Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar by Gray Cavender (red scrolls of magic TXT) 📗

“Yeah. He said it was just something they were discussing.” Wes worried his lip, then said, “Roberts said that she was getting tired of that ‘running around’ lifestyle.”

Jillian said, “I know. And it does seem as if she was ending the affair with Professor Keefer.”

“But then there’s the other bit about Davidos. I’ve thought more about that. Ok, so maybe Davidos was straight with us that nothing was going on between them. But, regardless of what he thought, maybe she was trying to get something going. I’m thinking that you were right, Jilly, about her texts and emails to him…they were suggestive. Now, they were careful…she could always deny that she was ‘up’ to anything, but there was an opening…in case Davidos was interested.”

“That’s my point, Wes. It doesn’t seem to me that Professor Siemens was starting to settle down with just one guy.” Jillian thought as she took a sip of coffee. “I know it was just a movie, but she’s a Rand scholar. I mean, she has photos of her on her wall. And there are some parallels…”

Nearby, Wes and Jillian heard the sound of a desk drawer closing…hard enough to attract their attention. A chair scooted loudly—more noise—and then Sgt. Halliday flashed by them with a batch of files under his arm. Shaking his head, he hustled toward the door.

Jillian asked, “What’s with him? He did the same thing the other day.”

Wes also took a sip of coffee, which he seemed to savor. Then he said, “Maybe he has trouble with authority. You outrank him…you being a Detective Sergeant and all. Or maybe he doesn’t like Helen Mirren.” Wes grinned but he also looked toward the door as Doc Halliday disappeared into the hallway.

The incident with Halliday was a bit unsettling. He had never been very friendly with her, but he wasn’t Larry Gruber either.

What she did say to Wes was, “OK, I’m ready…to get back to our case.”

“Well then, let’s get started. “I will say…just for the record, Jilly, that I’m glad that you relaxed and took a break from the case last night.” He tried to look stern, but laughed instead.

Jillian didn’t mention to Wes the part about reading the Prime Suspect article. Or her late-night review of the case notes and photos. Or her feeling that she was somehow missing something.

“Well, remember that I spoke with Ms. Disis and Professor LeJohns last night…but missed Professor Sylvester. I left a message on his voice mail…and he called first thing this morning.”

“That’s great…so, what did he say?”

“Well, main thing is, he fessed-up…told me he’s the one who tipped-off the Professor about Naremore’s certificate thingy…even gave her a copy of the proposal. He did this, he said, because she was his colleague…he’s an Accounting prof. Mainly, the guy sounded defensive, even over the phone.”

“Yes, I checked him out this morning before I came in…he’s a professor of Accountancy. So, they’re colleagues in Carey Business.”

“Accountancy, huh? Anyway, he tried to justify his actions, but he also said he wished he hadn’t told Professor Siemens about the committee meeting, or given her the proposal. He’d known there was bad blood between them…that, and then, her death.”

Wes paused while he read his notes, then continued, “He said Professor Naremore was definitely in the wrong—that he was way over the line—but he also said that Professor Siemens really went after him…said she was ‘headstrong’ (a quote), and he also called her ‘imperial’ (another quote). Even so, he said that Naremore had actually threatened her. Sorry, Jilly.”

She expelled a breath of air, nodded, and asked, “Do you want us to interview him in person?”

“Let’s defer that…for now anyway. We have a lot on our plate, and I was satisfied with the info that Professor Sylvester gave me. I’m more interested in interviewing Ms. Louisa Disis and Professor Jeff LeJohns…in person. And, we have to get them in before Professor Naremore this afternoon. Besides, we can always add Sylvester back in later, if we think we need to.”

Before they left for their appointment with Louisa Disis, they organized their notes into two files—one from Jillian and one from Wes—and she emailed them as attachments to Georgia. They discussed the interview with Ms. Disis as they walked to her office in the Foundation Building.

Ms. Louisa Disis’ office was on the first floor in the rear of the Foundation Building, although they first had to get past a receptionist, who was like a guard at the gate. Eventually, as they wound their way through the labyrinth of offices, some small, some large, Wes said, “For a minute, I didn’t think that woman at the front desk was going to let us pass through. You’d think we were trying to get in to a secret lab…”

”Or to see a dean,” Jillian joined in.

“Yeah, just not Dean Keefer,” Wes said under his breath so that only Jillian could hear him.

She smiled and said, “It’s this office here.”

Wes stopped mid-knock because the door was open, but they could see that office was empty. “Maybe she just stepped out,” Wes said.

A small woman stepped out of an adjoining office, saw them and said, “You must be the detective.” She cut in front of them and re-entered her office, carrying a large stack of folders. “Detective Webb, was it?”

He smiled, “Detective Sergeant Wes Webb and Detective Sergeant Jillian Warne…may we come in?”

She motioned them in and they both displayed their identification.

Ms. Disis was a small woman with an olive complexion and black hair done in a perm so tight that it almost gave Jillian a headache just to look at it. She wore brown pants, a lighter brown blouse, and cordovan shoes with a small heel.

She neither smiled nor frowned during the interview, but answered their questions with a quick efficiency…they were in and out of her office in under 20 minutes. The main takeaways from the interview were that she didn’t much like Professor Naremore. He had threatened Professor Siemens…she was