Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 35 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Martin tried again to read the words in the handwritten letter, but he wasn’t able to understand the hasty writing. What was she writing here? He could barely figure out the “I don’t understand what happened to you,” and, “someone called and asked about Weisskopf.”

Oh, right, Weisskopf. What time was it in Boro Park now? Maybe it was a good idea to try calling there again.

He hadn’t yet had the time to calculate whether his call would be waking someone up when it was already answered. “Hello?”

“Hello, Shimon?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“I’m a friend of Michoel Perl, from Eretz Yisrael.”

“Oh,” Weisskopf said tersely.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You can always try.”

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 34 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Would they not let him finish this book?! First the knocking and ringing at the door, now the phone… Martin set aside The Revelation with a sigh and picked up his phone. “Yes?”

“Hello, this is Yeruchem Goldberg, from the Kletzkin Yeshivah in Netivot. My talmid dropped by this week, and you gave him this number for me to call?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Martin said slowly. “Mr. Perl hasn’t been feeling so well lately, and I’m handling his affairs. How can I help you?”

“He hired a secretary?”

“Yes.” Martin kept it terse.

“Nice. It’s really about time. It sometimes seemed to me like it was all too much for him… Anyway, do you know about the connection that our yeshivah has with his organization?”

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 33 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Monsenego called on Friday morning, a few minutes after Martin decided that he’d finished going through all the drawers in the computer desk, and that it was time to move on to the bookshelves. His attention was drawn to a light pink book with a fat spine, with the title The Revelation, by S. Sternfeld.

He opened it to the first page, and then the international call came in.

“Hello?” he answered the phone.

“Good morning—it’s morning there in Israel already, isn’t it?” The voice spoke fluent English.

“Oh.” Martin sat down on the swivel chair. “Is this Mr. Monsenego?”

Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 32 of a new online serial novel, Outside the Bubble, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week.  Click here for previous chapters.

Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications. 

Someone knocked at the door. Martin looked through the peephole and saw a frum bachur, wearing a black hat and jacket, standing there. The boy’s body language conveyed tension, or nervousness.

Martin went back to the computer. The boy began to ring the intercom, and the device hanging on the wall in the office room kicked in. Martin stared at it for a minute, biting his lip, and then pressed the red button, cutting off the recording a moment after Perl’s voice began its endless recitation of, “I’m sorry, I can’t speak to you right now…”