we might be able to match it. But this would only give us a lead; nothing more conclusive.'
Disappointed, the team had little to do but continue covering old ground. There was nothing new to work on apart from trying to trace the advert Louise Pennel might have answered. They had so far been unsuccessful, despite contacting virtually every newspaper and magazine, not helped by the fact that they did not know the exact wording; all they could do was to check out anyone advertising for a PA on or around 16 May.
That night Anna couldn't sleep; the call to Reynolds kept on replaying in her mind. They all knew that they were clutching at straws, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this latest contact had to be significant.
The next morning, Anna called Sharon and asked if she would be available to meet. She was evasive and said she had an appointment at nine-fifteen, but would more than likely be at home beforehand.
Anna was outside her flat by nine but when she rang the doorbell, she got no reply. Frustrated, she kept her hand on the bell, but Sharon did not appear. She was just turning away when the door opened.
'She's not in.'
The woman was wearing a tweed skirt and pink twinset with a string of pearls. 'She left about five minutes ago.'
Anna showed her ID and asked who she was speaking to.
'I'm Coral Jenkins; I live on the ground floor.'
'Ah yes, you must be the landlady.'
'Yes; I did get a note to say someone from the police wished to talk to me, but I've been away at my sister's; she's been ill.'
'That was from me. I am DI Anna Travis.'
'I know what it's about. Sharon told me what had happened to her flatmate; it was a shock, not that I knew her. Do you want to come in? I can talk to you now: I don't go to work until eleven today.'
Anna was led into the ground-floor flat which was crammed with antique furniture.
Mrs Jenkins noticed Anna looking round. 'I run an antique stall in Alfie's Market over in Paddington.'
Anna smiled. 'I can tell you have some lovely pieces.'
'I had a lot more, but I had a very unpleasant divorce. I used to live over in St John's Wood but I had to sell the house to pay him off. It was a lump settlement, so I bought this place. It was already divided up into flats so I didn't have to do anything to it, and it's close to my work.'
The woman hardly draws breath, Anna thought. 'Mrs Jenkins, you say Sharon told you about Louise Pennel?'
'Oh yes, terrible, just terrible. I wasn't here, you see. My sister was ill so I had to go to Bradford, just after it happened, I think. Of course I read about it in the papers but I didn't recognise her from the photograph. I didn't pay it much attention, so many terrible things happen.'
Anna interrupted. 'Mrs Jenkins, did you ever see anyone with Louise?'
'I didn't really know her. I know she lived in the top flat. I only allow two to share up there: it's very small.'
'I know you don't allow visitors to stay.'
'House rule: they know when they move in. Reason is, these young girls get a steady boyfriend and the next minute, they've moved them in as well! So, I make it very obvious from the start: no overnight boyfriend full stop. If they want to do whatever they do, they can go and stay with them. Sharon has a new girl renting with her, and I told her straight away—'
'Mrs Jenkins!' Anna was now impatient. 'Did you ever see Louise Pennel with a man friend?'
'He rang the wrong bell once; quite a while back when she had just moved in, and so I answered the door.'
'So you did see a man with Louise?'
'No dear, I said I never saw them together. I saw him, just the once. He rang my bell by mistake, so I answered the door.' Mrs Jenkins got up and crossed to the window. 'I have a clear view of the road outside, but you can't see someone if they're standing close to the front door.'
Anna could feel her heart pounding. 'Can you describe this man?'
'I had no more than two words with him. I didn't think it was a boyfriend, to be honest; he might have been a relative.'
'What did he look like?'
'Oh, now you're asking; well, he was tall, maybe six foot, slim build, very well dressed, very refined voice. He had on a long dark coat, I remember that, but I doubt if I'd recognise him again. He called here for her a couple of times; never rang my bell again though. He used to ring her bell and then go back to his car.'
'What make of car was it?'
'Oh I don't know. It was black, very polished, but I don't know the make of it; nowadays the expensive ones all look alike to me, but it could have been a Mercedes or a BMW
Anna opened her briefcase and brought out the sketch of the suspect wanted in the Black Dahlia case. 'Did he look like this?'
Mrs Jenkins stared at the drawing, then frowned. 'I don't think he had a moustache, but yes, sort of thin- faced and with that hooked nose, but still good-looking.'
'When was the last time you saw him?'
'It would have been the day before I left for Bradford, so the eighth of January. He rang their bell. I looked out of the window, saw it was him and then heard her running down the stairs. She slammed the front door, a bit too hard for my liking, and went across the road and got into his car.'
'What time was this?'
'It was about nine-thirty; it was dark. They drove off.'
'Thank you. You have been very helpful. I really appreciate your time. If there is anything else you can recall, I would be most grateful if you would contact me.'
Anna sat in her car and called the Incident Room to relay what Mrs Jenkins had told her. As she finished her call, she saw Sharon hurrying along the road with a carton of milk and got out of her Mini. Sharon could not help but see her.
'Sorry, they cancelled the audition, but we was out of milk so I went to the shop.'
As Anna followed Sharon into the house, she saw the curtains at Mrs Jenkins's ground-floor window flick open and then close.
Sharon sat opposite Anna.
'The night before you went to Stringfellow's with Louise, were you at home?'
'No. I went to see a friend and I bought a dress from her.'
'So you wouldn't know if Louise had a date that night?'
'Not really; she was in when I got back. She was making herself a cup of tea and I showed her my dress. She was upset about something.'
'Do you know what she was upset about?'
'She'd been crying but she didn't say why; just went into her room and shut the door.'
Sharon leaned closer. 'I've got a new flatmate. She's very nice and I've not mentioned anything about Louise or what happened to her; well, she is sleeping in her bed.'
'I understand,' Anna said, without meaning it. 'Can you just run over the night you went to Stringfellow's with Louise?'
'I've told you all about it.'
'Yes, I know. Did you often go out together?'
'No.'
'So this night was unusual?'
'Yeah, I suppose so. She asked where I was going, so I told her and she said she'd like to come along, we'd been there a couple of times before, but not on a regular basis. I've been through all this, you know. Me and Louise were not close friends or anything like that; she didn't talk about herself that much.'
'Not even about this man she was seeing?'
