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

who the other cops had misidentified. According to the article, Tennison’s attention to detail meant long hours, examining and reexamining all the evidence.

Jillian was tired and her mind wandered as she read. She heard that same imaginary voice-over voice again, this time saying, ‘Helen Mirren IS Jane Tennison.’ She laughed. It dawned on her that she, Jillian Warne, was a police detective, just like Jane Tennison. She was proud…for a couple of seconds, but quickly felt as though she was somehow slacking-off. Would DCI Tennison think she was working hard enough to get justice for Professor Siemens? At least watching the film and then reading the article had been a distraction, one that cleared her mind. Wes was right, they’d sort things out…one way or another.

Jillian laid the book down and pulled-up her IPAD notes on the investigation. She glanced quickly at the interviews, then turned to the files on the Professor’s two offices. She read these notes slowly, then looked at the photos she’d taken, and also the photos from Angel and the forensics team. Finally, she logged-off and returned the book to the bookshelf. She sat and thought.

She felt that she was missing something, something important, but had absolutely no idea what. She also felt as though Helen Mirren was looking at her, or actually, that she was looking at Mirren. Which one, though? Jane Tennison? Ayn Rand? The actress, Dame Helen Mirren?

She turned out the bedroom light at 11:30 (or so). She didn’t really want to know.

CHAPTER 15

Jillian was running late because she’d spent almost 10 minutes scrolling through ASU web pages to check-out Professor LeJohns, Professor Sylvester, and Ms. Disis. She scarfed down half a toasted bagel with vegie smear and smoked salmon. There was time for only one cup of coffee, so she was glad that the pot was going when she arrived at the Tempe PD.

Wes grabbed her a cup and topped-off his. They sat in her office.

As he handed Jillian her cup, he asked, “So, what’d you think about Georgia?” She figured this was a way to help ease her into what could be a hard day.

“I like her, Wes. She’s everything you said she was.”

“I thought you two would hit it off. She texted me after she left Postinos and said how much she enjoyed meeting you.”

“What’s so amazing about her is that she’s got this career trajectory lined-out. It seems so well-planned, especially the part about being an accountant. I remember you telling me once that if someone wanted to go with the FBI, they should either be a lawyer, an accountant, or know languages.”

“Yep, she does have her eyes on the prize. Still, there’s a lot that she has to fill-in to get there.”

“I think she knows that.”

“Me, too. Still…she’s more nervous about all this than she lets on. Don’t get me wrong, her confidence is no façade, but she’s just a little unsure of herself. In part because she wants to do so well, which is why I wanted her to meet you. You’re similar in age, you’ve got a master’s degree and she’s got the CPA thing going…I thought she needed someone who’s more like her than I am.”

“Wes, along those lines, I was thinking…is there any way she could work with us on our case? She’s going to partner with you…eventually.”

“Yes, we will be partners…hopefully soon…if you get my meaning? For now, though, I want to keep our investigation streamlined. Reading her in and then actually incorporating her might slow things down.”

“You’re right.”

He was quite for a second, then said, “Why don’t we do this…let’s share our notes with Georgia. She can read through them…on her own, and when we close the case, we can spend some time going over the investigation with her. We’ll need to debrief anyway, and I think it’d be OK for her to be a part of that process. This way, we keep moving forward, but it can still be a good learning experience for her. We can go over the whole thing…from that first call to the Professor’s office…all the way through. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good.”

“Jilly, were you able to have any down time last night? Your friend’s information about your professor…that was a lot to take in at the end of the day.”

She took a bigger pull of coffee, then said, “Yes, actually I watched a movie on Netflix.”

“I’m glad you could detach from all this…at least a little.”

She made a slight grimace, and said, “Yes, well…so, the movie was called The Pasion of Ayn Rand.” She hurried through the next part, “I think it may have some parallels with our case.”

Wes smiled, shook his head, then said “Hmm…didn’t know there was such a movie…OK, let’s hear it.”

“So, it was a biopic that starred Helen Mirren.

“Well, well...DCI Tennison herself.”

“Yes. She played Ayn Rand…obviously. Anyway, the movie was mainly about her life and her inner circle of supporters. The main thing that I saw as a parallel with our case is that Rand was having an affair with one of these people…a much younger guy.”

“The parallel being affairs with a younger man…like Professor Siemens and Professor Roberts…like the Skysong woman told us. Right?”

“Right. Except that this guy was a lot younger. Also, he was married, and so was Rand, and their partners knew about the affair.”

“What was up with that?”

“Well, they saw themselves as being on the vanguard of a social movement—based on Rand’s ideas—and it was like the usual norms didn’t apply to them. At least, they didn’t think the rules applied to them. They were special…some sort of intellectual elite.”

“Got it. And Skysong told us that the Professor did pretty much whatever she wanted to when it came to men.”

“Exactly. Look Wes, I know that Professor Siemens isn’t Ayn Rand, but she is a Rand scholar. And there are some parallels in their lifestyles…I mean, if she identified with Rand, maybe that’s why she wasn’t into monogamy. Anyway, it made me wonder about Roberts’ claim that they might