Secondary Gains
an excerpt

Decker pushed off the door frame feeling very smug, but trying not to look it.

“My name is Jordan Decker. I’m a private investigator.” He closed the distance taking a couple more steps as he explained, “your ex-husband hired me. Said that you had property of his that he wanted to recover,” his mouth twitched up in a smile as he needlessly added “without your knowledge. Now, I’m not one who is generally prone to taking such a wild ass guess, but I’m thinking that your breaking and entering problem might be related to him. I think he’s been poking around the place, trying to find what he thinks is his. I’m guessing he hired me just after you bought yourself that Glock.”

“You need to stay right where you are. I’m going to call the police, and you can explain the property recovery crap to them.”

Truly held the gun steady in her right hand while she fished the phone out her pocket with the left, and Decker closed the gap. Swiveling himself to the side, he caught hold of her wrist and tugged her forward. Decker used his other hand, to grasp the gun barrel and lever it from her hand. Truly stepped back to catch her balance, but froze when Decker leveled the gun on her.

“That’s the problem with handguns,” he said. “You should never point one at a person unless you’re prepared to pull the trigger. Did you know that 75% of cops who are shot in the line of duty are shot with their own guns?” Decker hadn’t expected an answer, but smiled at her slight nod and lowered the gun. “You’d be better off getting a shotgun. You know?” As he said it, he released the clip and cleared the chamber. “A pump-action shotgun. An intruder hears that click-click of a shotgun cycling and the response is almost visceral. Biggest dumb-ass in the world knows what sound means and will piss his pants just hearing it. They’re easy to aim too, and even if you miss, you’re likely to have blown a big hole in something close by. It’s what you might call… demoralizing.”