The woman stared at him for a few seconds. Then she asked, “Does this have to do with her friend who was killed?”
“Yes.” Tobias took off his sunglasses and tucked them into the front pocket of his white button-down shirt. “Samantha may know something that can help us find out who murdered Amarinda.”
She nodded and stepped back, opening the door wider. “Please, come in.”
As she walked into the house, Nix took in her surroundings, assessing any potential threat, and she knew both men were doing the same thing. It only took a few seconds. The decor was typical Southwest style. A large fireplace took central stage in the outside wall of the living room. A hallway leading presumably to the bedrooms ran along the wall to the left of the foyer.
Nix took a breath and held it a moment, then slowly exhaled. Other than her and Tobias, she couldn’t smell anything here except humans. It appeared that it was as normal on the inside as it looked on the outside.
“I’ll just go get my daughter.” Mrs. Smith closed the door and motioned toward the living room. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.” She gave them a slight smile and went down the hallway.
Both men sat down, Tobias on the sofa and Dante in one of the two armchairs facing it. Nix wandered around the room, hearing the murmur of female voices from down the hallway. She looked at the knickknacks, pictures on the wall, trying to get a sense of the people who lived there. A framed photo of Samantha and Amarinda rested next to a glass prism on a bookshelf. Both women wore wide smiles as they stood in front of a large telescope.
“That was taken about six months ago,” a soft voice said from behind her.
Nix turned to see the same young woman from the photo. “Hello, Samantha. Thank you for seeing us. I’m Nix, this is Tobias Caine and Detective MacMillan.”
The young woman nodded, her lips trembling in a brief smile. “Hi.” She motioned toward the picture. “We had so much fun that day, riding the ski lift on Mt. Lemmon, eating fudge.” She paused and gave a little shrug. “Well, I ate fudge. Rinda watched me eat it.”
With her mother right behind her, she went over and sat down in the remaining armchair, leaving the only available seating on the couch next to Tobias. Nix drew in a slow breath and sat on the edge, keeping as much space between her and her ex-lover as she could.
Even so, she was acutely aware of him. She cleared her throat and kept her gaze on the young woman sitting across from her, and not on the strong thigh showcased by taut denim next to her.
“How can I help?” Samantha clasped her fingers together in her lap. Her mother placed one hand on her shoulder, her face wearing an expression of concern.
Nix bit back sharp regret that she’d never had that, the loving support of a mother, someone watching out for her. Being there through joy and sorrow. When neither Tobias nor Dante spoke, Nix cleared her throat and asked, “How long had you known Amarinda?”
“Almost two years.” Samantha’s quick smile brightened her face. “She came into class and sat beside me, and immediately started talking about NEOs and how she wanted to work with the Catalina Sky Survey. Her enthusiasm was contagious. We made an immediate connection, you know? Best friends in a second.” Her smile faded. “I miss her.”
Nix didn’t understand making an instant connection like that, but she did understand loss. She pushed aside her own sadness. Time enough later to deal with that, once they’d caught the bastards who’d killed her friend. There was one thing Samantha had said that Nix didn’t understand, though. “Uh, NEOs?” she asked. “You lost me there.”
“Near-Earth Objects. Basically the scientists keep an eye on anything that comes within an AU of the planet, give or take a few million miles. Asteroids mostly, some comets.” Samantha smiled again, this time a little self-consciously. “Sorry, I forget sometimes that most people don’t know the terminology.” She rested her head against the back of the chair. “An AU is ‘astronomical unit,’ equal to roughly ninety-three million miles.”
Nix frowned. “And that’s considered near?”
“When you consider the vastness of space, yeah, that’s pretty near.” Samantha sighed. “When she finished her thesis, Rinda wanted to get a job at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory—where the Catalina Sky Survey project is based—and be part of the team watching the skies.” She reached up and wiped the outer corner of one eye. “She loved everything about space. I can’t believe…” She broke off and bowed her head.