LYNNE E. CHANDLER
Mrs. Baul Investigates: Excerpt
From Chapter 1 – “Banana Bishop Rumblings”
Mrs. Baul jolted awake to the mosque call vibrating from the newly installed speakers next door. Mistaking the culprit for an alarm clock her husband had bought her as a gift one year, she smiled to herself and relaxed once more. She had at least another hour. Rev. Baul turned toward her and mumbled contentedly as he entwined his hand in hers and drifted off again. That prayer reminder must have been woven into his dream.
But wait. That voice. It was definitely not the regular call of the muezzin. Something was awry.
“Sweetheart, something’s wrong!” she shook her husband repeatedly and fumbled for the light switch.
“What is it? The same nightmare, darling?” Rev. Baul replied with as cheerful a voice as he could muster at this dark hour.
“No, it’s the voice!” she whispered with slow panic creeping toward her chest.
“The voice?”
“The mosque caller! He’s off tune!” she cried.
“Off tune?” Rev. Baul struggled to a sitting position, trying to make sense of his wife’s distress.
“Yes, it’s not the usual voice,” she explained urgently. “We’ve had the same muezzin for five years! They’ve put in a spy!”
“Oh, goodness,” calmed Rev. Baul. “I’m sure there’s a simple explanation, my love. Maybe they’ve changed to a recorded voice, as so many mosques are these days.”
“But it’s dreadful,” moaned Mrs. Baul trying to compose her quivering voice. “I’m sorry to be so sensitive. You know the minaret purposely peers right in our window. It’s just too much for me sometimes.”
“Why don’t I go around tomorrow morning and get the full story?”
Mrs. Baul switched off the light and tried desperately to relax once more. Her mind was racing as she told herself to breathe in, breathe out, to rest in the moment and let go of her anxiety.
Light peered into their eyes an hour later and officially called them to the day…
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Mrs Baul Investigates is available for purchase on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
