Death of the Ayn Rand Scholar, Gray Cavender [short books for teens .txt] 📗

on the front desk said, “Chief wants to see you.” She smiled with what Jillian took to be an “it’s OK, not to worry” sort of a smile.

Jillian went immediately to the Chief’s office, knocked even though the door was open—it almost always was—and entered when he motioned her in.

Chief Al Rosas looked like a cop: 45, a solidly built 190 pounds, a shaved head, and a no nonsense demeanor. Actually, he looked more like a cop than a chief until he spoke or laughed, which was often.

Al was from Guadalupe, Arizona, an enclave of people who are of Yaqui and Mexican heritage that is located on the Tempe/Phoenix border. He got a BS degree in Applied Sociology from a Northern Arizona University satellite program in Phoenix. Al started with Tempe PD as a patrol officer even before he’d graduated from NAU. He moved-up through the ranks, made sergeant, and then shifted over to being a detective. His professional claim to fame came later as a detective in Tempe’s Sex Crimes unit...he’d made Detective Sergeant by then.

Wes once told Jillian that Al was the best investigator he’d ever seen on sex crime cases. He’d had several high-profile successes, including catching a serial rapist on ASU’s Tempe campus. The guy would lurk in the parking structures, mostly when evening classes let out. It had gotten scary enough that several student organizations had started escort services to cart women students to their parking structures after class, and stay with them until they were safely inside their cars. With the help of a young-looking woman patrol officer, Al had set-up a sting and captured the guy. The campus community breathed a sigh.

On the strength of that case, Al had moved to ASU PD, earning a promotion to lieutenant in the job change. Several years later when a number of miscues had embarrassed the campus department, the former chief moved on, and Al Rosas was everyone’s choice to become Chief. It was as if he’d always been The Chief.

“You OK?” Al asked, and motioned Jillian to a chair.

“It was bad…I mean, somebody was killed,” she answered as she sat. “But, we’re on it.’

He was quiet for a few seconds while he studied her. He seemed satisfied with what he saw and said, “I know. Just got off the phone with Wes. He was requisitioning you because it’s on campus. Goes without saying, I agreed. I can’t put you just on this, but I’ve already adjusted your workload.”

“Thanks, Chief.”

“Yeah, well, given your history with Tempe PD and with Wes and your ASU history…you’re the logical liaison…it’s a no-brainer,” he said, and demonstrated this with a very big shrug.

“I’ll do my best, Chief. So, how do you want to work this?

“I’m thinking that you’ll keep coming in here some…I want you to continue on the campus Sexual Assault Task Force…that’s high profile and it’s important. Obviously, the higher-ups want to keep ASU off of the front page of the New York Times on this. ASU needs to be known for doing good, not for dragging our feet. So, keep working on that...but work out of Tempe PD on the murder as needed.”

“So, we’re sure that it’s murder?”

“Well, maybe not officially…not yet, anyway, but from what Wes said, pretty likely, don’t you think?”

“Yes.”

“Detective Sergeant Warne, let me ask you again, are you OK on this?” Al sounded very official, but Jillian knew that he was just being nice, professional, but nice. He always went out of his way to be nice to her. She thought that maybe it was because, like him, she’d transferred to ASU PD from Tempe PD, earning a promotion in the shift.

He continued, “I know you’ve worked murder cases before…several of them…right? But maybe this one’s different…the victim’s a professor and all…”

“I’m OK, Chief, really. Maybe her being a professor hit me hard…I mean, I knew what the call was as I was heading over, but it still caught me off guard. And honestly, going to a murder scene still creeps-me-out. I just don’t understand…you know?”

“Yes, I do. And, that’s not me just blowing smoke. I really do know. So does Wes. I think understanding this is what makes him a good detective. Makes you a good detective, too. It’s one thing to keep some professional distance—you got to—but at the same time, a heavy dose of humanity is always a good thing.”

He paused, obviously thinking, then continued, “Don’t get too caught-up in this, OK? I know you got that justice gene thing going,” he laughed, “but you gotta walk a fine line between being too aggressive and still bringing-in…bringing-in whoever did this. Alright?”

Jillian had never thought of herself as being aggressive, so she was a little surprised. She wondered if that’s how Al thought of her, and if he did, was that problematic? Or, if that’s how Wes thought of her…he’d just been saying something about her wanting justice, and obviously he and Al had talked. But, then she didn’t think that seeking justice was a bad thing…and in any case, it was just who she was. Plus, the way Al had said this…he was being…OK, he was being The Chief, no question about that, but friendly at the same time…like he was an older friend who was just imparting some words of wisdom.

Not knowing what to say, she just said, “Thank you.” Later, that seemed to Jillian like a lame thing to have said. Still, she couldn’t think of anything that would have been better.

Back at her desk, she called Wes, and they made a plan.

Jillian lived close enough to the ASU PD that she rarely drove to work unless she knew she’d need her car for something job-related, or later, after work. Sometimes she walked to work, sometimes she biked, and sometimes she rode the Jupiter, especially while it was still so hot. The Jupiter was a part of the City of Tempe’s Orbit bus system (sometimes called the Circulator), small blue buses with several lines that served many of