Read Gina Cresse - Devonie Lace 01 - A Deadly Change of Course--Plan B for Free Online Page A

sure Sarah has something she’ll want to show you,” Joe said, giving me a wink.  “Tony.  I’d like you to meet a friend of mine.  This is Miss Devonie Lace.”
    “Tony held out his hand.  “Very pleased to meet you, Miss Lace.”  
    “Same here,” I said. 
    “Joe.  You never told me you had such beautiful young women friends.  Will Devonie be joining us for dinner on Saturday?”
    “Now, you just watch your step, Tony.  Devonie is young enough to be your granddaughter,” Joe warned his friend.
    Even though Joe was right, it was still nice to get such a compliment.  I smiled and graciously accepted his charming comment. 
    “Actually, Tony, we have some serious business here.  We need your expert opinion on something.  Take a look at this,” Joe said as he opened the case.
    Tony’s demeanor changed in an instant as he inspected the gun.  “This is a nine millimeter Spectre , very lethal weapon.  Is this yours, Devonie ?” he asked.
    I nodded.  “I seemed to have acquired it quite by accident.  I would like to know a little more about it — if you think you can help me.”
    Tony inspected each piece carefully.  He was quiet for a long time.  Then he looked at me and asked, “Does anyone else know you have this?”
    “No.  Just you and Joe,” I answered.
    “May I ask how you came to acquire it?”
    I didn’t know this man well enough to trust him, even though Joe did.  I wondered how much I should tell him.  “It’s not important how I got it.  Is it?”
    “Miss Lace.  This is a nine millimeter Spectre , equipped with a nine inch barrel for superior accuracy.  It’s an extremely lethal weapon.  It’s the same kind the Italian Police Special Operations Unit uses.”
    Then he picked up the scope and turned it in his hands a couple of times.  “This is a laser sighting scope.  It shoots a laser beam at your target and tells you exactly where your bullet will hit — and I mean exactly.  And finally, this is a silencer — an EM-F2 if I’m not mistaken — designed to make the firing as quiet as possible.”
    Tony gave me a very serious look, as if he were a doctor telling me I had stage four cancer .  “In my opinion, the only kind of people who would use a setup like this would be hired killers.  Those kind of people don’t generally leave their tools of the trade lying around for just anyone to pick up.  I would guess that somewhere, someone is looking for this.  The kind of people I’m talking about would stop at nothing to get back something they’ve lost.  Do you understand what I’m telling you, Miss Lace?”
    I swallowed hard and nodded.  I knew exactly what he was talking about.  “I think I’ll just put this thing in a safe place for now and not tell anyone about it.  I’m sure I can trust the two of you to keep my secret until I decide what to do with it?”
    “Of course you can trust me,” Joe said.
    “That’s a wise decision, Devonie .  I could probably find a buyer for it, if you were so inclined.  I mean, if you want to get if off your hands,” Tony offered.
    “I’ll keep that in mind, but for the moment, I would prefer we keep this just between the three of us.”
    I closed the case and tried to retape it, but the tape had lost is stick.  “Joe, have you got some more tape?”
    “I think so.  Let me take a look in the supply closet,” he said as he left the room.
    “I could teach you how to pick those locks — so you don’t have to destroy perfectly good brief cases,” Tony said, his voice cracking with laughter.
    “I just might take you up on that, Mr. Marino.  The very next time I need to pick a lock, I’ll give you a call.”
    Tony pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to me.  “I certainly hope you will.  It would be my pleasure to assist you.”
    Just then, Joe came back with a roll of tape.  “Here you go,” he said as he handed it to me.
    “Well, Joe.  It appears my work here is done.  I’d