A bond between spies

CIA co-workers Sandy Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille made history by bringing down Cold War mole Aldrich Ames. They remained friends, and Grimes cared for Vertefeuille as she confronted cancer.

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Jan. 14, 2013

Sandy Grimes, who joined the CIA is 1967, is photographed at her home in Great Falls. Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille, her co-worker and best friend, helped capture CIA mole Aldrich Ames and published a book, “Circle of Treason,” about the case. When Vertefeuille's cancer was diagnosed last summer — just as she and Grimes were finishing the memoir — Grimes became her caregiver. Vertefeuille died Dec. 29 at age 80.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Jeanne Vertefeuille, center, Sandy Grimes, left, and others were part of the mole-hunting team that revealed in 1994 that Aldrich Ames was a traitor.

/ Courtesy of Central Intelligence Agency

Feb. 22, 1994

Former senior CIA officer Aldrich Ames is led from a U.S. federal courthouse after being arraigned on charges of spying for the former Soviet Union. Ames and his wife, Maria del Rosario Casas Ames, were both charged with spying for the former Soviet Union since 1985 and receiving more than $1.5 million.

/ AFP

Feb. 21, 1994

FBI agents arrest CIA officer Aldrich Ames, center leaning over car, in Arlington.

John Hallisey / AP

Feb. 22, 1994

Maria del Rosario Casas Ames, with her face covered, along with her husband, Aldrich Ames, upper left, are escorted by federal marshals from federal district court in Alexandria.

Mark Wilson / AP

April 28, 1994

Former CIA agent Aldrich Ames leaves federal court in Alexandria.

Denis Paquin / AP

March 21, 2002

A mailbox at the corner of 37th and R streets NW that Aldrich Ames used to signal to the Russians. Over the years, the mailbox was replaced and eventually incorporated into the Cold War Museum. From left, D.C. Postmaster Delores J. Killette; E. Peter Earnest, executive director of the International Spy Museum; and Francis Gary Powers Jr., founder of the Cold War Museum.

Tom Allen / The Washington Post

Jan. 14, 2013

Sandy Grimes, 67, says she and Jeanne Vertefeuille became extremely close at the CIA as they investigated the disappearance of Soviet double agents in the 1980s. But the one thing they never discussed as Vertefeuille was dying was the mole hunt. Their silence on the matter was a kind of code in and of itself. “We really didn’t talk about what we accomplished,” Grimes says.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Jan. 14, 2013

Sandy Grimes keeps the framed needlepoint of a carousel horse, a 60th birthday present from her friend Jeanne Vertefeuille, at her home in Great Falls.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

Jan. 14, 2013

Sandy Grimes shows a medal she received from the CIA for commendable service for helping capture CIA mole Aldrich Ames.

Nikki Kahn / The Washington Post

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