Chapter 30: Extinction is Inevitable

A week later, Ruthie had a modeling session at the community college. It was one of those "art appreciation" events, when the public was allowed to view projects put out by students and try their hand at drawing. Ruthie modeled for a life-drawing practice, which she enjoyed, because everyone drawing her was a complete stranger, not one of the students from the normal art classes at the university. Following the drawing session, there was a photography demonstration. The organizer asked her if she wanted to model for some additional money. Ruthie agreed. The original plan was for the photography model to pose in a swimsuit, but Ruthie stated that she'd prefer to model naked. If it was a figure photography practice, wouldn't it be better if her body was completely uncovered?

The instructor was a bit surprised by a model who had suggested herself that she pose naked instead of wearing a swimsuit. However, he remembered his friend from the art department in Davenport saying that his newest art subject was a total exhibitionist. OK, young lady, naked it is. Ruthie spent the next two hours in an open room, moving about in front of a large photography backdrop completely undressed. Sometimes she followed requests to assume a pose, other times she danced to music and allowed visitors to photograph her at their leisure. The setting was very informal and visitors wandered in and out of the room. She calculated that at least a hundred visitors took pictures of her, including some people with very fancy-looking cameras mounted on tripods.

Ruthie got back to Mike's apartment in a good mood. He was gone, at work of course, which was just fine as far as she was concerned. She'd have a couple of hours to herself and she knew exactly how she planned to spend them. She'd first make herself some iced tea and cut up some fruit. Then she would download and print an erotic story that she had seen a couple of days earlier on one of her favorite fiction websites from the Internet. That was something she had become accustomed to doing whenever she thought she'd have the apartment to herself: download and print a story that seemed promising, take it outside, sit in one of the lounge chairs, and read it while masturbating in the warm afternoon sunshine.

The routine was typical for any afternoon she was alone in the apartment. After not having indulged in "me time" for more than a year, she had been able to resume that part of her life. Yes, it would be the perfect way to spend the next couple of hours before having to deal with her boyfriend.

Ruthie logged on to her computer to get her story. She was just about to click past the Internet headlines when a title from the local news caught her attention:

SANTA CRUZ RESIDENT COMMITS SUICIDE - PROPERTY FORECLOSURE SUSPECTED AS MOTIVE – NEIGHBORS ORDERED TO EVACUATE

Santa Cruz, California: July 15, 9:30 am: The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department released a statement concerning the investigation of an alleged suicide that deputies discovered yesterday at 8:30 am in a private residence of the Lomas Verdes subdivision. The deceased was identified as Roger Sinclair.

A spokesman for the Sheriff's Department stated that deputies discovered the body of Mr. Sinclair when they arrived on the property to serve an eviction notice. He added that Mr. Sinclair already was aware that his creditor had repossessed the residence and that he would be expected to vacate as of 8:00 am yesterday morning.

Sheriff's Deputies arrived on the scene shortly after 8:30 to serve the notice. Upon knocking on the door and not receiving a response, they forced entry and discovered the body of Mr. Sinclair in the living room with a single gunshot wound to the head. Deputies had to immediately withdraw from the scene however, because of the presence of very strong chemical fumes inside the residence.

The spokesman stated the Sheriff's Department ordered a Haz-Mat team to deploy and further investigate the crime scene. Besides the body of Mr. Sinclair, the Haz-Mat team discovered significant physical damage inside the house. The Haz-Mat team also determined that a large amount of industrial-strength herbicide had been poured throughout the residence and onto the ground outside. Empty five-gallon containers of herbicide were discovered inside the house and in the backyard.

Sheriff's Department investigators believe that Roger Sinclair spent the previous 24 hours breaking the interior walls of the residence and pouring herbicide around the property. After vandalizing the property, investigators believe he then killed himself at approximately 6:00 in the morning.

The police spokesman stated that Roger Sinclair's motive for both taking his life and vandalizing the residence appeared to be on-going financial difficulties that resulted in the failure to make house payments and the foreclosure notice. Among the evidence found by the police were messages critical of Mega-Mart spray-painted on the walls. Neighbors stated that Mr. Sinclair had previously blamed Mega-Mart for the failure of his business, Sinclair Pharmacy.

"The mortgage company's not gonna get much out of this one. If he wanted revenge against his lender, he sure got it. He turned that place into a toxic waste dump, and from the looks of things we're pretty certain that's what he had in mind. The whole property's going to have to be dug out."

The spokesman added that the Sheriff's Department ordered the evacuation of several neighboring residences due to the high levels of toxic fumes released by the herbicide poured around Roger Sinclair's property. The residents will be required to remain out their homes until the chemicals can be neutralized and contaminated soil and debris removed.

Ruthie totally forgot about her "me time". She stared dumbly at her monitor. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. She had known it all along ... she had known that Mr. Sinclair was a condemned man ... and yet...

So now it had happened. Mr. Sinclair was gone. Perhaps his death was inevitable, but it did not make it any less painful to Ruthie. Her grandmother's death had been inevitable as well, but knowing that was of no consolation when she was standing alone in that hospital room, holding the cold, emaciated hand of the corpse that had been her grandmother only a short time before.

Poor Mike ... now he truly is alone ... what am I going to do? What am I going to do with him?

She decided the very first thing she needed to do was to get dressed. If Mike had been at work all day, chances were that he still knew nothing. She'd be the one to have to break the news ... and it would be inappropriate to do it in the nude. She put on jeans and a blouse, a conservative get-up for her. Then she sat down and gazed in the direction of the monitor again ... but just into space ... not bothering to focus her eyes.

We understood each other, Mr. Sinclair ... I just ... I ... kinda wish I would've had the chance to say goodbye ... I'm gonna miss you. I don't give a shit about most people ... but I am gonna miss you...

Ruthie lost track of time. She was startled to her senses when she heard Mike's key in the door. She stood up, shaking and her face stained with tears.

"What's wrong?"

She couldn't speak. All she could do was stare at him as she continued to tremble.

"Ruthie ... what happened? What's wrong? Did something happen to your mom?"

She shook her head.

" ... computer ... it's on the computer..."

"What's on the computer?"

"I ... you ... look ... computer..."

He approached the screen. Without saying anything, he read the entire article. Unlike Ruthie, he was not overwhelmed with emotion. The shock was too great and for the moment he felt nothing at all. The hurt would come later. He stood up and put his hands in his pockets.

"I'm kinda wondering how come nobody's called me. I mean ... it happened yesterday ... and nobody told me anything ... it sucks ... sucks to hear about it on the news ... my dad ... on the news."

Ruthie sat down and started crying. The scene was very strange indeed: it was Mike's father who was dead, and yet Ruthie was the one crying. He just stood, with his hands still in his pockets, staring off into space.

"I ... didn't think he'd do something like this. I never thought ... it'd end this way ... I mean ... he'd talk about what things were gonna be like after they moved out ... Mom talked about it..."

There was a lot that Ruthie wanted to say in response, but all she could do was continue to cry. Maybe Mike had not known that Mr. Sinclair would end up shooting himself, but she did know. She knew, because she identified with Mr. Sinclair and understood his mindset. Her failure was not in clearly seeing what was about to happen, but in not expressing herself so that Mike could understand that there was no reason to be optimistic about anything having to do with his father's future.

Not only had Ruthie known that Mr. Sinclair's time on the earth was drawing to a close, she also knew why his life was predestined to end precisely on the day he lost the house. The story he was giving about living off his kids once the house was gone was total bull. There was no way he would allow himself to be a burden on his children ... no way. He had too much pride in himself. That story was just to shut them up. Yes ... pride ... and also his final act of vengeance. The mortgage company ended up with not a house, but instead a hazardous waste site that would cost thousands of dollars to clean up. The Sheriff's Department would get nothing either, except the expensive deployment of the Haz-Mat unit and a lot of very bad publicity. Mr. Sinclair had his vengeance and now no one could touch him. Not even the corporate elites can sue or file charges against a man who is dead. He was beyond their reach.