your execution.”
A sudden blow to his head sent Gannon falling to the mattress and falling back through his life….
He is ten years old in the Buffalo Public Library where his big sister Cora is telling him he must read books because he’s going to be a writer…I see it in your eyes, you don’t give up…his mother, the waitress, in her white apron…his father in the rope factory, his blistered hands…his mother sobbing…they’ve lost Cora to drugs…she’s run off…they can’t find her for years…he resents Cora for the pain she’s caused…he loves Cora for his life follows the course she envisioned…he’s a news reporter with the Buffalo Sentinel…he meets Lisa Newsome on assignment from the Cleveland Plain Dealer…Lisa wants to get married and have kids…he could be cutting his lawn in suburbia, taking the kids to the mall…not him…he breaks Lisa’s heart…ghosts will haunt you…his parents keep looking for Cora…she may have children…she may have a new life…what became of Cora?… A New York State Trooper, standing at his apartment, hat in hand…a pickup driven by a drunk driver has smashed into his parents’ Ford Taurus, killing them both…he aches to get out of Buffalo but is afraid to leave…. ghosts…nominated for a Pulitzer…for convincing the brother of the suicidal Russian airline pilot who plunged his jet into Lake Erie to talk…think of the dead, their ghosts will haunt you…he got what he wanted…Buffalo behind him…working for the World Press Alliance…wasn’t that what he wanted?… No one to mourn him…he was alone… Wasn’t that what he wanted?… To die in the slums of Rio de Janeiro…ghosts will haunt you…don’t ever give up, Jack…
Jack…
“Jack Gannon.”
His eyes opened then squinted.
He was on a bed in a bright room with an open window, fresh air. He had been moved. A woman was sitting near, tending to his face. She had a British accent.
“Can you hear me, Jack? I only have a few minutes.”
He turned to her, a woman in her early thirties with brown hair and dark eyes filled with worry.
“My name is Sarah Kirby. I’m Maria’s friend from the Human Rights Center, at the bottom of the favela.”
“Help me get out of here.”
“I’m trying. You must listen. You were taken by the Blue Brigade, the drug gang that controls the Céu sobre Rio. They have places to hide people here, but everyone knows them. Bruna came for me.”
“Did they hurt her? Did they hurt Pedro or Fatima?”
“No, the narcos protect the people of the favela.”
“But how did you get in? We have to leave! Untie my hands!”
Someone outside shouted to Sarah in Portuguese and she responded, then turned back to Gannon.
“No, we have no time, listen—”
“No! They’re going to kill me! They think I’m a police informant!”
“I know. It’s Dragon, the leader of the Blues, he’s psychotic. He fears the Colombians are coming for him because of Café Amaldo. Dragon fears police are trying to fuel a drug gang war so that the narcos exterminate each other. He swears the Blue Brigade had no role in the bombing.”
“Great, let’s get out of here!”
“Jack, we can’t leave, you must listen, they trust me, they trusted Maria because of the work we do in the favela.”
“Well, it was Maria who came to the WPA with documents from her firm for a story.”
“I know.”
“Then for God’s sake, untie me and let’s get out of here!”
“No, listen! They’re waiting outside this door. I have negotiated for you, now listen, please!”
Gannon listened.
“Maria discovered evidence that the law firm was linked to criminal activity,” Sarah said.
“I found a few of her pages at the bomb scene. Is it about drugs?”
“We think it’s about human trafficking or the illegal adoptions of children, stolen children.”
“What?”
“Maria was working with our human-rights networks. We kept it secret. Only a few knew—we had to get the story out. Maria agreed to contact the WPA. She was so afraid and so brave.”
Someone thudded on the door, Sarah hurried.
“After the explosion those of us at the center were terrified. We didn’t know what to think. Was it a gang hit, or was Maria the target? Were corrupt police involved? How big was this illegal operation?”
“Jesus,” Gannon said. “Estralla, the cop, has my documents!”
“Listen, I have told Dragon a little about Maria’s work, her connection to WPA, the café. I told him that killing you was stupid. He must keep you alive so you can get the truth out through your worldwide news agency.”
“Did he buy it?”
“He’s allowed me a few minutes to get your vow