Free 1 Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James Page A

an ant crawling across the floor. Diesel appeared intent on stalking it, so she left him to it while she got busy making enough coffee for nine people. She ate three cookies during the time it took for the machine to brew. Clementine helped by assembling cups and saucers, spoons and sweeteners, and a pitcher of half-and-half.
    All the while Diesel toyed with the ant, until it finally escaped under a cabinet. The cat scratched at the woodwork until An’gel told him to stop. He turned his head in her direction and uttered a reproachful-sounding warble, and An’gel and Clementine exchanged amused glances.
He really is a wonderful tonic when things are stressful
, An’gel thought.
    Clementine wheeled out the wooden serving cart, and An’gel poured the coffee into a large carafe. “Would you go ahead and make another pot?” she said to Clementine. “I’m sure we’ll be wanting more before too long.” She looked down at Diesel, who had climbed into the bottom shelf of the cart. He was so large he barely fit. His long plume of a tail hung out one end and his head the other.
    “I really think you ought to stay here with Clementine. You’ll just be in the way of all that’s going on outside the kitchen.”
    Cat and woman stared at each other for a moment.
    An’gel put on a stern expression. “Come now, Diesel, be a good boy, and get out of there.”
    Diesel chirped three times but remained where he was.
    An’gel debated whether she should attempt to pull him out. She didn’t think he would try to scratch or bite, but she was reluctant to remove him forcibly. She really didn’t feel like getting down on her knees to wrestle the cat loose, and she certainly wasn’t going to ask Clementine to do it. Their knees were far too old for such antics, she reflected wryly.
    “Oh, very well.” An’gel glanced at Clementine, who was smiling broadly. “I guess he’s going with me.” She took hold of the cart and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes for the second pot.”
    Diesel’s tail stuck out of the back of the cart and swished against her legs as An’gel pushed forward slowly.
Good thing I’m not ticklish there
, she thought.
    When they reached the library, the young deputy at the door moved aside to let her pass. He glanced down at the cat and grinned, but he quickly sobered. An’gel nodded politely.
    Inside she surveyed the room for a moment, struck by the silence broken only by the muted sounds of breathing. Maudine and Bernice occupied the single sofa, while Wade sat behind the large desk that dominated one part of the room. Juanita and Junior accounted for the other two chairs, and Dickce and Benjy huddled together in the window seat that overlooked the front lawn. No one spoke, and An’gel felt the tension.
    Three of the four walls were covered nearly floor to ceiling with bookshelves. The Ducotes had been readers and book collectors, one generation after another. Windows in the two outside walls offered the only breaks, except for the fireplace, which shared a wall with the room next to it. Several small, elderly Axminster rugs dotted the floor.
    An’gel wheeled the cart, with its double load of coffee and feline, to the area in front of the window seat. “I’ve brought coffee. I thought we could all use a hot drink. Please, come and help yourselves.” She twisted the lid of the carafe and started pouring the liquid into cups.
    Diesel climbed from his perch on the bottom shelf, stretched, and then jumped onto the window seat into the spot Dickce had vacated. He butted his head against Benjy’s arm, and the young man rubbed the cat’s head, his gaze averted from An’gel.
    Maudine and Bernice crowded close and helped themselves to coffee. “Thank you.” Maudine dumped three heaping spoons of sugar in her cup along with a dollop of the half-and-half. Bernice did the same, then both women retreated to their spots on the sofa.
    Juanita and Junior came next. Juanita carried the cup she