The Panic Zone Read Online Free PDF Page A

revoke your visa and send you back to New York.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œOr we can arrest you.”
    â€œHold on a second.”
    â€œDo you have information relating to this crime?”
    Gannon heard the partner say “Jack Gannon” into his phone and grew uneasy. This was not like a crime scene in Buffalo. What had he stepped into? Sweat rolled down his back. His mind blurred with the reports he’d read on the plane of how elements of the Brazilian police were feared for alleged corruption, brutality and, according to human-rights groups, executing criminal suspects.
    A New York detective might have offered a few words of condolence for the loss of Gannon’s colleagues. Not this Roberto guy, who was tapping Gannon’s passport in his palm.
    â€œYour response?”
    Gannon studied the man’s ID. “You’re Roberto Estralla?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThe lead detective?”
    Estralla nodded.
    â€œMay I have my passport back?”
    â€œYou have failed to answer my question.”
    After quick consideration, Gannon said, “Would you exchange information confidentially?”
    Estralla stopped tapping Gannon’s passport. “Are you attempting to bribe me? Because that is a crime.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œTell me what information you have, before I exercise my authority.”
    â€œI believe Gabriela and Marcelo were supposed to meet a source here.”
    â€œAnd what is the name of this source?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œWhat sort of business did they have with this source?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    Estralla spoke to his partner in Portuguese then continued, “Where did you learn of this information about the meeting?”
    â€œWe heard it at WPA headquarters in New York before I was dispatched to Rio de Janeiro.”
    Estralla studied Gannon’s face for an icy moment.
    â€œIn which hotel are you staying?”
    â€œNine Palms.”
    Estralla nodded to Gannon’s cell phone.
    â€œYour telephone number?”
    Gannon recited it and the moment Estralla finished noting it, Estralla’s cell phone rang. He returned Gannon’s passport. “You may go,” he said, hailing a uniformed officer before taking his call.
    â€œWait,” Gannon said, “I have some questions.” Estralla waved Gannon away to take his call but Gannon persisted. “Do you have any suspects or leads? What about a motive, or the type of bomb?”
    Estralla and his partner walked away. A uniformed officer took Gannon’s arm and escorted him to the police line where he was suddenly awash in bright lights from the news cameras.
    â€œJack Gannon,” an attractive woman wearing flawless makeup, a tailored suit and a sense of urgency beckoned him. She gripped a microphone. A man with a TV camera on his shoulder stood behind her. “You are with the WPA?” the woman asked.
    The police officer nodded and nearly two dozen journalists and photographers crowded around Gannon.
    â€œI am Yasmin Carval from Globo.” The rings on her fingers glinted as she extended her mike to Gannon. “Did the police tell you who is responsible?”
    â€œNo, I’m sure you know more than me.”
    â€œTwo of your WPA press friends were killed. Can you say something to us about that?”
    The lights from the five or six TV cameras around him were intense. Gannon glimpsed Luiz at the fringe of the pack and caught a hint of Yasmin Carval’s strong perfume as she stepped closer.
    â€œMr. Gannon, what has been the impact?” Yasmin Carval asked.
    â€œThe loss has taken a toll on our entire agency.”
    â€œDo you think Gabriela and Marcelo were targets?”
    â€œTargets?”
    â€œWas Gabriela working on a story about drug gangs?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œThere is speculation that narco gangs are behind the bombing.”
    â€œI don’t know anything. I