‘But I would say that Charles hated any sort of direct confrontation,’ Bergman added.

Jane looked up from her notebook. The red light on Bergman’s phone was blinking furiously. She was trying to make sense of what he had just said, but before she could put anything into words, Spencer asked Bergman about his relationship with Justine Harris. For the first time, Bergman became animated.

‘She was an abusive alcoholic and made Charles’s life hell. Before the divorce she would come into the office and cause trouble, throwing all sorts of accusations around. One time, I was just leaving when she appeared, and I told her that her presence was unacceptable.’ He opened his mouth and tapped a tooth. ‘She punched me in the face so hard that she knocked this tooth out. I fell down the staircase.’ He shrugged. ‘I hope that answers your question.’

Spencer stood up. ‘Thank you for your time. I hope we haven’t inconvenienced you too much. And if we do need to talk to you again, we will obviously give you prior warning.’

They left Bergman’s office as his phone started ringing. By now both Spencer and Jane were feeling exhausted.

‘Do you think we should have a talk to the new guy, Simon Quinn, before we go?’

Jane suggested they leave it for another time as they still needed to see Foxley’s office. By rights it should have been first on their agenda. As they crossed back towards the reception area, Angie walked past with her arms full of manila envelopes.

‘That poor cow,’ Rita explained, shaking her head sadly. ‘She’s only been here a couple of weeks. They never last more than a few months with him. He’s a nasty little sod. But this time it was Angie’s fault because some scripts had been delivered and she put them in the wrong place.’

Jane looked at her watch. ‘We just need to have a look at Mr. Foxley’s office.’

‘Oh right, it’s up the corridor, next to Mr. Myers’.’