“She needs to be back in school. I’ll find a way to pay for it—whatever it takes. Meanwhile, you go home and get some sleep. In the morning, call a lawyer. There’s a small firm called Gentry and Smith—not close friends of mine, but good people. You can trust them. I don’t want to see you tomorrow until you’ve got one of them in your corner.”

“Burke, what are you trying to do—to me, to us?”

“I’m trying to save you. And there’s no more us. You’ve got to stop thinking that way. Now go home and rest.” He paused. “Damn it, just go.”

Clasping her purse, Allison stumbled out of the hospital. By now it was almost dark. Her tear-blurred eyes could barely find her car. What was happening to her marriage—and to her husband?

Maybe it was the concussion he’d suffered in the wreck. He’d been all right before the accident—stressed and short-tempered, to be sure. That was nothing new. But the rest—the Mob, Garrett’s betrayal, and some perceived danger to her and Brianna—could it all be in his mind? Maybe she should schedule a private talk with his neurologist.

But what about the key—the key that didn’t fit the lock on his file cabinet? Was her own imagination working overtime? Had some simple mistake kept her from opening the lock, or had Garrett actually switched the keys?

There was just one way to find out.

Acting on impulse, she turned her car onto the business loop and headed for the agency office. She arrived to find the parking lot empty and the windows dark except for a light above the front door.

After parking across the street, where her car was less apt to be noticed, she took Burke’s key ring and a small flashlight out of the glove box. Then, making sure she wasn’t being watched, she climbed out of the car and crossed the street.

One of the larger keys opened the front door of the office. There was no alarm system—nothing to steal except some outdated PC desktops. The real value here was in the contracts and other documents contained in the files.

She switched on her flashlight. Keeping the beam low, she made her way down the hall to the room with Garrett’s nameplate on the door. She turned the knob, expecting to find the door locked. To her surprise, it opened. Perhaps Garrett had been in a hurry to pick up Brianna at the hospital. Or maybe he’d meant to come back to the office, but changed his mind.

He could still come back, Allison reminded herself. The sooner she got out of here the better.