A Breath of Dead Air (The Mysteries of Bell & Whitehouse Book 8) Read Online Free

sister, had paid the one million dollar bail sum, and the young man had walked free.
    Felicity heaved a sigh of relief, picked up her phone and started texting a message to Ricky. She looked up when Alice stepped into the store, looking uncharacteristically downcast.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked, immediately placing her phone down.
    “It’s Uncle Mickey,” the petite blonde said moodily, her green eyes uncharacteristically solemn and her pixie face scrunched up in a somber grimace. “He’s been arrested.”

Chapter 4
    F ather Terrence Gherkin made himself comfortable in the confessional, adjusting his robes. Through the grille, he could hear his penitent’s heavy breathing. Chazz Falcone was a faithful parishioner, and in this, his hour of need, the priest was only too glad to supply spiritual balm to a wounded soul.
    Father Gherkin had presided over Saint-Michael’s Church, located on the outskirts of Manhattan, for over thirty years now. In his late fifties, the good father looked more like a crook than a clergyman. With his hooded eyes, boxer’s nose, stocky build and weirdly elongated face, he could have made a living robbing banks and sticking up people with no trouble at all.
    Chazz had been a member of his flock for years, and Father Gherkin had helped him through some pretty rough patches. Like when his beloved Pomeranian Spot had gone missing and ended up dead. It was Father Gherkin who’d convinced Chazz not to rain down hellfire on the perpetrators but find it in his heart to forgive and forget. Chazz had accepted this sage advice and had moved on, transferring his great love for the canine species to a new pup, christening this one Spot 2 in commemoration of Spot 1.
    But now a new crisis had befallen the orange-haired tycoon.
    When Chazz called him, Terrence had instantly wiped his schedule, and now listened intently to Chazz’s labored breathing, a sure sign of the man’s spiritual distress.
    “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,” the stricken real estate mogul opened the proceedings.
    “Just lay it out for me, buddy. Hold nothing back,” Terrence encouraged.
    “The thing is… I covet another man’s fiancée, Father.”
    “Is that a fact?”
    It didn’t surprise Terrence one bit. These one percenters were always getting into some kind of trouble. If they didn’t collapse the world’s monetary system by playing monopoly with subprime mortgages, they were trying to buy the presidency so they could play king of the world. Chasing other fat cats’ fiancées was simply par for the course for these bozos.
    “And who’s the lucky lady?” he asked, settling back. He was frankly disappointed. He’d thought Chazz’s spiritual emergency would be more profound.
    “My best friend’s fiancée, Father,” the billionaire confessed ruefully.
    This surprised Terrence. As far as he knew, Chazz didn’t have any friends. “You gotta name for me?”
    “Regina Havilland.”
    The name rang a bell. “Oh, right, right. Isn’t she Grover Calypso’s betrothed?”
    “She is,” said Chazz with a sigh. “In the autumn of his life, Grover has managed to find love again.”
    “Isn’t the guy your age?”
    “He’s older. Much older,” Chazz snapped.
    “Sure he is,” Terrence mumbled. Then, louder, “Tell me all, buddy.”
    “Regina Havilland was the first girl I ever loved, Father.”
    “Aren’t they all?” Terrence muttered.
    “I was a stalwart young man of twenty when she walked into my life, the daughter of a New York shipping merchant. I was still amassing my fortune back then, determined to put my mark on the world of real estate. We had a torrid affair that lasted until her father found out about us. To put a stop to the affair, old man Havilland relocated his family to China, and I never saw Regina again. Until I got Grover’s wedding invitation. Imagine my distress.”
    “I’m imagining.”
    “And the worst part is, she still has feelings for me, Father.”
    “You’re