She tugged at the top drawer of Garrett’s file cabinet. It slid open—no surprise. If Garrett had switched keys he would’ve had no way to lock and unlock it. But now for the final test. If the key on Burke’s ring worked in this lock, she would know that the two keys had been switched.

Focusing the beam of her flashlight, she closed the drawer and thrust the small key into the lock. It fit—again no surprise. But would it turn? Her heart seemed to stop as she gave the key a gentle twist and felt it turn, moving the small tumblers that locked the drawer. This was Garrett’s key. And there was only one way it could’ve gotten onto Burke’s key ring.

With a shaking hand, she unlocked the drawer again and withdrew the key from the lock. After taking a moment to make sure everything was as she’d found it, she left the building and hurried across the street to her car.

Her thoughts raced as she drove home. The switched key was irrefutable evidence that Garrett was up to something. And if that was true, she had little reason to doubt Burke’s other suspicions.

The question now was what could she do to help her husband—especially since he’d insisted that she mustn’t be involved?

* * *

Burke was watching a mindless sitcom on TV when the door opened and a familiar voice boomed above the commercial.

“Hot damn, Burke, you look like you got run over by a cow stampede! What did those doctors do to you in this place?” The burly figure of his old friend Hoagie Atkinson lumbered into the room. “I wanted to bring you a beer, but my wife said they’d throw me out of the hospital if I tried.”

“Too bad, I could use one.” Burke switched off the TV. “Come over here and sit down, Hoagie. I’m glad to see you.”

And he was glad, Burke reflected. Hoagie was one friend who wouldn’t fuss over him and make him feel like a useless invalid.

“So when do we break you out of this place?” Hoagie, a bear of a man with a balding head and a thick mustache, lowered his bulk to the chair.

“I get transferred to rehab tomorrow. When they think I’m ready, I’ll go home. I’ve signed up for some home help until I get back to normal.” He shifted in the bed, wincing as the pain shot up his back.

“Hurts like hell, does it?”

“You’re damn right it does.”

“Have they got you on painkillers? Those things can get you hooked.”

“Don’t worry, I know better than to let that happen.”

Hoagie shifted on the chair. “How’s that little wife of yours handling all this?”

“Allison’s holding her own.”