Layla had told Hunter about Keith Hammond, and she’d reached out to Keith to set up a meeting. Keith had been friendly enough on the phone, but Layla hadn’t revealed why she wanted to talk to him. He’d probably acted out of professional courtesy, since they were both employed by the Agency.

They’d decided to meet at a coffeehouse in Arlington at nine that evening. Given there was a possibility that Keith was working for the cartel, Layla was glad Hunter was with her. There were no good reasons to play the lone wolf right now. Although it would be nice to get a break in the case, she hoped Keith was clean—it would help restore some of her fragile faith in the Agency and its operatives.

“Let’s talk Keith Hammond,” she said to Hunter, ready to tackle the mission at hand. They’d gotten his file from Mason. She didn’t have full access to CIA files right now, but Mason had been able to go through one of his contacts to get it.

Hunter glanced at her. “He’s been with the Agency for fifteen years. He was recruited right out of college.”

She’d committed Keith’s background to memory. “Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, he was placed in South America from the get-go and has spent his entire career working in the region—including a long stint in Honduras.”

“Service record is impeccable. He’s received several commendations. No disciplinary actions,” Hunter added.

“Were you able to check his finances?” she asked, always thinking about monetary motive.

“Yes. From what I could find, it all looked good, but someone with his experience and connections could probably do a good job of hiding money if that was the goal.”

“How did your questioning of the other DEA employees go?” Layla asked. He’d conducted several interviews without her.

“Nothing as illuminating as our talk with Darnell. Most people claim to know nothing, and they also have very high opinions of their colleagues.”

“I get that. No one wants to believe that the people they trust and work with every day are playing on the bad guy’s team.”

“I’m sensing a but here,” Hunter said.

“This entire experience has led me to question a lot of my basic assumptions about my work.”

“Pretty soon you’ll be just as cynical as me.”

She smiled. “I sure hope not.”

The tension between them seemed to be easing as the importance of the case was elevated above her feelings about the past—and the present. Although she hated the fact that when she looked at Hunter, she still felt butterflies. Major ones.