She sighed. ‘That’s normal in this business, I’m afraid. Charles had an astonishing ability to spot raw talent, by that I mean he could go to an amateur production or an end-of-term production at RADA and he would know intuitively which one of these hopefuls had the potential to be a star. But once they become successful, that’s when the problems start, and they quickly go from being grateful to wanting more. That’s when dissatisfaction and even bitterness can go alongside success, and that’s when things can go wrong. Innumerable times, Charles made a star out of a nobody, and the next thing, they’re alcoholics and unable to be on a film set, and he has to start doing damage control.’

Her eyes watered as she swiveled around in her desk chair and pulled a tissue from a box.

‘I’m sorry. I’m finding this very difficult. I’m still hardly able to believe that Charles has gone, and in such a terrible way.’

Spencer nodded. ‘I do understand. If you’d rather, we can return at another time. But it would be really helpful if we could ask just a few more questions.’

She sniffed and blinked her eyes. ‘It’s fine. Go ahead.’

‘Do you know anyone who had a motive for killing Mr. Foxley?’

Jane noticed that Emma’s right foot had started twitching.

‘I really can’t think of anyone who would want to hurt him. I mean, obviously we have to deal with a lot of people being disappointed – you know, an actor losing a big role, a director being fired from a film, a writer’s work being discarded. But I can’t think anyone like that would want Charles . . . dead.’

‘What about his wife?’ Spencer asked.

Emma sat bolt upright. ‘I’m not prepared to say anything against Justine. Yes, she used to get very emotional because she still loved Charles after the divorce. She was jealous at times, but I think she was also very sad, because he was not an easy man to love.’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Jane asked.

‘Just what I said. He wasn’t an easy man. He could be annoying and devious, but at the same time he was also an astute businessman – he had to be.’

Before she could continue, Jane interrupted. ‘Was Foxley also a womanizer?’

Emma pursed her lips. ‘I suppose you could say that. He was a very attractive man and, in his position, he could be a bit of a magnet.’

‘We have to look into the possibility that he was having an affair with a married woman and there could be a jealous husband,’ Jane continued. ‘So if you know about anybody . . . ’