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her direction. I sniffed, hoping I didn’t resemble a cat catching something on a breeze, then cleared my throat. “Have you seen my sister today?”
    The witch shook her head. “I haven’t seen her since last night. So, she is missing?”
    “In a manner of speaking, yes.” I didn’t plan to give out much information, not until I had this lady’s number. Or in this case… all her numbers. I pushed my hair off my shoulders, wishing I’d grabbed my scrunchy and cap out of the Jeep. My hair was so heavy up on my head I often took it down in my vehicle just to give my neck a rest. I noticed Blythe eyeing my hair and was surprised when she didn’t ask about it. “Why were you climbing her fence?”
    “Oh.” She set her glass on a coaster before lifting her yellow purse. At least I thought it was a purse. It was pretty big and lumpy. Full. I didn’t carry a purse so I couldn’t imagine what a person would put in a bag like that. I’d been in situations where having free hands had saved my life.
    “Here it is.” Blythe pulled a piece of folded paper from her yellow satchel. “Your sister came to my shop yesterday and left her card because I had a couple of customers. They didn’t buy anything. I get a lot of curious people who just come in to look around. I had to close it—my shop that is. Business has been so slow lately. I only opened the front door because I was there. Anyway, when I called, she came back last night. She wanted to know if I was the real deal. A real witch.”
    I didn’t have to ask if she was. The electrical streak said it all. But Elsa would have. When she’d said her eyes had been opened because of me, she meant she noticed more things since she was aware of otherworldly beings now. Plus, my sister would never trust witches again after that last case. It had taken her months to physically recover. I wasn’t sure either of us would ever emotionally mend.
    “I showed her my best magic spell.” She leaned forward, expression eager. “Wanna see it?”
    “Maybe later.”
    “Okay. So, when she was sure, she asked if I’d had any unusual customers lately, anyone who might have a darker aura—oh, my magic trick has to do with auras.”
    “Goody.”
    She frowned, and I smiled to put her at ease. I was kind of being a bitch. I just so wanted her to get to the point. That citrus smell was driving me nuts, and I wanted to search it out.
    “I—” She broke off, eyes going wide. “Wow. You are truly beautiful when you smile.”
    I started to like her. A little.
    “Anyway, I told her no and asked her if this had anything to do with the soulless people.”
    “Wait.” I held up a hand and leaned forward, my hair slipping back over my chest to pool in my lap. “You mean the comatose people?”
    The witch frowned and I was surprised to catch something fierce passing through her eyes. “Those aren’t comas. Souls stay trapped in comatose people. These people have had their souls taken. I don’t know how, but I know it’s true. You can tell by the auras.”
    “I hadn’t thought of that. I knew the souls were gone…” My mouth snapped shut.
    “How did you know if you don’t see auras?”
    “I just know, that’s all.”
    Blythe tilted her head and stared. “I’ve never seen an aura like yours. You have a red spot over your heart, did you know that? I usually see black there because of despair or depression. Sometimes, it might look kind of gray if they’re dealing with a mental illness. Yours is a constant, humming red, like a soul-deep pain that never eases.” She paused, blinked at me. “It hurts me to see it. Why are you so sad?”
    Stunned, I could only stare at her. I’d met the woman today and she was psychoanalyzing me like my sister.
    “The rest of your aura is stunning. Like I said, like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s white.”
    “Like an absence of color? Like I have no aura?”
    “Oh no,” she said quickly. “No, it’s a pure, sparkling white like snow.