Free Got the Look by James Grippando

to head to Jack's place, but he didn't want her to show up in the middle of Theo's reinspection. Distrusting the FBI was one thing, but letting them know the exact level of your distrust was quite another. So Jack offered to save her the drive over to Key Biscayne and meet on the mainland for coffee. They agreed on Perricone's, near the Brickell Avenue financial district.
    Perricone's Marketplace and Cafe was a slice of old Miami by way of New England. Like so much of Miami's history, the house that originally sat on the property had been destroyed. In lemons-to-lemonade fashion, a visionary restaurateur bought himself an eighteenth-century barn in Vermont; moved the hand-hewn beams, walls, and floor planks to Miami; and then, piece by piece, rebuilt the homey atmosphere of a long-lost My-amma. The front half was a gourmet market, and out back, overlooking a park, was a screened-in dining area beneath a forest of sprawling oaks. No one would ever guess that a coastline crowded with high-rise condominiums was just a couple of short blocks to the east. Add good food at decent prices, and in Jack's book Perricone's was one of the most welcome Yankee transplants to south Florida since Jackie Gleason.
    But the Great One still used better beans to make his coffee.
    Sorry I wasn't able to make it back in time for your house sweep, said Andie.
    They were outside at a corner table, alone, as every other patron had opted for inside seating with air-conditioning. No problem, said Jack. Getting to Miami can be a bear even on weekends.
    I'm still getting used to that. I've only been here a few months.
    Not like Seattle, is it?
    Seattle and Miami are actually a lot alike.
    Yeah. Must be the mountains.
    I'm serious. Both are these geographic paradises tucked away in a corner of the lower forty-eight states. Both have their share of ethnic tensions. And they both get way more than their share of lunatics. You think it was pure coincidence that Ted Bundy started in Seattle and ended in Florida?
    Never thought of it that way, said Jack.
    See, you learned something.
    She had a nice smile, and she seemed more relaxed than the last time they'd met. She was dressed more stylishly, too. Perhaps it was the Palm Beach influence. In any event, Jack was getting a fuller appreciation of the initial report from his old boss that Henning was a real looker. The raven black hair and amazing green eyes made for a striking, exotic beauty.
    So, Jack, what did you want to talk to me -
    So, what brought you to Mi -
    They were talking on top of each other, and they both stopped in midsentence. Hers was clearly a business question. Jack's wasn't, which embarrassed him a little. This isn't a date, Swyteck.
    The waiter brought them two lattes, then disappeared. Andie waited for him to leave, then asked, You really want to know why I came to Miami?
    I wasn't trying to be nosy or anything.
    It's fine. Basically, I needed a change.
    Good career move, I imagine.
    Not really. I was doing fine in Seattle. The ASAC was my former supervisory agent, and we had a great relationship.
    Just wanted something different?
    It's hard to explain. Most people can't relate.
    To someone with a job like yours, you mean?
    No. To a half-Indian girl who was adopted and raised by white parents. Don't get me wrong. My parents are great people, and I'm not some head case walking around with a chip on her shoulder. I just felt like it was time to move on, that I should find a place where I didn't even have to think about fitting into one culture or the other.
    You can't be the only person in Seattle with a mixed background.
    No, but I figure, why put up with the bullshit? I remember once at U-dub - University of Washington - I went to this powwow on campus. Talk about awkward. The women all looked at my green eyes and treated me like just another horny white chick looking for her big brown Indian stud.
    Interesting.
    Of course, they were basically right. But it still bothered me that they