said Cotton. “We spoke with Gwynyth extensively yesterday—as the ex-wife she merited special attention. Sad that being an ex-spouse always makes one the prime suspect, what? Still, why don’t you have a word with her, Max, once we’ve finished with Simon?” “All right, I will,” said Max. “As to Simon, perhaps as an in-law, he’ll have a slightly different perspective from the rest. What can you tell me about him?” “He’s husband number three for Jocasta.” Cotton settled back in his desk chair, elbows resting on the leather arms. “The other two were divorced in a firestorm of publicity, but this union seems to be holding. In the case of the second husband, it was something to do with a secretary (him) and a personal trainer (her). Simon, her number three, is an actor—I should say former actor. She met him somewhere in her travels across the vast reaches of America when she was trying to reestablish a stage career. I call him a former actor because he seems to have stopped appearing in thespian delights only marginally more obscure than Jocasta’s own.
