The Woman At The Door, Daniel Hurst [world best books to read TXT] 📗

trying because that will hopefully show that I haven’t done anything wrong and that I won’t give up on us no matter what.

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day, so I should probably have another go at trying to get some sleep. Shuffling back on the bed, I put my head on the pillow again and close my eyes, thinking about recent football results because that is one topic that won’t cause me any stress and should ensure I drift off quicker this time. Sure enough, it works, and I’m fast asleep a few minutes later, my intoxicated mind dreaming of all sorts of weird and wonderful things as it tends to do whenever I have consumed alcohol this late in the evening.

But one of the dreams quickly turns into a nightmare, and it’s because I see her standing in that doorway. Alexandra. The woman who started the nightmare when I was awake is now starting nightmares when I’m supposed to be resting.

I hate this bitch.

Why did she pick me?

Why must she torment me?

And most importantly, what do I have to do to defeat her?

37

ALEXANDRA

I’ve been doing this long enough now to know that it is going to take something extra special to stop me. I have a 100% success rate when it comes to breaking up the marriages of the targets my clients pay me to, and I also have a 100% success rate in getting away with it. Nobody has ever been able to prove what I have done to them, nor has anybody ever been able to correctly identify me and investigate me further. But that’s not down to good luck on my part. Rather, it’s down to me being clever, prepared and elusive.

I always use a fake name. I always work in areas where nobody will recognise me. I wear gloves so that I don’t leave fingerprints, whether that is when breaking into a target’s home or when I post the letters I sometimes like to send. Most of the people I do this to won’t even suspect that something is wrong until it is far too late, by which time I am long gone, leaving nothing but their broken marriage in my wake. But even if anybody fancied their chances of finding me and figuring out who I am, I think several steps ahead to make sure that doesn’t happen. I take risks like going to the door and speaking to the homeowner, but only after everything has been considered, and I’m sure that I will be able to get away easily. I’ve mapped out several escape routes should my first one be blocked. I’ve ensured that there are no home surveillance cameras installed that overlook the driveway and could capture my image approaching the front door. And I park several streets away so I can make my escape in a vehicle that nobody will see the registration of.

I love what I do, but I’m only able to keep doing it if I get away with it. That’s why I’m only ever as good as my last job. Make a success of it, and I get to move on and cash in somewhere else. Make a mistake, and I’m done.

So far, no mistakes have been made.

And I’m not planning on making any in the future either.

One potential mistake I could make is by thinking ahead to the next job before the current one is complete. That is why I never look too far ahead, preferring to stay present and take each day as it comes, or rather, each target as they come. That means my mind is still very much focused on Sam and Rebecca, the couple who I am currently in the process of dismantling.

My latest update from my client sounded promising, but I decided to turn the screw a little further by writing and sending a letter addressed to Rebecca in which I clarified what I had said to her the night I went to her door. Knowing that a wife will always hate the mistress, I have found this tactic of sending an apologetic and guilt-ridden note to be highly effective because it can disarm the wife and bring her onto my side, creating an even bigger gulf between her and her ‘cheating’ husband. Rebecca should have received and read that letter by now, which means she should be even more determined to get Sam out of her life, thus freeing the poor man up for another woman who harbours desires for him.

Another woman like my client.

I expect we are moving into the end game now, making it just a short matter of time until I get word from my client that Sam’s marriage has moved into the area known as ‘irreconcilable’ and that she is happy because now she has a chance to make her move on the man. Maybe she has made her move already, too impatient to wait. I wouldn’t have advised that she do anything at this point, but it can be worth a shot if Sam is the type of guy who needs a shoulder to cry on and who could be tempted into forgetting about his marriage troubles by a little attention from somebody else. The worst that could happen would be Sam turning her down, but that doesn’t mean something can’t happen in the future. It just means he isn’t ready for it yet because he is still thinking about his wife and the slim chance of recovering the marriage. But give it time, and he’ll come round. They all do. That’s because perhaps the most fundamental thing that underpins the total success of my business is not sex, lust, desire, greed, love, betrayal or revenge.

It’s loneliness, or rather, every human being’s need to avoid being lonely at all costs.

Nobody wants to be on their own, despite what they might say. Human beings thrive on social contact and affection from their fellow man or woman, which is why Sam will eventually start to