Of course.
But as I understand it, he went for more than a matter of bureau practice and safety. He probably wanted to take a few photos of the source without her knowing. I mean, we did the same thing in Buffalo, in case a source was going to feed you a bad story. If they burned you, you had their picture.
I understand, yes.
What if Marcelo managed to take a few pictures before the cafe exploded?
But Marcelos camera was destroyed.
I know.
But in his years of working with the news photographers, Gannon had learned a bit of the technical side of things and an idea was taking shape.
One that could pay off.
I have a hunch about something, Luiz, and Im going to need your help.
13
Gannon swayed in the chair of his murdered colleague, nurturing his new hunch.
Taking stock of Marcelos desk, Gannon considered an empty package for an Eye-Fi card, thinking about what the photographer could have done at the cafe.
Marcelo was obviously familiar with wireless transmission of photos.
Most photographers are, Luiz said.
And the Cafe Amaldo had Wi-Fi wireless access.
Yes, the journalists went to the Amaldo often with their laptops.
With this- Gannon held up the Eye-Fi package -Marcelo had the ability to ensure that any picture he took at the cafe was immediately transmitted and stored securely online.
Gannon studied Marcelos keyboard as if it held the answer.
Weve got to get into his computer. Gannon switched it on.
After several moments of whirring and beeping, the system came to life and the password window popped up, stopping him cold.
Do you have Marcelos password?
No, each member of the bureau has a secret password.
Gannon tapped a finger next to the keyboard and searched the notes affixed to the edges of the computer monitor.
You said he was forgetful?
It is why he attached all those notes to his screen.
Lets go through them. Maybe he posted his password here?
Luiz and Gannon scrutinized the notes one by one with Luiz reciting names, dates, numbers, addresses and phone numbers as possible passwords. Gannon submitted candidates, and each time they were denied access. He knew it was likely futile, given the upper- and lower-case combinations. But they tried for nearly an hour, including restarting the computer when they exceeded the number of failed attempts to log in.
No luck.
I could call technical support, Luiz suggested.
No. I want to keep this between us for now, Gannon said. Think, Luiz. Did you ever see him submit his code or get a glimpse of any of the key strokes?
No, but I heard it all the time. It went like this- Luiz tapped four quick strokes on the desk, paused then tapped a fifth. One, two, three, four. Always like that.
So its a four-character code, because the fifth would be the enter key. Four characters. Thats pretty short for a password. Okay, lets check the notes for a four-character word, or name.
They had studied them for fifteen minutes when Luiz froze.
I think I know Marcelos password. His girlfriends name is Anna, spelled A-N-N-A, thats four characters.
Gannon entered the name with the first letter in upper case.
It failed.
Try with no capital letters, Luiz said.
Gannon typed anna and pressed Enter.
The screen flashed to Marcelos desktop and screen saver of Rio de Janeiros skyline at night, a shot hed taken himself.
The screen flashed to Marcelos desktop and screen saver of Rio de Janeiros skyline at night, a shot hed taken himself.
Thats it! Luiz said.
Were in! It would be an Internet link. Go to his favorites. Gannon got out of the chair. Luiz, you do it. Youll recognize names faster.
Luiz translated after hed pulled down a list of links for sports teams, a bank, camera stores, weather, magazines, an auto shop and restaurants.
This could be it, Luiz translated, Onlinephotocapture.
Hit it.
An array of news and feature photos came up. Luiz translated the text.
Onlinephotocapturewelcome to Onlinephotocapturethe secure members-only Web site for storing visual data
This might be it, Gannon said.
It was secure with a members log-in tab, requiring a user ID and another password. Gannon cursed under his breath.
Its no problem, Luiz said. This one has a password recall feature. Marcelos locked in his password, see?
A couple of clicks and they had entered Marcelos page. Luiz translated: Marcelo V. Storage Inventory. Gannon felt a chill rush up his spine. Topping the item list: Cafe Amaldo and the date of the explosion.
Open it.
Half a dozen thumbnail photos appeared on the screen.
Open the first one, Gannon said.
It presented a well-framed photo of a beautiful woman alone at a table of the busy cafe. A long silence passed as Luiz and Gannon realized the significance of the image.
Thats Gabriela. Luiz swallowed. Before her death.
Jesus, Gannon whispered.
Luiz clicked to the next picture.
A woman in her late twenties, dressed in a blazer and skirt, was gripping the strap of a shoulder bag and standing before Gabrielas table.
Luiz clicked.
Next, a close-up of the woman, worry creasing her face and making her appear older than her wardrobe and posture suggested.
Next, the woman sitting at Gabrielas table, removing a legal-sized envelope from her bag. Next, Gabriela reading documents from the womans envelope, which was open on the table before them.
When the last picture came up, Luiz gasped.
Tentacles of smoke spattered with debris shot out in all directions radiating from a red-yellow fireball. Marcelo had photographed the instant of the explosion within the millionths of a second he and the others were killed by it.
And like the others, this image was transmitted immediately to his page at Onlinephotocapture.
My god! Luiz said.
Unbelievable, Gannon agreed. Marcelo photographed the moment of his death. He shook his head. No one has seen these pictures, right, Luiz?
No, no one knows they exist. None of the others here have thought to look for them as you did, Mr. Gannon.
Dont tell anyone. I need time to follow this up my way.
But theyre so amazing. WPAs news subscribers around the world would want these pictures.
I know.
And what about the police? Isnt this evidence we should give to them?
Well sort that out later. I need time to chase this lead. Swear to me you wont tell anyone just yet, okay?
Luiz nodded.
Pass me that copy of the Jornal do Brasil, please.
Gannon spread the newspaper over the desks clutter so he and Luiz could study the ten victims of the bombing.
This one- Luiz pressed his finger on one of the pictures -her name is Maria Santo. She is the woman in Marcelos pictures, Gabriellas source.
Gannon unfolded the floor plan Estralla had given him. It put Maria Santo at the table of architects and secretaries next to Gabriela, but her chair was flagged with a question mark, meaning the investigators were uncertain as to where exactly Santo was positioned.
Marcelos photographs confirmed where she was seated.
Luiz translated the newspapers small biography for her, telling him quickly that she was twenty-nine and had grown up in one of Rios harshest favelas. Her mother worked as a domestic for the wealthy, her father in a sheet-metal factory. Maria Santo had worked in shopping malls as she struggled to pursue her education, before finding work at various office jobs downtown.
On the day she died Maria Santo was working as an office assistant at the international law firm, Worldwide Rio Advogados.
Were saddened by this tragedy, said a spokesman for the firm, who would not elaborate or disclose his name, Luiz finished reading.
Worldwide Rio Advogados? It was familiar to Gannon from the papers hed collected near the scene of the bombing.
Where are the copies of the documents I asked you to store?
Luiz got them from the supply room. Paging through the papers, Gannon found a few records on the letterhead of Worldwide Rio Advogados.
These were the bloodied pages.
Looking them over again it appeared that they held little information.
A list of a dozen or so file numbers and a short note in Portuguese. As Luiz translated, the significance of the information dawned on Gannon.
Please ensure all versions of these noted files, hardcopy and electronic, are destroyed and that no record exists in the firm that makes mention of their existence, including this one which should be destroyed after these instructions are carried out.
Luiz looked at Gannon.
This woman was on to something, Gannon said.
Maria Santos eyes met Gannons from the front page of the Jornal do Brasil. As he stared into them, he wondered why she had needed to meet with a reporter from a global news agency.
Why did the firm where she worked need their files to disappear?
Were these the secrets Maria was planning to reveal in the moments before her death?
Luiz, Im going to the law firm to see what I can find out.
14
The offices of Worldwide Rio Advogados were in a skyscraper in Centros east side, near Guanabara Bay.
As the elevator rose to the twenty-eighth floor, Gannon weighed the pros and cons of a cold visit.
Sure, he risked being turned away. But the fact that the Jornal do Brasil had already reported the firms connection to the bombing might help-press interest would be expected.
According to its Web site, Worldwide Rio Advogados was a global operation that practiced in international trade, labor, family law, international adoptions, banking, patents, corporate law and the list went on. The firm functioned in several languages, including English. Gannon had decided to go alone, realizing that his chances of obtaining new information were slim.
Still, he had an edge.
His agency and the law firm shared a common bond in the tragedy-they had both lost staff to the bombing.
But it was the firm that had secrets linked to it.
Gannon had to learn those secrets and he had to do it now because time was working against him. At any moment, someone could beat him to it. Or Estralla could force him back to New York.
Gannon considered the bloodied pages hed gathered from the street.
Copies were now folded in his jacket pocket as he stepped from the elevator to a polished stone hallway and passed through the brass-plated doors of Worldwide Rio Advogados to the reception desk. The woman seated there finished a call.
May I help you, she asked in English, then Portuguese.
Jack Gannon, from the World Press Alliance. He placed his card on the counter. I dont have an appointment but Id like to speak to Maria Santos supervisor. It will only take a moment.