‘I mean, leaving aside how you feel about lawyers, you’d normally keep the family advised. Am I right?’
‘Tenuous,’ Collins said.
‘If there is something in this,’ Hunter added, ‘we will need to speak to the FBI. Even if I’d rather we kept it all here.’
‘You said you’ve dealt with the FBI in the past,’ Logan said. ‘I take it that didn’t work out so well?’
Hunter rubbed absently at the scar on his right arm, caught himself doing it and tugged at his shirt cuff as if wanting to pull the sleeve down and cover the scar.
‘I have the highest respect for some people in the Bureau. One of my closest friends works out of Quantico. It’s just that …’
Collins looked at his partner.
‘We all have our scars to bear?’ Cahill asked.
Hunter held his gaze.
‘Yes, we do.’
11
‘We’ve had a number of deaths in the city recently from drug overdoses,’ Hunter said.
‘Not our regular gig,’ Collins added.
‘You’re homicide, right?’ Logan asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Anyway,’ Hunter added, ‘we had a relatively large number of overdose deaths. Concentrated in the park over at the Capitol Building.’
‘How many?’
‘Three to start with. Two more in the last week.’
‘Doesn’t sound so big.’
‘It was also noticeable for the type of drug. A heroin derivative. Fentanyl and heroin, to be exact. Definitely not run of the mill.’
Logan recalled hearing about something similar recently but couldn’t quite remember what it was.
‘Why was that so noticeable?’ Logan asked Hunter.
‘Heroin is not a product of desire in the US. We don’t get so much of it here. Crack cocaine is the big thing.’
‘So a sudden increase in heroin-related deaths means what? That you’ve got someone new in the area trying to make his mark with a new product?’
‘Most likely, yes.’
‘What does this have to do with soldiers?’ Cahill asked.
‘We checked in with the DEA,’ Collins said. ‘To see if they had anything going on in Metro Denver or in our vicinity.’
‘I take it that you got a hit?’ Cahill asked. ‘Something with a military angle.’
‘We did.’
‘Can you tell us about it?’
Hunter stood and paced to the door and back.
‘Guys, this is getting kind of to the point where I think it’s best handled between law enforcement agencies. No offence, but I don’t feel comfortable saying too much more.’
Logan knew that wouldn’t sit well with Cahill. Hunter must have seen that in Cahill’s face.
‘I appreciate your background, Mr Cahill, I really do. And that this agent was a friend of yours. But we’re getting into potentially very sensitive areas here. Beyond law enforcement confidentiality.’
‘You mean national security?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’ve still got clearance. You can check that out as well.’
Hunter sat back down and stared at Cahill.
‘I’ve got permanent clearance. Comes with the job.’
‘From the Secret Service?’ Collins asked, frowning. ‘I never heard that one before.’
‘Another agency.’
Collins’s eyes widened a little. ‘You get around some.’
‘I’ve seen and done a lot in my time, gentlemen. Let’s leave it at that.’
Hunter clasped his hands on the table and leaned forward.
‘That never showed up on your records when I checked before. The other agency thing, I mean.’
‘It’s not supposed to. That’s kind of the point.’
‘So how do we know that you’re cleared for this kind of thing?’
‘I can tell you who to call.’
Collins took a pen and a small notepad from inside his jacket.
‘Go ahead,’ he said.
‘You checked out,’ Collins said to Cahill when he came back into the room five minutes later. ‘But what about him?’
He pointed at Logan.
‘He’s my lawyer.’
Collins looked at Hunter who turned to Cahill.
‘We’re going to have to talk to the FBI after this,’ Hunter said, ignoring Collins’s question about Logan.
‘I’ll make the introductions personally,’ Cahill replied.
Collins sat at the table.
‘You know that the cocaine trade originates in Colombia?’ Hunter asked.
Logan and Cahill nodded.
‘Well, the Mexicans have also got in on the act. In fact, most of the US drug trade comes through there now, not Colombia. And one drug lord in particular has taken to hiring ex-soldiers as security.’
‘The DEA told you this?’
‘Yes. Turns out that one of these soldiers is now a high-ranking lieutenant in a Mexican cartel and he’s been tracked entering the US three times in the last six months.’
‘Entering here, in Denver?’
‘Correct. The DEA has a watch list on known or suspected cartel members and footsoldiers. So they can track their movements if they come into the US. Sometimes it’s better to see where they go and who they talk to rather than arresting them on entry.’
‘I can see how that would work,’ Cahill said. ‘Do they know why this guy has been