Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar

by Gray Cavender

  “You’re no fun. And Ian…is he more background, or is he somehow in the mix?”

  “Well, he did know Professor Siemens and they were…I guess you say they were academic enemies.”

  “That’s not surprising, from what I’ve read. The paper said that she very conservative, so of course she and Ian would be enemies…I mean, he’s VERY opinionated...I just happen to agree with his opinions.”

  “Yes, I know you do. I think you were his favorite student in the class we took together…you out-Naremored Naremore.”

  Eileen laughed and toasted Jillian.

  Their food came. Jillian’s enchiladas were topped in a green sauce and dots of cheese…Mexico City style. They also ordered another Modelo to split.

  “When I spoke with ZZ, I wondered about something she said. She told me that she had been concerned when I first decided to become a detective. This was because her people, the Roma, often had run-ins with the police. But she also said that now, after interacting with me, she no longer feels that way…which is good…but still, it worried me a little. What do you think?”

  Eileen, who was cutting a bite of her burro, stopped and put her fork on her plate. “Well, if you remember, we discussed this…a lot…when you first started considering the job.”

  “I know…sorry to dredge-up the past…”

  “No worries…that’s not why I mentioned it. I just wanted to remind you that you were very mindful of these issues before you took the job.” She took the bite she’d cut, chewed for a few seconds, then continued.

  “Of course, back then I was mainly worried about any potential risk, you know, that you’d be in physical danger. I mean, it’s a very challenging job. Then too, I know that you sometimes may have to hurt people, either physically or personally, like when you arrest someone and they have to go to jail or whatever, which you have done.”

  Jillian winced, but nodded.

  “On the other hand, physical therapists have to be willing to hurt people, but it’s for their own good…to make them better. And what you do is to make us safer. I know that in some of your cases, this is exactly what happened…like with that hate crime murder…you and your partner caught the two criminals, and they went to prison. Or what about those drunk ASU frat boys with guns. Somebody’s gonna get hurt, duh…and somebody did. And you and your partner put the case together and those young fools paid the price. Who knows, maybe that’ll make other young men think twice before they get sloppy drunk and start acting macho and waving guns around.”

  Jillian was about to speak, but Eileen continued, “And the sexual assault stuff that you’re working on…there’s nothing more important than that…nothing. I know this is all hard, Jillian. I can’t imagine anyone actually wanting to do your job, but honestly, I can’t imagine anyone I’d rather see doing it than you. I mean, you have an opportunity to apply the principles that we learned in our classes. These things aren’t abstractions—well, I guess they are,” she laughed, “but they’re also supposed to be principles that would make things better…if only… And you’re trying to apply them.”

  “Well thanks. It’s just…sometimes I look around at some of the other people I work with and I just do NOT want to become like them.”

  “I don’t blame you, but if you’ll remember, when you decided to take the job, I promised you then…and I’ll promise you again now…that if I ever see you starting to change, if I see you in danger of becoming Dirty Harry, I’ll tell you.” She raised her hand as if making an oath. “I’m serious.”

  “I know you are, and thanks.” Jillian reached across the table, took the raised hand and squeezed. Eileen squeezed back.

  The Valley Art Theater was in the next block so it was only a couple of minutes from the restaurant. They were going to see Django, a biopic about the great guitar player, Django Reinhardt. Wes, who loved music and movies about music, had seen it last fall at the Scottsdale International Film Festival. When he saw that the film was playing at the Valley Art, he recommended it to Jillian. He told her that Marilyn had reminded him to remind Jillian that the Valley Art Theater had been in downtown Tempe just about forever, and that that’s where Wes and Marilyn had met. Jillian couldn’t believe that she’d forgotten to mention the film to ZZ. She texted her to let her know once they were seated and before she silenced her phone.

  The Tempe night out with Eileen had worked wonders, and Jillian had plenty of energy for their interview with Professor Roberts. It was a pretty, late summer morning, not too hot yet, when she and Wes left HQ. As they stopped at the light on University, they both looked at the Foundation Building, then at each other. “This should be interesting,” Wes said and nodded to the building…”but first things first.”

  The light turned and they were a part of the throng crossing University…students heading to morning classes along with a smattering of professors, Jillian thought. A smaller-sized group crossed the opposite way. Still, it made for a mini-pedestrian traffic jam. As they walked across campus, they made a few last-minute tweaks of how they would handle the interview.

  Professor Roberts’ door was open but he was at his desk reading and didn’t see them, so Wes gave a light rap with the back of his knuckles. Roberts looked up and motioned for them to enter. He rose from his chair and shook hands with them, then resumed his seat behind his desk. They took the chairs in front of the desk.

  Wes waited for a few beats—it always seemed to Jillian longer than it really was and she figured it must seem even longer to the interviewee. When Professor Roberts said nothing, Wes said, “As I mentioned on the phone, we now have a forensic report on Professor Siemens’ electronic devices…all of them.”

  Roberts nodded and said, “I understand…yes.”

  Wes said, “So let me get right to it then. Professor Roberts, you were not exactly forthcoming in our interview the other day.” Wes gave was quiet again but when Roberts didn’t speak, he added, “About your relationship with Professor Siemens. Clearly, you two were still in contact…apparently you were still getting together. Why didn’t you tell us this?”

  Roberts seemed about to run his hand through his hair, but stopped. He cleared his throat and said, “I apologize. I don’t know why I didn’t say something the other day. I guess I thought it wasn’t that big of a deal. But I know I should have said something…so again, apologies.”

  Jillian followed-up, “So were you and Professor Siemens back together or working on it…or what?”

  “We were together for quite a while, but broke it off late in the spring. I don’t know…after a long summer apart, I think I just wanted to see her…and I think she wanted to see me as well…so, we did.”

  Wes again, “From reading your texts and emails, it seemed to us as if you…” and allowed a space for Roberts to fill.

  This time, Professor Roberts did fill the empty space. “Yes, we went out…I guess you could say on a date. And we did spend the night together…although it seems strange to think of someone reading our communication. Seems like a real loss of privacy.”

  Jillian said, “I’m sure that it does seem that way, but we ARE investigation a murder…so we’re as thorough as we can be. And of course, we have the appropriate warrant for examining Professor Siemens’ electronic devices. So, were you two back together?”

  “I don’t know what to say…we were discussing it.”

  Wes now, “At the earlier interview, you said that maybe she’d been seeing someone else, but you said you weren’t sure because you hadn’t been in contact much over the summer.” Wes was going through his notes…as if reading verbatim from that interview.

  “Yes, I said that and it was true. That’s what I knew…for a while. But since we’d gotten together a time or two, I knew that Nelda had been seeing someone.”

  “Who?” Wes asked.

  “Jonathan Keefer. He’s the Chair of the English Department…but I imagine
that you already know this.”

  Wes asked, “Had her relationship with Professor Keefer been going on for a while? Was it serious?”

  “Look, I don’t know all the details. I think it was only for the past month or so. As for being serious, not at all…it was an affair…an affair at best.”

  Jillian again, “And how do you know this?”

  Roberts shrugged his shoulders, “Nelda…she told me. She also said it was over. It was an affair…a summer…thing.” Roberts was polite but there was a little edge to his comments.

  Wes asked, “Do you know how Keefer took this news…that it was over between them?”

  “No, I don’t. You know what, let me back up for a minute. Let me be clear about this…I don’t know if she’d already ended it or was just about to. So, I don’t know Keefer’s reaction, or if he even knew, yet.”

  Wes asked, “Did you know that Professor Keefer was about to be promoted to a Dean’s office, but that’s not going to happen now…did you know this?”

  “Sure…the word’s already out.”

  Wes again, “Did this decision have anything to do with Keefer’s affair with Professor Siemens?”

  “I don’t know…I didn’t think of a connection.”

  Wes followed-up, “Could a break-up have motivated Professor Keefer to do anything…?”

  “I have no idea, Detective. As I said, I don’t even know if Nelda had ended it with him yet.”

  Jillian again, “So, since you’ve been seeing Professor Siemens again, did you learn of any other romantic relationships that she was having…lately?”

  “No,” he answered. His look was not exactly a glare, but he seemed to be annoyed, Jillian thought. She followed Wes’ lead and was quiet for a time.

  Roberts held both hands palms up, “What?”

  On the way over earlier, Jillian and Wes had discussed exactly how much information to reveal to Professor Roberts. They agreed that they were willing to say a few things, mainly to get Roberts’ reaction.”

  “Just wondering,” Jillian said. “We know she spent some time with President Davidos at a conference...”

  Roberts interrupted, “What are you implying?”

  “And they flew back to Phoenix together on the same flight.”

  “They were at a conference together…in Charlotte…that’s all.”

  “And she had to change her return flight to make that happen.”

  Roberts leaned back and seemed to be processing this information. Then, he quickly asked, “Are you implying that Nelda was having an affair with the president of the university?” He definitely looked annoyed now. Jillian couldn’t tell if he was annoyed at the suggestion of an affair between Professor Siemens and President Davidos, or if he was annoyed at her for asking about it.

  “No implications, Professor Roberts…we want to know what you think.”

  “OK, I’ll tell you what I think…I wouldn’t waste my time focusing on Jonathan Keefer, much less Jacques Davidos. Sure, Ok, I guess from your perspective they could be involved in…in Nelda’s death. But what I think is…I think you should turn your attention to Ian Naremore?”

  Wes asked, “Professor Naremore? Why’s that?”

  “Because…he really had it in for Nelda. The opposition to Nelda’s hire had essentially faded, but Naremore was trying to revitalize it. He’s a leftist extremist. He’s a black…an African American professor in…in Justice Studies.” He named Naremore’s department as if that affiliation, itself, was a strike against him.

  Jillian tried to keep her calm as she asked, “And we should focus on him, why?”

  “Here’s why…Naremore is the author of an article that’s going to be published in The Chronicle of Higher Education. He’s critical of the trend whereby universities can draw on external funding to recruit top-ranked scholars who hold conservative ideologies.”

  Wes asked, “You mean like Professor Siemens?”

  “Exactly like Nelda. Naremore even attacks her by name in this article…it’s a personal affront. I mean, apparently it’s OK to engage in affirmative action recruitment to hire people of color but it’s the end of the world to hire reputable conservative scholars.”

  Wes again, “Yes, we’ve heard mention of such an article, but no one seemed to know who authored it.”

  “Yeah, well Nelda found out…Naremore.” He said the name with disgust. Then, he nodded and in a more affirmative manner said, “Oh…she called him on it. Basically, Nelda told him that he would not get away with this. And she meant it…she would have made him pay…believe me.”

  Jillian asked, “So, are you saying that you suspect Professor Naremore of murder?”

  Roberts looked disgusted again. He started to jab a finger at Jillian…it had come up to chest level. But, he reined himself in.

  He took a quick breath and said, “Honestly, Detective, I have no idea. What I do know is that Naremore was going after Nelda. She found out about it and that she let him know that she was on to him…and that’s all I know.” He punctuated this with a horizontal movement of his hand.

  He looked first at Jillian, then Wes, and said, “He’s a hot head…an ideologue…of the worst sort…but beyond that…” He threw both hands in the air. “You guys are the police…you’re the ones to sort this out.”

  Wes asked, “Do you know how Professor Siemens found out that Naremore wrote the letter?”

  Roberts thought for a few seconds, then said, “No, not really. Nelda didn’t say how she knew, just that she did.”

  Jillian continued, “Thanks for the information about the article, Professor Roberts.” She paused, then said, “Now, I’d like to turn back to your relationship with Professor Siemens. So, were the two of you getting back together?”

  Roberts looked somewhere between confused and angry. Jillian figured that maybe he’d thought his last answers would end the interview. His voice had even pitched higher, like when people are ending a phone conversation. But she was still asking questions, even doubling back to his relationship with Professor Siemens.

  He took an orienting breath and said, “Ah…we were talking about it…but I don’t really know.”

  Jillian said, “In reading through the various texts and emails, we didn’t see any discussion of a reconciliation…there were discussions of dinner or a movie and I guess some mention of you having stayed the night, but nothing really about the two of you getting back together.”

  “No, probably not. We weren’t texting or talking about it over email. But then, it’s not the sort of a topic for those forms of communication. We did talk about it…in person, though.”

  When Jillian and Wes were quiet, he filled in the silence. “Honestly, I don’t know if it would have happened. All I can say is that we were discussing it.”

  Jillian nodded, then said, “OK…although, the picture we’ve been getting of Professor Siemens is that she didn’t seem to want to settle into a…into a monogamous relationship.” She again left a space for him to fill-in.

  “I know, but, at the risk of claiming too much, I think Nelda was getting tired of…of playing the field. That sort of a life can get to be superficial. And I think Nelda was getting to that point.”

  Jillian thought of their interview with Miriam Moser and her take on Professor Siemens’ life style. She asked, “So, to be clear, you and Professor Siemens were talking about getting back together AND in a monogamous relationship?”

  “Again, Detective, Detectives,” he added and looked at both of them, “I don’t want to claim too much. I mean, we had a nice time together…a couple of times. We spent the night together. And we’d started talking about getting back together…” he gestured as if to prevent some wrong conclusion, “in person, not on email or in texts.”

  Roberts had regained control of his emotions. He made eye contact with both detectives. “Nelda and I have
a lot in common…our economic ideology…our world view…academically…politically…across the board. I think we were a good couple. But this level of commitment…that was a big step…for both us. Absolutely. We WERE talking, but nothing was set. And now…” Roberts exhaled air in a long sigh and looked away from them.

  There was a moment of silence. Wes broke it. “Anything you’d like to add, Professor Roberts? And please, be forthcoming with us if there’s anything more you think we need to know.”

  He didn’t answer immediately. He sighed again, then said, “I cared for Nelda…very much. And I want whoever did this to pay. You guys asked about Jonathan Keefer. Maybe Nelda told him it was over and he reacted badly…I obviously have no idea…I don’t even know if she’d told him. As for President Davidos…” he frowned. I don’t think so, but again, I don’t know…not really.” He made a palms-up gesture.

  He shook his head, then nodded. “What I do know is that Nelda and Ian Naremore were bitter enemies. They’d had run-ins before…mainly played out in publications, but who knows…maybe there was more…I had a sense that there might be.” He shrugged. “Maybe it was the article…I know that Nelda had confronted him on it and fully intended to take him to…she was not about to back down. And I have no idea what someone like him might do under such circumstances.”

  It was too early for lunch so Jillian and Wes headed back across campus on their way to HQ. They de-briefed as they walked.

  Wes asked, “OK, your thoughts, Jilly?”

  Jillian knew that Wes would ask this once they were away from the Carey Complex, so, as they rode the elevator to the ground floor and then walked past the MU, she’d already organized her reflections on their interview with Professor Roberts.

  “So, Professor Roberts misled us about his relationship with Professor Siemens. He described it as being in the past tense, but they’d seen each other recently…they’d even slept together. The obvious question…why would he have done that?”

  “Well, he gave us his reason: they had broken it off AND that there was no certainty that they’d really get back together…course, a competing reason is that he had something to hide…that he’d been in more contact with a murder victim than he wanted us to know.”