Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar by Gray Cavender (classic literature list txt) 📕

“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