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

“No, I don’t think so…although, Nelda was not secretive about her relationships. She didn’t advertise them, but she didn’t hide them either...which is how David found out about Anthony Bradley.”

“And what about Mr. Spann?”

“I had the sense that Nelda’s relationship with him just ran its course.”

Wes asked, “Was she seeing anyone now?”

Moser was quiet, then said, ”I’m not really sure…maybe? Things get so busy at the beginning of the fall semester…and Nelda was away a lot this summer…so I haven’t seen her much. She hasn’t been here at SkySong lately, either. We talked last week and planned to get together to catch up…she said she had some things to tell me…could have been about a new man…or not? I just don’t know.

She took another sip, Jillian thought to avoid crying. “I’m trying to answer your questions as truthfully as I can.” She paused again as if trying to regain a train of thought. “But, I don’t want to give you a misleading impression. Nelda’s not a runaround…she’s just a strong woman…who enjoys the company of men…and she does as she pleases…that’s all.” She seemed to be on the verge of saying something else, but did not.

After a couple of beats, Wes asked, “Anything else you can think of that we should know for our investigation?”

Moser shook her head, as if answering ‘no,’ but also as if simply because she was at a loss for words. “Nelda is a strong, successful woman…she knows what she wants. She’s not always easy, she’s not falsely friendly with people...with colleagues, with students…with anyone. I think that she intimidates people. But still, this…this is out of the blue.”

Wes said, “Ms. Moser, we’d like to take a quick look at Professor Siemens’ temporary office…just to check it out.”

Although she seemed surprised, Moser quickly said, “OK.” She picked-up her telephone and dialed. Wes and Jillian could hear the faint ringing at the Information Desk, near the elevator.

“This is Susan Moser. The police detectives would like to see Professor Siemens’ desk. Please assist them.” She listened, then said, “Yes, that’s correct. Thank you.”

They ended the interview with an exchange of business cards and the request that Ms. Moser contact them if she thought of anything, no matter had inconsequential it might seem. The last thing that Jillian heard as they left the office was Susan Moser sniffling.

Jillian and Wes returned to the Information Desk and the student worker who’d given them directions walked them down a corridor that was parallel to the one with Moser’s office. This corridor wasn’t as open: small, glass-front offices lined one wall…none were occupied. Further along, some of the offices had translucent glass or some sort of covering so that you couldn’t see inside. Cubicles were on the opposite side of the corridor.

“This is it. Do I open it or give you the key?”

The young man was obviously nervous. Wes said, “Please, you open it. And if you’d like, just stay in the hallway while we give it a quick look-see.”

The temp office was a small room with a glass front. There was space only for a small desk and chair, and a visitor’s chair. The surface was clean of anything…no phone, no computer, and the desk drawers were empty.

They stepped back into the hall and Wes said, “It looks very empty. Has Professor Nelda Siemens been here lately?”

The worker shook his head no, and then volunteered, “Most of these offices aren’t permanently assigned, so, other visitors also use them. I guess that’s why people don’t leave anything personal in them.” He shrugged.

Wes thanked the student worker and they left.

Wes waited until he’d pulled out onto Scottsdale Road, and then said, “Well, I think at the very least, that interview answered a couple of questions. We know more about how the Professor afforded a luxury condo on the Tempe Town Lake…consulting. And second, we know why she had a box of condoms.”

Jillian glanced over and said, “Yes, Wes, she practiced safe sex.”

Wes was quiet for a few seconds, then said, “You’re absolutely right.” He was quiet again, then said, “You did good finding out about why she’d be in her office so late.”

Jillian nodded, was quiet herself for a time, then said, “I had the feeling that Ms. Moser wasn’t being totally open with us…about something…maybe about who all Professor Siemens had dated…or if she was dating someone new…I don’t know…something. Did you have that sense, Wes?”

“I’m not sure. I guess I did notice some reservations on her part, but, I put it down to her being so upset.”

“You could be right about that.”

“You could be right, too, Jilly.” He focused on driving, braked for a red light at Currie, and then asked, “What’d you make of Ms. Moser’s comments about the relationship between the Professor and Roberts being an unusual one?”

“I assumed she meant that, you know, usually it’s the woman wanting a more stable relationship. And instead, here it was the man that wanted more stability. Then, too, the age roles also were reversed…in this case, the man is a younger than the woman.”

“No, not your usual May-December,” Wes said.

Wes slowed, waited for a bus, turned right on University, then angled right again onto Fifth. He tapped the steering wheel several times, then said, “Let’s do this…I’ll call those guys that Ms. Moser named…Bradley, the lawyer, and the other professor, Spann, on the downtown campus. She said they were old news, but I’ll see what I think…maybe we should interview them in person...maybe not. In the meantime, see if you can schedule an interview with your old professor, Ian Naremore.”

“Sure, but Wes, I just don’t see him for this. I know that he’s very critical of corporations and business deregulation, but still…”

“I trust your instincts on this, Jilly...it’s just that his name keeps coming up,” he looked over at Jillian. “But I’m also thinking that he probably knows a lot about the opposition to the Rand Center…and he can give us a better perspective on this, and THAT