Glimmer of Hope: A gripping psychological thriller novella with a nail-biting ending Read online

  Glimmer of Hope

  JA Andrews

  Glimmer of Hope © 2020 by JA Andrews. All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The author self-published an earlier version of this story titled Sordida in 2018. It has been re-edited, censored and rewritten in parts for suitability to mystery & psychological thrillers.

  Dedicated to Matt Chetwynd and Gary Mullen who have had to endure me rambling on about this book idea for some considerable time.

  Prologue

  The music in the nightclub was loud and consisted of nineties pop hits that Alecia hadn’t heard in years. She looked around the club while waiting for her work colleagues to arrive. They should have been here by 10 p.m. and they’re an hour late. Where are they? She thought, glancing at her watch. They knew we were meeting here.

  Alecia didn’t have much money. She’d drawn out fifty pounds from the cash machine on her way here and hoped that it would be enough to last the night. It wasn’t much for a decent night out, but with a few smiles in the right direction of a drunken man, then you never know how much he could end up buying.

  In the corner of the club, Alecia spotted an older man sat down in a booth with a much younger woman. She was draped all over him, but he looked twice her age.

  ‘I wonder what she sees in him?’ Alecia asked the barman, pointing in the direction of the couple. ‘He looks old enough to be her dad, don’t you think?’

  The barman laughed while he was putting away some glasses. He leaned forward.

  ‘That’s old Colin.’ The barman replied. ‘Cheeky old git has been coming in for years. That’s not his missus. He’s probably been clubbing since the war that one.’

  Alecia took another glance toward Colin, who had the table lined with bottles of drinks and shots. It was only the two of them. She wondered if they were expecting visitors. The female was laughing and rubbing his leg.

  ‘So, you know him?’ Alecia asked. ‘Why is the young woman with him then?’

  The barman laughed again.

  ‘She’s an escort. That’s why she’s with him.’ The barman responded. ‘He’s paying her for a good night out. Probably going to have a good time later if you know what I mean.’

  Alecia pulled a face but took another look to see his appearance. He wasn’t her type of man, but he did seem to be paying for everything. She didn’t want to keep looking over, but couldn’t help herself.

  ‘They’re ten a penny, online.’ The barman continued, wiping the glasses. ‘I’ve seen him in here some nights with a handful of women.’

  ‘Interesting.’ She replied, wondering if he would buy her drinks too. ‘I should try it sometime.’

  Alecia smiled and laughed with the barman, but the penny actually dropped. Moving to Westmouth since giving up her friends and family up north to start over again had been a difficult decision to make. The bedsit was small and damp, and looking for full-time work wasn’t easy. She worked part-time in a supermarket and it was as though nobody even wanted to really get to know her. It felt that because she wasn’t full-time and part of the clique, she wasn’t good enough to mingle with. Tonight’s drinks were meant to be someone’s leaving party. If only I was leaving, she hoped, I couldn’t care less if they don’t turn up at mine.

  Alecia’s phone buzzed. She picked it up out of her bag and read that all the women had gone to a different club.

  They did that deliberately, she wondered, to spite me.

  She couldn’t take her gaze off Colin and the escort. They looked like they needed some help with all those drinks. Alecia had an idea. She plastered on her fake smile, walked over and introduced herself.

  ‘I don’t suppose I could sit down for two minutes, could I?’ Alecia asked, looking into his eyes, giving him that soft smile of hers. ‘My boyfriend has stood me up.’

  Alecia knew that it was an excellent story to go with. It always worked when she was on holiday and needed someone to buy her an extra drink.

  ‘Sure, take a shot if you like?’ Colin asked. ‘Stay with us?’

  Alecia nodded. She looked at the escort who didn’t seem to have any issues. Her gold necklace, gold bracelet and expensive watch was a sign someone was paying her very well.

  I could easily do this kind of work, Alecia thought, I know I could use the extra money.

  That night, an idea was born.

  1

  Jake was nervous, but still shaking a little while unsure if he could continue with everything he had carefully planned. Women in his life seemed to come and go. He struggled often to hold down a steady relationship, but had accepted that being single now was an unavoidable stage in his life. Meeting Alecia had given him new hope.

  In his mind, it was all worked out, but actually looking at her and watching her every move made him unsure for a moment if he should be so honest. He always trusted his gut instinct and she seemed really friendly. There was a delicate fragility about her.

  He turned to face Alecia who appeared innocent with her gazing stare and pristine looks. He would have described her as perfect because she was everything he needed at this moment. She was beautiful, with an edge to her. Something about Alecia made her stand out from all the others he had tried talking to. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He knew he had made the right choice. She also looked better in real life than her profile picture; something you don’t often see with all the filters out there.

  The awkward silence between them was becoming less noticeable. Alecia sat opposite him, scrutinising his appearance with her legs crossed, while eager to understand his complicated lifestyle. Not once did she look bored even if he was droning on for longer than she expected. There were times she was lonely too and Jake was breaking up the day for her. They had a mutual understanding.

  ‘Relationships are all about compromise, but with emotions involved, it then becomes a sacrifice.’ Jake explained with a lack of expression on his face. ‘My life has been a series of complicated coincidences combined with what you could call bad fate.’

  Alecia looked across the room at him to analyse his body language. Her eyes bulged slightly and her nostrils flared as the annoyance of his repetitiveness was grating on her. Keep it together, she thought, I can handle this for a few more minutes.

  Although the need for professionalism and confidence with her clients there seemed to be physical evidence to support his claims of depression. The lack of expression in his responses, coupled with the short burst of rocking movements on the chair was enough to show her that his conditions, as described by him, were accurate. He was nervous, yet twitchy, but he interested her. He wasn’t as dirty or sleazy as she was expecting. He seemed harmless.

  Alecia Preen was intrigued by how a decent looking guy with an average body seemed such a hit with women over forty by the accounts of his sexual history. He certainly didn’t have model looks or abs of steel, but she too appreciated that he had a certain charm about him. Jake was mysterious. He had a nice voice too. He was manly and it was one of his better qualities.

  Ja
ke wasn’t her usual type of guy which was an older rugged build man with more muscles to show than personality. She’d had her fair share of bad boys over the years and enough one night stands that never amounted to anything more serious. Jake presented himself as an eccentric individual that paid well for her services, so she was sure to be pleased one way or another.

  ‘Why don’t you begin to tell me about the first time you experienced the swingers club, Mr Parker?’ Alecia asked. ‘Can you please tell me from the very beginning because it will help me to understand perhaps why you feel the way you do now?’

  Jake looked at her, knowing that she wanted a truthful answer. He had used a few witty one-liners to mask his insecurities when answering the personal introduction on himself. Still, he wasn’t much of an overconfident guy due to liking his privacy.

  ‘If I really have to. You might not be comfortable with it.’ Jake replied, starting to feel a little excited that he had now built up to this confession. ‘It all started with a random night out clubbing. I thought I should try to go out and meet somebody. I remember being miserable about being single and all the usual nobody wants me crap I use to self-torture my mind. All of my mates now seemed to be married and starting to settle down with their lives, which made me feel left behind in life. The swingers club experience that night though was nothing more than just curiosity.’

  Jake took a gasp of air to calm the onset of a potential attack of nerves. He looked down for a few seconds and reminded himself to start at the beginning like Alecia had asked.

  ‘I suppose I went out that night, Miss Preen because I had been in quite a low place mentally with my depression. I wanted to get pissed out of my face to be brutally honest with you. There’s no other explanation because I was bored.’

  ‘It’s fine, Jake. You can call me Alecia, because Preen sounds too official for my liking. I have one question, though. How did you go from the night club and into a swingers club? I wouldn’t have you down as the type of guy who would stumble into a sexual environment like that?’

  Jake was taken back by her questioning and responses. Was she assuming he wasn’t confident or daring enough? She was being paid to listen, not ask endless amounts of questions.

  ‘I met a woman called Kerry at the bar. She was about forty-five, and we got chatting, well we were both mostly moaning about our lives over a drink together. She smiled at me every time I spoke, which kept me interested. I might not be forthcoming with the chat up lines, but I didn’t want to leave her on her own. I thought I might have been in with a chance. You know, a one-off maybe. We connected.’

  Jake took another deep breath before continuing. He watched as Alecia looked lost with his confessions. He needed air. The window in this small room wasn’t open and he was beginning to feel like he couldn’t breathe. He was nervous and shy.

  ‘Kerry stumbled closer and wrapped her arms around me. I’m not full of the falling from heaven, come here often lines, but a little drunk myself now, she whispered into my ear if I had somewhere we could both go together for a one night stand.’ Jake continued to confess all. ‘She was extremely forward and it was intimidating to start with. I’m not used to women approaching me first with that level of confidence. I had also clocked the wedding ring glistening away on her finger.’

  ‘She didn’t take you home to meet her husband, did she?’ Alecia gasped. ‘Did you end up having a threesome, you dirty man?’

  ‘In a funny kind of way that is kind of exactly what she did. I met her husband by the end of the evening, and it all was a bit overwhelming.’ Jake answered, now leaning closer towards her. ‘Nothing was exactly making much sense at the time, but I decided to go with the flow of things. Some of it is just a vague memory now.’

  Jake paused for a minute as the memories came flooding back. He could see how eager Alecia was and pleased she interested. He had won her attention.

  ‘Kerry told me she knew a nice place we could go to. She told me that she was desperate for some male attention. Knowing how horny I was at the time, it felt rude to say no. I remember specifically saying to her that if she knew of somewhere to go, then I would gladly follow her outside. I did think it would initially be just behind the bins at the back of the club. Nothing too fancy because we were both clearly desperate for each other. I wanted her, and she wanted me.’

  Alecia laughed so hard she could barely breathe. It looked unprofessional, but she couldn’t stop herself. She wasn’t expecting this information to flow this way.

  ‘Forgive me if I’m coming across as unprofessional.’ Alecia replied, holding back the laughter now to compose herself better. ‘I’ll give you a small discount on my fee today. It’s unacceptable of me. Please, forget that happened.’

  Jake nodded and smiled back.

  ‘Don’t worry about that, the laughter that is, not the discount. I’m not offended in any way. I’d laugh too sat in your position. I don’t mind.’

  Jake got himself into a more comfortable position on the couch. He then spent the next few minutes explaining how Kerry had initiated the first move in taking him somewhere they could have sex.

  ‘What a journey that was too,’ Jake explained, as he proceeded to continue with the session. ‘We got into a taxi and it was around thirty minutes before we ended up on what seemed a secluded little estate in the middle of nowhere. I could see business units in the distance and sobered up a little by the time I stumbled out of the cab. We drove down a dark, tight lane that had trees surrounding each side of the road for a considerable distance.’

  ‘So, was this how you got to the swingers club?’ Alecia asked. ‘You were basically taken there in a taxi?’

  ‘Yes, I was unaware at the time as I was looking around for a house or a block of flats. All the business units on this estate were closed, obviously due to the hour that it was at the time.’ Jake replied. ‘I remember a gated entrance and a very modern-looking futuristic building. So square, like the whole design was some penthouse suite with a cheap-looking neon sign lit at the front.’

  Jake started to tremble a little with the nerves. Talking about it was difficult. These were things he had kept to himself. It was not easy discussing intimate details of his encounters, but Alecia took it all in her stride. She was a true professional and he knew he was on to a winner with her.

  She was exactly what he needed right now.

  2

  Alecia looked down at her watch. She has been here an hour already. Bloody hurry up, she thought, you’re draining me of energy, and I’m getting bored.

  She looked back up again from her watch, hoping that Jake was unable to read her mind. For the last couple of minutes, he continued to sound repetitive, but this was a paid job, so she had to go along with it. The more he talked, the more she wanted him to finish. She was desperate to get back home.

  ‘What did the sign say?’ Alecia asked, holding back her yawning so not to offend. ‘Do you mind if I cut today’s session short, I’ll take some money off the price, or we could add more time on our next session?’

  ‘I don’t mind.’ Jake said, looking a bit bewildered as he contemplated offering more money for her to stay even longer. ‘The sign said in the brightest bold white lettering ever – Sordida.’

  ‘Sounds a bit Spanish. Like the title of a song.’ Alecia replied. ‘Although for a swingers club, I would have expected something dirtier than that. Doesn’t have that much of a pornographic ring to it.’

  Jake nodded at her.

  ‘I was excited and confused by my surroundings because I’d never done anything like this before. Kerry took hold of my hand and led me up to the steps to the entrance. I remember a red carpet on the outside leading up to the door with a security guy outside. As I walked through, everything else around me, including the fixtures and fittings was completely white. White floor tiles, a white check-in desk, white seating and a white door. It was a clean white hallway that looked like some lavish hotel for millionaires. A huge white framed mirror hung in the centre
with a rack of coats in the corner. In my mind, I thought I had been taken to the entrance of heaven since the gleaming whiteness of everything was blinding.’

  Jake took a few sips of water to calm himself and straighten his posture. He was shaking a little less, but there was more of the evening to tell. Jake hoped that Alecia was hungry for more details.

  ‘After Kerry had paraded me all around the lounge club, which was like those suited and booted nights on a cruise holiday, she introduced me to a few other women.’ Jake continued. ‘Although, I can hardly remember what they even looked like now, let alone their names. It seemed like she was very well known. We walked up a flight of stairs that took me into a room with a sauna, showers, jacuzzi and steam room to resemble an expensive spa. Then finally I was taken to the third floor, which consisted of some private rooms.’

  ‘At what point did you meet her husband?’ Alecia asked. ‘You stated earlier that she took you to meet him. I thought you had a threesome?’

  ‘This is where it all got a bit screwed up.’ Jake replied. ‘I remember being taken to a room and in the centre was a huge queen size bed. By this point in the evening, I was desperate to sleep with her. Literally, I needed some relief. Kerry and I were finally alone, we were drunk and my head was spinning. I could see myself in each of the mirrors that were on every wall. The room was very red with plush cushions, all in red velvet. Everything was perfectly coordinated.’

  Alecia nodded, desperately wanting more information as today's session started to get more interesting. She’d never heard of anything like it before.

  ‘Kerry had gone to the en-suite bathroom, and while she was in there, I stripped off my clothing, then sprawled out across the bed naked.’ Jake continued. ‘As horny as I was at the time, the alcohol had taken its toll on me a bit. Kerry had then appeared from the bathroom fully naked with some condoms in her hand, and she too got onto the bed. I hadn’t even realised what was going on around me. Not even at that point.’