CHAPTER 9
RIO CARNIVAL
Blanca stood awkwardly in the street of the middle-class area of Rio on Saturday night. Crowds headed towards the venue for the Rio carnival, some of them holding glittery masks and fancy headpieces to honour the main event. She retrieved her phone from her satchel when it chimed an incoming text notice.
It was from Isabela: “Sorry, got called in to a family emergency. Can’t make it tonight.”
Great! She didn’t want to be alone covering this latest piece of news for the magazine events page, and was looking forward to working with her new friend. She sighed, again scanning the crowd ahead.
She walked towards the Sambadrome and turned at the sound of a familiar voice to see Carlos hurrying in her direction, his camera bag slung over one shoulder. She stiffened and
