Because after the accident, Alice became very distant. I’m afraid our falling-out was a long time coming. The fight over the bill at that restaurant was the last straw.”
“Edward was under the impression it had to do with Alice’s social media habit.”
“That was round two. But the fight started when I attempted to pay for our dinner. Alice wouldn’t hear of it.”
“She always paid?”
Phoebe nodded. “It could be annoying at times, but I couldn’t afford to live in her world. As you probably know, Mr. Allon, relief work isn’t exactly lucrative. We survive on the kindness of strangers.”
“Donors, you mean?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel handed her the story fromThe Times. “Like the one who gave you a million pounds?”
“The largest single donation in the history of Global Relief UK,” she said.
“How was it delivered?”
“The Secret Sharer. It’s an anonymous donor platform based in The Hague. The donor transfers the money to the platform, and the platform forwards it to us.”
“And if I were to ask the Secret Sharer to reveal the identity of the donor?”
“In all likelihood they don’t know it. Most anonymous donors act through an attorney or some other go-between.”
“And what about the large donations that were made to the other relief organizations?”
“They all came through the Secret Sharer.”
“Same donor?”
