Along with the story on 22-year-old escort Ashley Dupre's life and some quotes from her beyond the MySpace page, today's New York Times also reconstructs how its reporters got on the trail of the Eliot Spitzer scandal.

At first glance, the case seemed routine, and the suspects elicited no gapes of surprise: A man and three women arrested on charges of running a pricey, on-line escort business, known as Emperor’s Club V.I.P.

Marshals escorted the defendants into the courtroom, before Magistrate Michael H. Dolinger of the Federal District Court in Manhattan....

No one had talked of the escort ring’s inner workings, and certainly no one mentioned the governor’s name. Just one fact piqued interest for some in the room: The lead prosecutor on the case was Boyd M. Johnson III, the chief of the public corruption unit of the Manhattan United States attorney’s office.

Later that day, reporters at The New York Times learned of the unusual presence of three lawyers from the corruption unit, including the boss of that division and an F.B.I. agent from one of the bureau’s public corruption squads. The public corruption units often look at the conduct of elected officials.

Within hours, the reporters were convinced that a significant public figure was involved as a client of the prostitution ring.

The NYT's City Room blog also answers questions raised about the case, Spitzer's resignation and his status as a Democratic superdelegate.