She sighed, struggling with disappointment. As much as she wanted to get her gun, she’d rather have the comfortable camaraderie with which they had worked together.
The pistol Dan had turned out to be a small .380 auto-loader with a seven shot magazine. It had a dulled blue-gray finish worn shiny in a spot or two, probably from a holster. Dan took it out of the display case and laid it on the counter-top in front of them.
Melissa waited for Lawton to examine the gun but he stood aside. “It’s your choice, Missy. Pick it up and see how it feels.”
Reluctance held her immobile for a long moment. Finally, she reached for the gun, slowly closing her fingers around the grip. She stopped short of picking it up. “It’s unloaded now, isn’t it?”
Dan nodded, but Lawton showed her the empty area in
