| By Christopher James Beppo Deputies from the Lowell County Sheriff's Office were called to B.B. Davenport's Route 7 auto repair shop on the desolate outskirts of town in response to an anonymous phone tip. There, they found the body of entrepreneur Bob Rickman lying outside the shop, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. No witnesses have come forward yet, but investigators have determined that the fatal injury was self-inflicted.
As previously reported in the Ledger, Rickman was visiting Smallville to pave the way for the construction of a pesticide plant in town. He had met considerable opposition from residents and authorities, who were well aware of the detrimental effects on the environment of Rickman's other plants. Rickman's primary focus | had been on land owned for decades by the Kent family. Surprisingly, Jonathan Kent had signed away the heirloom plot with little hesitation but later changed his mind and filed a lawsuit to challenge the contract.
Members of the Metropolis Police Department speculate that Rickman was frightened by their growing investigation into the mysterious death of Paul Hendrix, an agent for the Center for Environmental Protection. Documents found in Hendrix's office indicate that Rickman was under scrutiny by the Center for past offenses, and the authorities were preparing to question Rickman as a suspect. Combined with the potential failure of Rickman's Smallville expansion attempt, the impending murder inquiry may have pushed Rickman to take his own life. |