Free Old Growth & Ivy (The Spook Hills Trilogy Book 1) by Jayne Menard

was as if a light
came on in that restaurant.  Even after being away from you for a few
days, I found that light stayed with me.  I realized the glow was coming
from inside of me; it needed the right spark to brighten.   This may
sound a bit crazy at my age -- I am smitten with you.  Your outfit Friday
night was striking, with your filmy blue blouse that dipped alluringly low in
the front.  When you smiled as you saw me, I knew flying up to Portland
was the right decision. 
    Until
that trip to your company a couple of weeks ago, I had never been to your City
of Roses.  I spent some weeks in Seattle a few years ago, working on a
jewel smuggling case.  Mt. Rainier and the Olympic Mountains struck me
with their majestic presence.  I thought then that I wanted to return some
day and hike out into that wilderness.  That was before I saw Mt. Hood's
graceful crenellated peak that is like a jutting inselberg out of a Tolkien
book.  What was it called?  The Lonely Mountain?  Seattle now
plays a distant second to Portland.  You have something to do with that.
    To
be honest, I have never been great at interpersonal relationships, but with you
the words flowed like a river between us.  Each sentence was laden with
meaning, telling each other who we are.  Like you, I hadn’t dated in
years, not once I came out of a long, horrid dead phase in my life.  My monk's
life allowed me to find my values again.  I found ways to chase away the
emptiness inside of me, if only through work.  Nevertheless of late, with
me about the oldest field executive/agent around, I could see the door to
retirement.  That is a door I fear opening.  Beyond it I have only
been able to see a void.
    I
mentioned that for a time I worked in D.C. at the Bureau's headquarters in a
very prestigious position that I wanted my whole career and once there I found
I missed solving nasty problems and nailing the perps.  Working at HQ
where I had to use my influence was not my strong point.  After about 18
months at HQ, I engineered myself back into fieldwork in a role I defined,
heading up an elite squad, or team as I prefer to call it, to handle cases
where the perps are located typically in Europe or Latin America. 
    Originally
the FBI focused on domestic issues.  However as the world has changed,
most of our big cases have international roots or tentacles.  The Bureau
set up a growing number of Legal Attaché offices around the world to work with
the local authorities to help solve cases.  When on foreign soil, we act
in conjunction with in-country forces under terms arranged by our legats, as we
call them.
    Tomorrow
we are flying to Bern for the final planning to apprehend the leader of this
child trafficking operation, save the innocent children held captive, and
destroy the network.  We will stick with this goal, no matter how long it
takes.  All my time and concentration will go into this operation. 
Keep me in your thoughts and be confident that I will return to Portland to see
you as soon as I can – with any luck Thanksgiving weekend.  You may see an
email from me before then or I will call when this operation is over. 
    (Hopefully)
Your Favorite Big Guy,
    Steve
     
    Ivy
read and reread the email, feeling even more impressed by Steve and the man he
was.  FBI High Bureau Official, or HBO, was what Brian had called
him.  She contemplated the dark October sky, seeing the lights across the
valley and up on the hills to the south.  She turned back to her screen,
did a couple of searches and found that the FBI employs over 35,000
people.   To be an FBI HBO was an impressive achievement.
    Steve
seemed to dwarf her.  His work made hers, even as the head of an important
business unit, feel less significant.  With work soon to be in her past,
Ivy needed a new definition for herself to stand up to her own expectations and
to the scrutiny of a man like Steve.  Yet he was a bit one-dimensional or
at least that was what he conveyed.  Maybe