Declan set the hair inside the circle and then touched the arc of it with one index finger. Schulz heard a pop… a snap, and saw a spark jump from skin to paper.

“Let’s see, Detective. Hmmm. Your wife’s name is Lisa. You have a dog, a cat, two fish, both Beta fish, one in each daughter’s room. Oldest daughter is Kate, which is short for… Katherine. Youngest is Bonnie. What? Thirteen and, maybe ten,” the kid said, staring at some spot over Schulz’s shoulder.

Shifting uncomfortably, Schulz waved a hand. “You could find all that out easily enough.”

The kid smiled. “Your wife packed your lunch for today—an avocado salad with sunflower seeds and green goddess dressing. She makes her own dressing. I can keep going,” he said, glancing at Schulz’s right arm. “That blonde hair on your shirtsleeve… that belongs to Kate, because Bonnie is dark-haired. If I could have that hair, I’ll tell you what class she’s in right now and exactly what she’s doing.”

Schulz pulled his arm back with a jerk. The kid held up both hands. “That wasn’t meant as any kind of threat, just an offer to provide more credibility. It’s called sympathetic magic. A DNA sample lets me connect to the DNA’s owner.”

“Super handy for finding lost kids if we have a parent’s help getting a comb or hairbrush, sometimes a hat,” Darci said.

The implications, if he believed what he’d just seen—and he found, surprisingly, that he did—were massive. Put this kid on a Crime Scene team and you’d have your criminal in no time.

“Not admissible in court, but it speeds things along,” Darci said with a smirk.

“I’m guessing your record for solving crimes is pretty impressive?” Schulz asked her.

“It’s pretty stellar,” she admitted.

“Aunt Ash is better at this stuff than I am,” Declan said.

Still bemused by the impressive demonstration, Schulz spoke the first thing that came to mind. “Well, we all have our strengths and weaknesses.”

The young witch nodded in agreement, but the deputy snorted.

Ears perked, Schulz looked back and forth between them. “Just what are your strengths?”

“Earth and Fire,” Declan said, with just a small flicker of a smile. Like the kind of smile made when making an understatement. The deputy frowned but nodded.

“Demons are far outside my area of knowledge. You were telling me about this demon before your rather impressive demonstration?” Schulz asked.