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  Praise for the New York Times Bestselling Cat in the Stacks Mysteries

  OUT OF CIRCULATION

  “Humor and plenty of Southern charm . . . Cozy fans will hope James . . . keep[s] Charlie and Diesel in action for years to come.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “The old Southern charm recollects Rita Mae Brown’s Sneaky Pie series (without the talking animals), while Charlie’s investigative techniques may bring some of Agatha Christie’s characters to mind.”

  —Library Journal

  “Like its predecessors, Out of Circulation offers a pleasing blend of crime and charm, filled with familiar and cherished characters, biped and quadruped.”

  —Richmond Times-Dispatch

  “Even if you don’t like cats, there’s plenty to enjoy in this traditional cozy.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “This fourth installment of the Cat in the Stacks series keeps you involved until the last page.”

  —Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

  FILE M FOR MURDER

  “Readers who have come to love Charlie and Diesel and the small-town ambience of Athena will find File M for Murder another pleasant diversion, complete with an intriguing plot in which the silence of the library threatens to become the silence of the grave.”

  —Richmond Times-Dispatch

  “This charming, classic cozy features full-on Southern charm. Well plotted and evenly paced, with fairly laid out clues for those who like to solve along with the sleuth. Charlie and Diesel are a delightful detective team, and the idea of a male amateur sleuth/librarian with a cat is a refreshing twist on an old trope.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “Will make you a cat lover if you are not already one.”

  —Once Upon a Romance

  “This cozy mystery makes for a leisurely and enjoyable read. It is well plotted, and the protagonist and the secondary characters are multidimensional and likable. And of course, there’s Diesel . . . a thoroughly lovable cat who is an integral part of the story.”

  —The Conscious Cat

  “James has [a] winner with this one, readers won’t want to miss it.”

  —Debbie’s Book Bag

  CLASSIFIED AS MURDER

  “Bringing local color to life, this second entry in the series . . . is a gentle, closed-room drama set in Mississippi. Ideal for Christie fans who enjoy a good puzzle.”

  —Library Journal

  “Readers will enjoy this entertaining regional whodunit as the librarian and the cat work the case.”

  —Genre Go Round Reviews

  “A hit with bibliophiles and animal lovers, not to mention anyone who likes a well-plotted mystery. The characters are unique and often eccentric. Having a male amateur sleuth with a subplot that explores his relationship with his adult son brings a fresh twist to the genre.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  MURDER PAST DUE

  “Combines a kindhearted librarian hero, family secrets in a sleepy Southern town, and a gentle giant of a cat that will steal your heart. A great beginning to a promising new cozy series.”

  —Lorna Barrett, New York Times bestselling author

  “Courtly librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine coon cat, Diesel, are an endearing detective duo. Warm, charming, and Southern as the tastiest grits.”

  —Carolyn Hart, national bestselling author of the Bailey Ruth Mysteries

  “Brings cozy lovers an intriguing mystery, a wonderful cat, and a librarian hero who will warm your heart. Filled with Southern charm, the first in the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries will keep readers guessing until the end. Miranda James should soon be on everyone’s list of favorite authors.”

  —Leann Sweeney, author of the Cats in Trouble Mysteries

  “Murder Past Due has an excellent plot, great execution, and a surprising ending. This book is a must read!”

  —The Romance Readers Connection

  “Miranda James begins the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries with a bang . . . [An] absolute breath of fresh air.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  “Readers will adore Charlie and Diesel.”

  —Socrates’ Book Reviews Blog

  “Read Murder Past Due for the mystery and an enjoyable amateur sleuth . . . You’ll find yourself wishing for the next book to catch up with Diesel.”

  —Lesa’s Book Critiques

  Please visit Diesel the cat at facebook.com/DieselHarriscat.

  Berkley Prime Crime titles by Miranda James

  Cat in the Stacks Mysteries

  MURDER PAST DUE

  CLASSIFIED AS MURDER

  FILE M FOR MURDER

  OUT OF CIRCULATION

  THE SILENCE OF THE LIBRARY

  Southern Ladies Mysteries

  BLESS HER DEAD LITTLE HEART

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  A Penguin Random House Company

  BLESS HER DEAD LITTLE HEART

  A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

  Copyright © 2014 by Dean James.

  Excerpt from Arsenic and Old Books by Miranda James copyright © 2014 by Dean James.

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.

  BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

  For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-14828-4

  PUBLISHING HISTORY

  Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition /October 2014

  Cover illustration by Dan Craig.

  Cover design by Lesley Worrel.

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

  Version_1

  This book is dedicated with love and thanks to the two amazing women who inspired their fictional (and much older) counterparts: An’gel Ducote Molpus and Dickce Ducote Little. Blessings in life come in different guises; if you’re lucky, they sometimes have sassy mouths and big hearts. Thank you for your friendship and your inspiration.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Were it not for my good friend Carolyn Haines and one of her many fascinating brainstorms, I would never have met the real An’gel and Dickce at the wonderful and wacky thing that is Daddy’s Girls Weekend. Thank you, Carolyn, for being such a fascinating influence in my life.

  Special thanks also to Terri Dunn, Cheryl Carlson, Carole Sauer, Katie Ruffin, Kelly Robinson, Gail Bonneau, and Betty Milton. These ladies keep me entertained on Facebook on the days when I need it most.

 
Michelle Vega is awesome (I seldom use that word, and when I do, I really mean it) as my editor and friend. She has more patience than that guy in the proverb, and I would never finish a book without it. My agent, Nancy Yost, and her associates, Sarah Younger, Adrienne Rosado, and Natanya Wheeler, are awesome as well. I cannot thank them enough for what they do to help me earn enough to buy cat food for Pippa and Toby and other good things as well.

  My friends in the Wednesday night critique group hold my feet to the fire and help make everything I write so much better: Bob, Julie, Kay F., Kay K., Laura, and Millie. Curry, Susie, Isabella, and Charlie open their home to us every week and give us space to hone our craft, and that is such a generous gift.

  At a difficult time, my friends at Murder by the Book came through. A special thanks to McKenna Jordan, the owner, along with John Kwiatkowski, Sally Woods, and Brenda Jordan for their friendship and support.

  Finally, as always, loving thanks to the two bedrocks of my writing life, my friends Patricia Orr and Terry Farmer. Sine qua non.

  CONTENTS

  Praise for the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries

  Berkley Prime Crime titles by Miranda James

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Special Preview of Arsenic and Old Books

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Readers might be wondering how to pronounce the rather unusual names of the Ducote Sisters. Here’s a quick guide:

  Miss An’gel’s name is pronounced “ahn-JELL.”

  Miss Dickce’s name is pronounced just like “Dixie.”

  Their family name, Ducote, is pronounced “dew-COH-tee.”

  CHAPTER 1

  Miss An’gel Ducote fixed her houseguest with a gimlet eye. “I expect you to behave like a proper gentleman while you’re here.”

  Diesel Harris regarded his hostess unblinkingly for a moment before he meowed.

  Miss Dickce Ducote snorted with laughter. “Good gracious, Sister, you don’t need to lecture him on how to conduct himself. Diesel has better manners than some of the two-legged fools who’ve set foot in Riverhill.”

  “True.” Miss An’gel pursed her lips as she continued to regard the large Maine Coon cat. “He is in unfamiliar surroundings, though, and I’ve heard that cats don’t like change. He might be upset because Charlie and the rest of the family have gone off and left him.” She pointed to the frayed Aubusson carpet that covered a third of their front parlor. “I’m not sure this can withstand accidents, if you know what I mean.”

  “Really, An’gel. That rug has been on the floor for a hundred and twenty years at least and has withstood far worse.” Dickce shook her head. “Diesel is a smart kitty. He already knows where we put his litter box. He’s not going to make a mess on one of our priceless antiques.”

  “That’s all well and good.” An’gel glared at her sister, at eighty the younger by almost four years. “Even if his bathroom habits are impeccable, what shall we do if he starts clawing the furniture?”

  “If you were this worried about the contents of the house, why did you ever agree to keep Diesel? Most of the furniture survived the Civil War and troops of Union and Confederate soldiers at various times. How much damage could one cat do?” Dickce glared right back. “Frankly, I seem to recall that you volunteered to cat-sit. Charlie never once opened his mouth to ask you. In fact, he looked mighty startled when you said we’d be delighted, though he’s such a gentleman, he hid it immediately.” She sat back, arms folded over her chest, and waited.

  There was no arguing with Dickce when she was in one of her contrary moods. An’gel suppressed a sigh as she threw up her hands in mock surrender. Before she could speak, Diesel warbled loudly and placed his large right front paw on her knee. An’gel stared down into the cat’s eyes, and she would have sworn he was trying to reassure her.

  Dickce pointed at the Maine Coon. “See? He’s telling you he’s going to be extra-special good.”

  The triumphant note in Dickce’s voice irritated An’gel, but she pretended it didn’t. Instead she stroked the cat’s head and told him twice she knew he was a good boy.

  “Come sit with me, Diesel.” Dickce patted the sofa cushion beside her. “You can stretch out and nap with your aunt Dickce.”

  Diesel pawed at An’gel’s knee again and meowed. He gazed up at her, and she had the oddest feeling that he was asking her permission. At least the cat was smart enough to know who was really in charge here. “Go ahead, it’s fine with me.”

  The cat blinked at her before he turned to amble over to the sofa. He jumped up beside Dickce and settled himself with his head and front legs in her lap. Dickce stroked him and grinned at her sister when Diesel started to purr loudly.

  An’gel picked up her glass of sweet tea and sipped at it. There was nothing better during the dog days of summer. Their housekeeper, Clementine, made the best sweet tea in Athena County, if not in the whole state of Mississippi. “The only reason I’m glad to see August come around every year is the fact that we don’t have any committee meetings to attend, any garden club functions to arrange, or any other social commitments. It’s nice to have a vacation.”

  “It sure is.” Dickce nodded. “I keep thinking we ought to retire and live a quieter life, but I know we’d both be bored and ready to strangle each other in a month or two.” She laughed. “This is a big house, but probably not big enough to keep us from getting on each other’s nerves every other minute.”

  An’gel chose to ignore that leading remark. “Besides, you know as well as I do that no one else will keep things organized and running the way we do.” She shook her head. “If the community had to pay someone to do what we do, the town couldn’t afford it.” She felt a cool breeze across her neck as the air-conditioner kicked in. How had earlier generations of Ducotes survived the hot summers without it? She took another sip of tea.

  Dickce frowned. “Did you hear that? Just before the air went on. Sounded like a car drove up.”

  “I heard it.” An’gel stood. “We weren’t expecting visitors this afternoon. I’m not in the mood to entertain.”

  “Tell whoever it is to go away.” Dickce yawned. “I think I’d like to go upstairs for a nap.”

  An’gel strode to the front window and pulled the heavy red damask drapes aside to peer out at the driveway. “I don’t recognize the car, and I can’t see who’s driving. Clementine is probably taking her break now. I’ll go.”

  The bell sounded before An’gel reached the door. She opened it to find a woman about her own age standing there, finger on the bell, poised to ring it again. Her hair was an unnatural shade of red, and her wrinkled face was devoid of makeup. She didn’t look like a salesp
erson, but she did seem vaguely familiar.

  “Good afternoon. What can I do for you?”

  Startled, the woman took a step back. “My goodness. An’gel, it’s you, isn’t it? I never expected you to answer the door. Surely you have a servant to do that.” She smiled. “Aren’t you going to ask me in?”

  An’gel peered at the woman’s face as she tried to recall who she was. Recognition dawned, along with the first stirring of dismay. What on earth was Rosabelle Sultan doing here? The last time Rosabelle had visited, about fifteen years ago, she had stayed three weeks—two-and-a-half more than she was welcome—and had departed with a substantial, and not-yet-repaid, loan.

  An’gel stepped back and waved the visitor in. “Of course I am, Rosabelle. This is a surprise. Weren’t you living in California?”

  Rosabelle opened her mouth to speak. Her eyes widened, and she dropped her purse. She pointed to a spot behind An’gel. “What on earth is that?”

  An’gel turned and saw the cat. “That’s Diesel. Dickce and I are cat-sitting for a friend.” She stooped to retrieve the visitor’s purse and handed it back. “I know he’s large, but he’s a pet. He’s friendly and gentle. You don’t have to be afraid of him.” And if the cat has any sense, he’ll stay away from you anyway, she added silently.

  Rosabelle clasped the purse to her side. “If you say so, but I’ve never seen a house cat that big before. Does he have some kind of glandular condition?”

  Diesel moved closer and stood by An’gel. He stared at the visitor but did not approach her. An’gel had never seen him act like that, but she couldn’t fault his intelligence. Rosabelle never brought good tidings. Besides, An’gel realized, Rosabelle smelled funny, like a sweaty bouquet of roses.

  “No, he’s a Maine Coon. They are large cats, and he is larger than usual, about thirty-six pounds. Nothing unnatural, though.” An’gel turned and gestured for her guest to follow. “Dickce’s in the parlor. Come along and say hello.”

  “I’m so happy to find you both home,” Rosabelle said, sounding tired. “I’ve been driving for such a long time. I’m just glad I remembered the way.”