Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar: Mystery

by Gray Cavender

  “That is harsh.”

  “That’s Nelda.” She sipped her drink quietly, then said, “And, there’s also something demeaning about how she pronounces ‘Billy.’ She over-emphasizes it…as if she’s trying to call attention to his name…something…I can’t put my finger on it.

  “So, what happened…with the hiring?”

  “A kind of compromise. Another member of the hiring committee said that they’d had a close second choice…someone different from either Billy’s candidate or Nelda’s. There was a short discussion and a quick vote, which went overwhelmingly for the third candidate. I understand that Billy left the meeting in a snit. “

  “Do you think he held a grudge against her?“

  Grace thought for only a second, then said, “I don’t think so. The faculty applauded the committee for its work, and Jonathan wrote a nice thank you memo that singled-out Billy for heading-up such an effective recruitment.”

  Jillian nodded, then said, “By the way, I did interview Andrew Paxton, the student who filed the grievance against Professor Siemens…thank you for the tip on him.”

  “Of course. I understand that maybe you can’t reveal too much, but was it helpful?”

  “I think so, yes. Have there been any more…situations…involving him…if you know?”

  “As far as I know, he’s kept a low profile. Life does go on.” Then she sighed and said, “Unfortunately, I think there’ll be another de-stabilizing event in the next couple of days.”

  “Really, what?”

  “Well, the talk is that Jonathan Keefer is being promoted to an Associate Dean’s position in the College.”

  Jillian leaned forward. “Really? Where’d you hear this?”

  “From Jonathan himself. He’d hinted at this—well, it was more like he was crowing about it—last week.”

  Jillian sipped her tea and thought that Grace was right about life ‘going on,’ but even so…”

  “Is this important, Detective Sergeant Warne? If it is, I apologize for not saying something about it when you interviewed me. I knew about the promotion then…I just thought it was an English Department thing…and I was distracted by…by Nelda.”

  “Of course, you were, and no worries. But, let me ask this…actually, let me ask several questions. So, what was the relationship between Professor Keefer and Professor Siemens?”

  “Jonathan is first and foremost a careerist. As chair, it was his job to ensure that Rand Studies was successful…that there wasn’t too much kerfuffle once Nelda was here. What deans want is tranquility…for them, the best news is no news. So, Jonathan wanted to normalize her position in the department. That’s why he was upset when Billy told you and your partner that things were not fine over hiring Nelda.“

  “OK, got it. But, what about interpersonally?”

  “Oh, I think they got on. Nelda was high maintenance, but Jonathan catered to her whims. And, as I told you before, she was a very different person when it came to people who could help her. Jonathan is the chair of the English Department, so he fit that category. Anyway, he’s a careerist, which oft times means a ‘leg-hanger, and he is that. It was his job to smooth the waters with Nelda’s hiring, but I think he also knew ‘which side his bread is buttered on,’ if you’ve ever heard that expression. While I don’t know this personally, I assume that Nelda’s contacts helped Jonathan in terms of the promotion. It was in both their interests to get along…so, they did.”

  “Do you think they could have been in competition for that dean’s job?”

  “No, Rand Studies…that was Nelda’s baby…she was laser-focused on that. Later, maybe down the road, who knows?

  They were quiet for several seconds, sipping their drinks. The waiting line to order had grown again, four students deep, now. Jillian assumed a class period had ended.

  Grace said, “Well, I have a question for you…but, it’s a little bit of a topic change…”

  “Go for it.”

  “Did you always want to be a police detective? I ask, well, because the other day you shared with me how hard it is to deal with the sort of situations that you have to confront.”

  Jillian laughed. “No, nothing could have been further from my mind. Because of my Honors Thesis and then my MS project, I interviewed a woman at Tempe PD who headed the Research Division…I was studying women in policing. Anyway, this woman offered me a job in Research, and, after a lot of thought, I accepted.” So…”

  Grace interrupted, “My goodness…you’re the young woman from the newspaper story a while back. You’re the one who kung-fu’ed that criminal…he was a robber…wasn’t he?”

  Embarrassed, Jillian’s expression was a combination of smile and grimace. She nodded and then said, “Actually, it was judo, but, yes, that was me.”

  “When we were talking the other day, I kept telling myself that, somehow, I knew you, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how. I was remembering your picture…it was there with the story in the paper. Well, I never…” She smiled. “But you’re at ASU now. How’d that happen?”

  This question always made Jillian nervous…it’s something that she and Wes had discussed…endlessly. “Well, there were pushes and pulls…Tempe PD is probably higher-up on the career ladder, but I got a really nice promotion by moving to ASU PD.” She was going to say more, but this was a very long and personal discussion. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

  Grace smiled and said, “Very well…but I will say this…as a woman who works at ASU, I’m glad you’re here.”

  This interaction broke the ice and from that point on, their discussion included more personal matters. They became ‘Grace and Jillian.’

  Grace matter-of-factly said she was a religious woman, and was on the governing board of her Episcopal Church. She added that, even though she was not a long-term Arizona resident, she was into history…of Tempe—she was even a docent at the Tempe History Museum over by the Tempe Library—and of ASU. She said, “I probably know more about ASU and this campus than a lot of people who’ve been here for 30 years.”

  For her part, Jillian told Grace about her parents, their jobs, but a little about them personally, too…like her mom’s interest in art and her dad’s love of poetry.

  Grace volunteered that she had been married, but that her husband had died of a heart attack. “That was several years back. Heart troubles ran in his family.” She said she’d been out on dates now and then, but nothing ‘took.’ She said that she didn’t want to pry but wondered if Jillian had someone ‘special.’

  “Funny you should ask. Just before I came over here, my partner, my detective partner,” she corrected, “mentioned a guy I’d dated for a while. His name was Brian. We were both in the Research Division at the time. We dated for maybe 6 months, but…I don’t know...”

  Grace smiled and volunteered, “Just didn’t take?”

  “Exactly,” Jillian nodded and smiled as well.

  When they parted ways at the top of long set of steps that connected Hayden Library to the main campus, they agreed to get together again. Grace said, “And I promise to call you if there are any more English Department coincidences.”

  As Jillian crossed the campus and then waited for the light at University, she thought about Professor Keefer’s promotion. She looked across the street to the ASU Foundation Building, the location—for now anyway—of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and soon-to-be Professor Keefer’s office. Was this just some internal matter as Grace thought? Thinking of Grace’s parting words, Jillian wondered, “is there such thing as a coincidence when you’re in the middle of a murder investigation?” She’d definitely tell Wes about Keefer and see what he thought.

  She needed to tell him about Professor Billy Gilroy, too. She hadn’t much liked Professor Gilroy when she interviewed him…something about his attitude…like he was acting all ‘professorial’ t
oward her. Jillian knew this was crazy—the guy was a professor, after all—but she wasn’t a student and hadn’t been for a while. She felt like he was evaluating her…giving her some kind of an exam. She sensed that probably this was how he acted toward everyone…his way of being in charge.

  Obviously, this was no reason to suspect him of anything. Still, the info that Grace had shared about how Professor Siemens had humiliated him at a faculty meeting last month…that could be a motive. She’d definitely tell Wes about this…maybe they should re-interview Professor Gilroy…and Professor Keefer.

  The light changed, she crossed the street and, as she passed the Foundation Building, a woman exited, hurrying to make the light and cross the street and back to the main campus. She was wearing a red dress. Grace Wilson immediately popped back into Jillian’s mind, although the dress was a completely different hue from Grace’s, and the woman looked nothing like her.

  Jillian thought it was a shame that a woman as vibrant, as lovely as Grace Wilson would be alone. On the other hand, between her church activities and her interest in history, she seemed to be doing just fine. Also, being the Assistant Chair of the English Department was an important job. Still…

  “Speaking of coincidences…” Jillian thought, it was strange that within a very short period of time, Wes had mentioned Brian, a former lover, and then Grace had also asked about her love life. Jillian thought about this as she walked. “OK, the fact that I have no romantic interest at all in Peter Voss does not mean that I’m not interested in a relationship. But for now, I’m comfortable with my life…as is.” As she neared 5th, she wondered if she was filling her spaces like Grace was filling hers. She didn’t think so.

  Jillian and Brian Gill had dated for almost seven months. He was a research analyst at Tempe PD, in a different section of the Research Division. He was a nice guy, but Jillian always felt as though they’d started dating mainly because they had friends who’d said they were a great match. So, they started going out. Being with him was always nice, for instance, he was a good, gentle lover. But, Jillian had never felt “in love” with him. Once they finally discussed this, Brian said pretty much the same thing. To use Grace’s term, it just “didn’t take.”

  She smiled when she remembered the conversation she and Wes had on the matter. It was later, sometime after Jillian and Brian had called it quits, and she was Wes’ partner by then. When Wes asked why they’d broken-up, Jillian told him that she didn’t want the confusion of having so many Brian’s in her life. Wes’ son was named Brian. He just shook his head.

  Jillian was not by nature a loner. She’d dated in college, of course, but her studious nature seemed to get in the way of any long-term romance. And, she dated after she started working in Research. However, it was about that time that things started getting complicated. When she’d go out with a civilian, things were fine until she said she worked at the PD…even as a civilian employee. Once that information was conveyed, that was that. It was the opposite when she went out with a cop. She’d been out with two guys, both very nice, but they were off-put when they learned that she was getting her masters at ASU. It wasn’t just police officers. She recalled going out several times with one guy—he was a partner with his dad in a successful home remodeling business—who she didn’t tell that she was getting her MS degree. She realized that was a problem in its own right.

  That was why the thing with Brian had been nice. But, nice just wasn’t enough.

  Back at HQ, Jillian went into the women’s room, splashed cold water on her face and patted dry with a paper towel. She looked in the mirror. Sure, sometimes she worried that she didn’t fit-in anymore: too police(ish) for civilians; too grad student(ish) for cops…whatever, she still wasn’t interested in Peter Voss. She smiled at herself.

  Jillian left the restroom and headed to Wes’ office. He was on the phone. She didn’t want to hover so she started to leave, but he motioned for her to stay. Then, into the phone, he said, “OK, Tamir, please consider this to be my respectful prod for you folks to do the hurry-up.” He glanced up at Jillian and his eyes twinkled. “Thank you much,” he said and hung up.

  Then, to Jillian he said, “I had another hurry-up from the Chief…course, you know her…what she actually she said was ‘please hurry, Wes, they’re breathing down my neck on this one…the mayor, President Davidos, the media.’ So, I was trying to light a fire under the techy guys and gals who are working on the Professor’s electronic toys.”

  Jillian said, “And we just had the meeting with the Chief and the others. Guess it’s about that time, but anyway, I’m sorry.”

  “No worries…comes with the territory. How about you and Ms. Wilson…just a nice visit or anything that might help us catch a killer?”

  “A little of both. From what Grace said, they’re experiencing the usual aftermath…read trauma…over in the English Department. Although, she did mention a small tidbit...two, actually.” Jillian paused for effect and Wes perked-up.

  “Well, first of all, we can add another name to the list of people who didn’t like Professor Siemens…Professor Billy Gilroy.”

  “Gilroy…he’s the one who made those comments in the hallway about there being a lot of opposition to hiring the Professor…and you already interviewed him, right?“

  “Yes, and like I told you, he said more about that opposition during the interview…and admitted that he was a part of that opposition…for several reasons. Her position was imposed on the English Department, which he didn’t like, and he didn’t think they needed a professor who studied Ayn Rand.”

  “Yeah, I remember. Well, when you interviewed him, did you sense anything…did you think we should consider him to be a suspect? And, what did Ms. Wilson say that’d made you mention him?”

  “I didn’t say anything about it to you after the interview, but I didn’t much like him…he was a little condescending. But, as for Grace Wilson, she said that he and Professor Siemens had a run-in at a faculty meeting last month. From what she said, Professor Siemens had seriously humiliated him. She also said that Professor Gilroy was quick to have his feelings hurt.”

  “Did she think he was the kind of guy who’d hold a grudge? I mean, was she telling you this info because she suspected him?”

  “No…in the first place, I asked her if she thought he held a grudge against the Professor. She said she didn’t think so…actually, she told me the story about their run-in as an example of someone who was respectful of…the deceased, even though she’d insulted him.”

  “Still…” Wes was quiet for a few seconds, obviously thinking. He shrugged, but then frowned. “You said there were two tidbits…”

  “Yes, I did. So, tidbit number two…apparently, Professor Keefer is being promoted…to an Associate Dean position.”

  Wes perked-up. “What’s your take on this, Jilly? Internal coincidence or something else? There are coincidences, but then sometimes there’s cause and effect. What did Ms. Wilson make of it?”

  “According to Grace, Professor Siemens and Professor Keefer had a ‘one hand washes the other’ relationship.”

  “What about personally…any hint of a romantic relationship?”

  “She didn’t really say….so I guess it was mainly business.”

  “I wonder if they could have been in competition for the promotion.”

  “I asked Grace that, and she didn’t seem to think so. She actually told me that Professor Siemens had contacts in high places, and that they may have greased the wheels for his promotion.”

  Wes nodded, then said, “Give me a second,” and dug-out the notes of his interview with Professor Keefer. He read and looked up, read and looked up. Jillian knew he was mentally replaying the interview.

  He laid the notes down, shook his head, and said, “Nothing notable here, business or professional. Did Ms. Wilson say when news about his promotion came down?”

  “La
st week. She said that Professor Keefer told her himself...actually, she described him as ‘crowing’ about it.”

  Wes, tapping fingers to mouth, was quiet. Then, he looked up at Jillian and raised his eyebrows.

  She asked, “Do we re-interview him?”

  “I’m thinking yes…Professor Keefer AND Professor Gilroy. You interviewed Gilroy…why don’t you schedule a follow-up with him…today if possible…tomorrow if today doesn’t work.”

  “Do you want to be in on it?”

  He shook his head “no” as he removed some business cards from his desk, picked-up the phone, and dialed. He listened for maybe 20 seconds so Jillian assumed he’d gotten an answering machine.

  When Wes hung up, Jillian said, “I’ll call Grace…she’s the Assistant Chair over there…maybe she can help.”

  She dialed from her cell contacts. “Grace, hi, It’s Jillian Warne. My partner and I wanted to do a follow-up interview with Professor Keefer, but got his voice mail.” She listened, then said, “OK. Yes, that would be great…11 tomorrow…” She looked at Wes who nodded. “11 is perfect. No, of course not.”

  Jillian paused, then asked, “Would you happen to know if Professor Gilroy is in this afternoon? OK, thanks.”

  Jillian covered the phone with her hand and said, “She’s checking on Professor Gilroy’s schedule. Also, she said Professor Keefer is in a meeting—it wasn’t on his calendar so Grace didn’t know where…after that, he’s gone for the day. But, she has access to his calendar so she gave us an appointment at 11. I promised that we wouldn’t attribute her as the source of the info about his promotion.”

  “No, of course not.”

  Wes was about to continue, but Jillian held-up her hand and was back on the phone. “Great, thanks…no, I’ll call him, myself. Yes, I think I’d like to interview him again. Thanks, Grace…me, too.”

  She hung up, then said, “So Professor Gilroy has office hours this afternoon. I’ll give him a try. But, before I forget, I did ask Grace about Paxton, the student, and she said that as far as she knew, he’s not surfaced…in any way…since the business with the grievance.”