Kiss of the Vampire(33)

Tobias leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Do you know of anyone who might want to hurt her? Or did she ever talk about someone in a way that would lead you to believe she was in danger?” His husky baritone held compassion.

His ability for empathy, to care about the people around him, was one of the things that had surprised Nix about him when they’d first met. A lot of prets, especially vampires, didn’t have that ability. Didn’t want that ability. But Tobias had always seemed to want to hold on to whatever bits of humanity he still had.

Just like Nix did. Yet he hadn’t been able to accept that he could have helped her even if only by his example. That they could have helped each other. Remembering how mad he sometimes made her, she figured now that maybe he’d been right. Maybe as good as they’d been together they weren’t all that good for each other. They just hadn’t been meant to be.

It had broken her heart once, and it wasn’t much better five years later.

Now she watched Samantha try to get past her tears. The young woman shook her head. “Everybody liked Rinda, even if most of them were a little scared of her because, well, you know.”

“Because she was a vampire,” Tobias said, his voice soft and gentle.

The young woman nodded. She swiped beneath her eyes and stared down at her hands, fingers twisting. “She’d been spending a lot of free time down at Mt. Bigelow, at the Steward Observatory. I…I’m pretty sure she was involved with one of the scientists there. Plus it’s a great location to watch the part of space where the rift occurs.” She looked up, her expression stark with regret. “But she never said anything about someone trying to hurt her. I swear!” She pressed her fingertips to her brow bone. “Oh, God. I should’ve done something. Asked questions…”

“Why do you say that?” Tobias’s gaze remained steady on her. “Did Rinda hint at something? Something you didn’t push?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I just…I think the scientist she was involved with was getting ready to break things off. It was something she said about him being distant with her all of a sudden.” She looked at them, her eyes sad and confused. “I assumed it was because he was married. I mean, she never really came out and said he was. It was just a hunch I had. I think he was going to stop the affair.” She sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe his wife found out.”

“Did she ever give you his name?” Dante asked.

Samantha shook her head. “No. She just said he was really cute and mega smart. And he made her laugh.”

An irresistible combination for just about any woman.

“Was he human or pret?” Nix asked.

Samantha shook her head. “I don’t know,” she whispered, and raked her fingers through her hair. “It didn’t matter to me, so I never asked.” She pressed her lips together. When she looked up at them, her bewildered eyes swam with tears. “What kind of horrible friend was I?”

Nix stood and went over to her, going down on her haunches. She clasped Samantha’s hands in hers. “Rinda was a private person, even with her friends. If she didn’t tell you, it’s because she didn’t want you to know. She didn’t want anyone to know.” She squeezed the young woman’s fingers gently. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

A tear dropped off Samantha’s lashes and splashed on the back of Nix’s hand. The young woman nodded and pulled one hand free to swipe at her tears.

Tobias leaned forward. “Ms. Smith, I have to ask… Where were you yesterday between two thirty and five thirty?”

Her eyes widened. The fingers clasping Nix’s went slack. “You think…you think I killed her?”

“No. I don’t.” His eyes were as kind as Nix had ever seen them. “But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask.”

The young woman sucked her lower lip between her teeth a moment. “I understand,” she whispered. Letting go of Nix’s other hand, she wiped her cheeks and then pressed her fingers to her temple. “I got together with some friends for a study session—we have a project due next week.” She looked up at Tobias. “We were at the library from about one o’clock until almost seven. I can give you their names.”

Tobias stood and walked toward her.

Nix got out of the way and watched as he handed Samantha his small notebook and pen. “Just write them down, and their phone numbers,” he said. Once that was done and she gave them back, his lips curved in a gentle smile. He handed the young woman his card. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Smith. If you think of anything else, anything at all, no matter how immaterial you might think it is, please call me.”