equipment.
That was when it hit him.
âLuiz, help me out here. Marcelo accompanied Gabriela to the café to meet the source, we know that much.â
âOf course.â
âBut 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.â
âI understand, yes.â
âWhat if Marcelo managed to take a few pictures before the café exploded?â
âBut Marceloâs camera was destroyed.â
âI know.â
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.
âI have a hunch about something, Luiz, and Iâm going to need your help.â
CHAPTER 13
G annon swayed in the chair of his murdered colleague, nurturing his new hunch.
Taking stock of Marceloâs desk, Gannon considered an empty package for an Eye-Fi card, thinking about what the photographer could have done at the café.
âMarcelo was obviously familiar with wireless transmission of photos.â
âMost photographers are,â Luiz said.
âAnd the Café Amaldo had Wi-Fi wireless access.â
âYes, the journalists went to the Amaldo often with their laptops.â
âWith thisââ Gannon held up the Eye-Fi package ââMarcelo had the ability to ensure that any picture he took at the café was immediately transmitted and stored securely online.â
Gannon studied Marceloâs keyboard as if it held the answer.
âWeâve got to get into his computer.â 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.
âDo you have Marceloâs password?â
âNo, each member of the bureau has a secret password.â
Gannon tapped a finger next to the keyboard and searched the notes affixed to the edges of the computer monitor.
âYou said he was forgetful?â
âIt is why he attached all those notes to his screen.â
âLetâs go through them. Maybe he posted his password here?â
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.
âI could call technical support,â Luiz suggested.
âNo. I want to keep this between us for now,â Gannon said. âThink, Luiz. Did you ever see him submit his code or get a glimpse of any of the key strokes?â
âNo, but I heard it all the time. It went like thisââ Luiz tapped four quick strokes on the desk, paused then tapped a fifth. âOne, two, three, four. Always like that.â
âSo itâs a four-character code, because the fifth would be the enter key. Four characters. Thatâs pretty short for a password. Okay, letâs check the notes for a four-character word, or name.â
They had studied them for fifteen minutes when Luiz froze.
âI think I know Marceloâs password. His girlfriendâs name is Anna, spelled A-N-N-A, thatâs four characters.â
Gannon entered the name with the first letter in upper case.
It failed.
âTry with no capital letters,â Luiz said.
Gannon typed anna and pressed Enter.
The screen flashed to Marceloâs desktop and screen saver of Rio de Janeiroâs skyline at night, a shot heâd taken himself.
âThatâs it!â Luiz said.
âWeâre