Bequest
Author's note: I own nothing involved with this show, as good as it is.
Joan Girardi died among dangling boards, half empty paint cans, and rusting nails. It was not type of death she expected to die. People don't die with biology books at their feet and Punett squares on their minds. But she did.
She shouldn't have been there to begin with, of course. But the weather had been cold and the wind fierce. She hadn't wanted to walk alone, either. So the building looked quite inviting, like a lean-to, a shelter against the wind and the dangers of the street. If only she knew….
Settled on floor, Joan opened her biology textbook and began to read. Chapter 25 was on recessive and dominant traits, about how something can be hidden inside someone, masked by other, stronger things, hidden until paired with another "weak" gene. The book provided several examples, complete with color photographs: child with flaming red hair born into a family of dark brown heads, blue eyes shining out of mass of chocolate brown ones.
Something extraordinary hidden in something ordinary.
The next page was all diagrams. They would be on test come Tuesday. She needed to study them if she wanted a shot at passing.
As Joan sat, tracing the grids with her finger, a tiny spark glowed.
It didn't take more than a few seconds for the whole room to catch fire. As the police, would say later, the place was an arsonist's dream. Everything was flammable.
As Joan Girardi stood, the flames encircled her. They were the last thing she saw.