Lalla Baines first appeared in A Dead Red Cadillac and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Lalla.

What is your name?
I was named for my Texas great-Aunt Eula Mae Bains, but because my little brother stuttered, Eula came out as Lal-la and there-after I became known as Lalla.

How old are you?
Between thirty and thirty. . .and that’s all I’m saying on that subject.

What is your profession?
Well, let’s see. . .after a brief stint as eighteen-year-old pilot for my dad’s Aero-Ag business in California, I got “discovered” by a NY fashion house, retired from that and a disastrous marriage to a philandering Puerto Rican baseball player. Limped home to take over reins for my dad’s Aero-Ag business, destroyed a plane, solved the murder threatening my family.

Now, along with my cousin and partner, I’m a P.I. in Wishbone, Arizona. Can’t find Wishbone on the map? Look up Bisbee, Arizona and there you are. Why didn’t I call it Bisbee? Because I didn’t want anyone to think the real Police Chief was a murderer, or the mayor a pedophile.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes, and I’m lucky to have him, since I often step into harms-way in my quest to solve murder cases.

What is his/her name and profession?
Caleb Stone, and he’s the rock in my whirlwind life. He was Sheriff of Stanislas County, California, but after I sorta ran from the alter, he tracked me all the way to Arizona, got car-jacked, robbed, and left for dead in the desert. That he still wanted to marry me after all of this is a testament to his wonderful character (and stamina for my tendency to cut and run). Luckily, the job of the murdered police chief was open and accepting applicants. Uh, and yeah, I solved that crime, too.

Any children?
Sadly, no. We married too late to have children, but I frequently watch my dad’s two half-Apache foster boys. Those two are a handful, but they also keep my dad entertained and out of his Barca lounger.

Who is your best friend?
I left behind my BFF, Roxanne Leonard, when I moved to Arizona. She owned Roxanne’s Road-side Café and was my directional beacon when it came to navigating my way through a confusing life. But, if you ask my cousin and business partner, Pearlie Bains, she will tell you she’s my best friend, but really, she’s just a pain in my ass.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
Well, there’s the Australian Cattle dog who hung around our home until my dad started feeding him. He’s proven his worth many times over as tracker for Cochise County’s search and rescue team and herder for my dad’s two foster boys.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
My great-aunt Eula Mae Bains gifted me a wedding present of forty acres near Wishbone, Arizona that included a small two-bedroom adobe home with a well, an abandoned, boarded up gold-mine that almost swallowed up me and my dad, and a barn with tractor, farming implements and a dusty covered priceless antique Bugatti race-car that eventually met its match with a local emu.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
For a few minutes a day, before I have to suit up as a private investigator, I take my morning coffee out on our patio and watch the warm sun rise over the Mule mountains while colorful butterflies and our seasonal migrating birds hover around our multi-tiered Mexican water fountain.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
Our family home in California had a wonderful cook and housekeeper who’s seven-layer enchilada casserole brought friends and farmers to our dinner table. Caleb Stone became a regular after his divorce and I have to give Juanita credit for helping along our blossoming relationship. When she left to follow her family’s move, it spurred my dad’s decision to sell the ranch and move to Arizona.

Free on Kindle today (2/7/19), you can download A Dead Red Alibi, the fourth book in the series, here.

You can read about Lalla in A Dead Read Gamble, the sixth book in the “Dead Red” traditional mystery series, released in January 2019.

Newly minted P.I. duo, Lalla and Pearlie Bains, are thrilled at the prospect of signing well-connected Judge Borrega as a client.

But then a stranger persuades her dad’s two foster boys to release a cage of chickens in the county courthouse and the distraction is used to cover a murder.

Now Lalla and Pearlie are in a race to catch a killer before the killer decides two boys will have to be silenced. . . permanently.

Purchase Link
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About the author
I write humorous mysteries about an annoyingly tenacious, tall, blonde. The first three books in this series were based in California, however, after moving to beautiful Hereford, Arizona in 2003, I couldn’t resist bringing my characters along for the ride.

Beginning with #4 in the series, A Dead Red Alibi and continuing with #5 A Dead Red Miracle, and newly released #6 A Dead Red Gamble, Lalla Bains will work as a fledgling P.I. with cousin, Pearlie Bains. #7 A Dead Red Horse Thief will be out in late 2019.

You can find RP at rpdahlke.com, on Goodreads, on Facebook, on Library Things, and on BookBub.

All comments are welcomed.