Emma shook her head, looking fiercely at Jane. ‘I refuse to speak ill of Charles at this terrible time. You can ask other people about his sexual habits if you like, but I simply worked alongside him. And I admired him. I find this very upsetting. I don’t want to say any more.’

‘There’s just one more thing, Miss Ransom,’ Jane said. ‘I understand that Mr. Foxley had an appointments diary?’

‘Yes, we all do. Most of us leave our diaries on our desks when we leave the office, in case when we are out at an appointment something needs to be checked. Charles also has a secretary who keeps a record of his appointments . . . ’ She paused, then corrected herself. ‘Julia Summers was his secretary. I believe she is visiting a sick relative in Devon at the moment. I’m going to have to tell her the terrible news.’

Emma stood up and opened the office door, leaving Spencer and Jane no option but to leave. She closed the door behind them. As they passed the internal window, Jane glanced through and saw Emma plucking more tissues from the box.

The shrill sounds of phones ringing echoed down the corridor as they now headed towards Laura Queen’s office. Laura Queen was an altogether different type of woman from Emma Ransom. She was petite, with glorious, naturally curly auburn hair, perfectly made-up, wearing a flattering black dress and high-heeled Prada wedges. Her office had a large window and along the windowsill were flowering orchids. There was also an orchid in a beautiful glass bowl on her stylish, pale wood desk with drawers either side. On the opposite wall were shelves filled with books and numerous photographs of well-known actors. There was quite a high desk chair and two pale blue velvet easy chairs.

‘Please do sit down. Can I offer you a tea or a coffee?’ Laura had a sweet, soft voice.

‘We’ve already had some, thanks. And thank you for giving us your time,’ Spencer said.

Jane took over. ‘We need to ask you a few rather personal questions about Charles Foxley. We’ve already had a great deal of help from Mr. Myers, and also Miss Ransom.’

When she heard Emma’s name, Laura’s eyebrows lifted. ‘I’m surprised she looked up from her Vogue to give you any time at all,’ she said sarcastically, then waved her hand with her long pale pink nails. ‘I’m sorry, that must sound awful, but Charles was always making a joke of it. Sometimes he would stand in the corridor outside her window and say, “My God, she’s already halfway through Tatler and it’s only ten!” But he was actually very fond of her. I was obviously deeply shocked to hear that he has been murdered – I can’t even take the reality of it in yet.’

‘Did you see him on the Monday morning?’ Jane asked.