by Karen Phillips

Karen shares with us a fun post from the point of view of the sister of her main character in her mystery novel A Deadly Combo.

I’m telling you, if I could do it all over again, I never would’ve gotten into vintage trailers. Then, I never would’ve invited my twin sister Raquel, and our dad, to the vintage trailer fest at the Golden Oaks Winery. But, alas, my husband and I bought a 1963 Shasta and we were excited to show it off. We’d sunk a lot of money into it, and I really wanted to win the Best in Show award. My main competition was Opal. Her trailer was right next to mine. If I’d never bought that stupid trailer, then I never would have become a suspect in a murder investigation.

That’s right. Me. A suspect. In murder.

Of all the people at the event, why did it have to be me?

And the victim was none other than Wes, the guy who did all the restoration work on our Shasta. What were the odds?

To answer my own question, I need to take responsibility for my actions.

Okay, I admit to sneaking into Opal’s trailer when she was off to use the facilities. And if I hadn’t been so keen to find out what she was up to, then I would never have found Wes dead, laying next to the broken chandelier.

Yes, a chandelier. In a trailer.

It’s called “glamping”—where you decorate your trailer with fancy fixtures. I didn’t do that with my Shasta. But still, our trailer was adorable. It was perfectly restored. It was a sure winner. I should win. Not Opal. Besides, she had won Best in Show the year before.

But, back to me finding the body . . . When I came screaming out of Opal’s trailer, Rocky (that’s my sister’s nickname because she loves boxing), didn’t believe me. She insisted on going inside to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. Seeing Wes’s body triggered her PTSD from when she had found our mother dead from an overdose. I feel for Rocky. She’s had to live with that all her life. She’s had years of counseling and she says her boxing lessons help, too. Well, now I know what it’s like to find a dead body. Maybe I’ll take up boxing lessons.

Although we now have finding a dead body in common, Rocky’s never been suspected of murder.

Someone told the police they overheard me threatening Wes before he was killed. But, come on—I was only joking! I remember saying something like, “If Opal wins the trophy again, I’ll kill Wes.” In my mind, if she won it was because Wes was Opal’s boyfriend. So, if she won, I was going to complain. That’s all I meant.

And that’s exactly what I told Detective Thompson. His expression told me everything I needed to know—he didn’t believe me for one second.

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Karen A. Phillips lives in northern California and writes humorous, fun, action-packed mysteries. She has several short stories published in various anthologies. Her characters are engaging and fearless. “A Deadly Combo” is her first full-length novel featuring an amateur sleuth who boxes. Karen is a proud member of Sisters In Crime, Willamette Writers and California Writers Club.
. . . and yes, she does take boxing lessons. Visit her at KarenAPhillips.com.

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