“We can’t believe someone had the audacity to commit murder at River Hill,” Miss Dickce said. “Vera will probably haunt us for the rest of our lives now.”

“Beauregard will take care of that,” Miss An’gel sniffed. “She wouldn’t dare. The point is, Charlie, I will not have it said in Athena that Dickce and I had anything to do with Vera’s death. We had no reason whatsoever to want the wretched woman dead. We had already taken steps to remove the thorn from our side, and it didn’t involve anything to do with murder.”

“I have to say, it certainly was a masterstroke how you maneuvered Vera into retiring from active charitable works.” Despite the gravity of the situation I was hard-pressed not to grin as I recalled the presentation of the award.

“Thank you,” Miss An’gel responded with a prim smile. “But that’s just the point, you see. Vera had to accept that award or become a laughingstock by making a scene and refusing it. Arranging it that way, so she would have to resign from all her committees, was the worst thing we could have done to her. We didn’t need to push her down the stairs.”

“Not at River Hill,” Miss Dickce said, eyes flashing. “We would never desecrate our own home like that. There have been enough deaths there over the years.”

“I do see your point.” I glanced over at Diesel, who appeared slightly antsy, thanks to the sudden tension in the room. He moved away from the Ducotes and clambered behind me into his usual spot in the window. “Besides, as much as we all disliked Vera, the person who killed her had to hate her to the point of desperation.”

“Exactly.” Miss An’gel nodded vigorously. “We want you to figure out who that person was. He or she had to have a motive far stronger than any one that my sister or I could have. We pitied Vera and—I must admit—disliked her heartily, but she didn’t deserve to be killed.”

“I appreciate your confidence in me, ladies, but the sheriff wouldn’t be too happy to have me poke my nose into this.” I had poked my nose into things in the past, despite Kanesha’s best efforts, but I had done my best not to interfere in her investigations. Of course, Kanesha was on the sidelines this time, I remembered.

“Don’t you worry about Gerald Tidwell.” Miss Dickce waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “If he gives you any trouble, An’gel will have a little talk with him. He’s coming up for reelection next year, and without a good word from An’gel he’ll have a hard time winning.”

“Dickce, you shouldn’t say such things.” Miss An’gel scowled at her sibling. “Even if it’s true. People will get entirely the wrong idea.” She turned to me. “I don’t think Gerald will be a problem, really. Besides, he has the notion stuck in his head that Azalea Berry killed Vera. That’s the biggest load of bull hockey I’ve ever heard.”