Миранда Джеймс: Digging Up The Dirt

Praise for the Southern Ladies Mysteries

“[A] classic and classy whodunit, but also a romp filled with Southern charm, Southern eccentrics, and, of course, the antics of the engaging Diesel.”

— Richmond Times-Dispatch

“James is a master at character development, as well as weaving a complex and well-layered mystery.”

—Debbie’s Book Bag

“This series gets off to a brilliant start . . . Filled with humor, realistic dialogue, and oozes with charm . . . Excellent from beginning to end.”

—Socrates’ Book Reviews

“James’s characters are perfect . . . Bless Her Dead Little Heart kicks off a charming series with humor and heart.”

—Lesa’s Book Critiques

“Elderly characters in cozy mysteries . . . always seem to be so feisty and fun. A prime example is An’gel and Dickce Ducote . . . I loved this book. Loved, loved, loved it . . . One of the best new series of 2014!”

—Melissa’s Mochas, Mysteries & Meows

“What a clever spin-off . . . As charming as the day is long, this story with its many complex characters and threads kept me glued to my seat.”

—MyShelf.com

“An’gel and Dickce Ducote are delightful characters that remind me of Miss Marple if she were a Southern belle senior.”

—Open Book Society

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

ARSENIC AND OLD BOOKS

NO CATS ALLOWED

Southern Ladies Mysteries

BLESS HER DEAD LITTLE HEART

DEAD WITH THE WIND

DIGGING UP THE DIRT

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME

Published by Berkley

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

Copyright © 2016 by Dean James

Penguin Random House 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 Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

BERKLEY is a registered trademark and BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the B colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

eBook ISBN: 9780698148307

First Edition: September 2016

Cover art by Dan Craig

Cover design by Lesley Worrell

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

In loving memory of my beloved aunts:

Mary Williams Woods (1945–2016)

Charlotte Naomi James (1928–2015)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, my fervent thanks go to my wonderful editor, Michelle Vega, and her exceptional assistant, Bethany Blair. The art department at Berkley always manages to deliver beautiful, eye-catching covers, and I am immensely grateful.

I didn’t give my usual manuscript readers much of a shot at this one. I can only hope they won’t be disappointed when they read the final version. But I thank them for their friendship and support, which always make the process easier. Amy, Bob, Julie, Kay F., Kay K., Laura, and Susie–—I’m so glad you put up with me and allow me to participate virtually.

Finally, a great big thank-you to Nancy Yost and the amazing crew at Nancy Yost Literary: Adrienne, Natanya, and Sarah E. You’re the best!

CONTENTS

PRAISE FOR THE SOUTHERN LADIES MYSTERIES

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME TITLES BY MIRANDA JAMES

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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 1

Miss Dickce Ducote wanted a clear view of her sister An’gel’s face when she broke the news. She wished there were a discreet way she could set up the video camera on her cell phone to record the moment. Then she could threaten to show it to the rest of the Athena Garden Club to annoy her sister. An’gel needed to be wound up occasionally, Dickce thought. Older sisters could get to be a little too stuffy otherwise.

Miss An’gel Ducote looked up from where she knelt at the edge of the flower bed, trowel in one gloved hand, while the other hand brushed back a stray lock of gray hair. She grimaced. “What is it, Sister? You’ve obviously got something to tell me. You’re practically bouncing on the ground.”

Dickce gave her a sweet smile. “I’ve been talking to Arliss McGonigal, and you’ll never guess what she told me.” She paused to make sure she had her sister’s complete attention.

“If you don’t get on with it,” An’gel said, “I’m going back to work on this bed.” She brandished the trowel. “I have four more azaleas to plant here.”

“Hadley Partridge is back in town.” Dickce watched her sister’s face with avid interest.

“That’s not much of a surprise,” An’gel replied, her tone cool and her expression unchanged. “Hamish died three weeks ago, and he had no other family besides his baby brother. Hadley’s probably here to oversee the sale of Ashton Hall.”

Dickce had felt sure that news of an old beau’s return would rattle her sister at least a tiny bit, but An’gel remained as infuriatingly unflappable as ever.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Dickce had another round of ammunition to use. “Word is, Hadley has come home to Athena for good. He’s going to restore Ashton Hall and the gardens. In fact, he’s planning to be at the garden club board meeting this very afternoon .”

Whatever reply An’gel might have made to that news went unsaid, though Dickce did have the satisfaction of seeing a brief smile from her sister.

A reddish-brown streak on four legs zipped through the space between the sisters. Hot on the cat Endora’s trail came Peanut the Labradoodle. Endora came to a sudden halt about six feet away from where An’gel knelt, turned, and hissed at the dog. Peanut skidded to a stop an inch out of reach of Endora’s swinging paw. Cat and dog stared at each other a moment, then Endora was off again with Peanut right behind.

“They’ve already been around the house at least four times.” An’gel shook her head. “Where they find the energy, I have no idea.”

“They’re children, comparatively speaking.” Dickce laughed. “Not old women like us.” On a beautiful day like this, however, Dickce felt younger than her eighty years. An’gel, four years older, made as few concessions to the passage of time as possible, Dickce knew. That included ignoring overt references to her age.

An’gel turned back to the azalea she was about to transplant. “Hadley will be welcome at the garden club. Forty years ago he was one of our most active members.”

“And the only man.” Dickce chuckled. “I bet he’ll be surprised to see his old harem gather around him.”