Page 52 of Pointy Ears and Purple Glitter
“Clever,” Tynan admitted, impressed by her foresight. “But why are you still in town? That seems risky.”
“It was the perfect misdirection,” she explained. “She’d expect me to leave, go somewhere far away. Instead, I got a new identity and stayed right here under her nose. I’m working at a small bookstore in the Heights under my new name, living in a shared apartment with two roommates who have no connection to my past life.”
“And the Instagram post from two nights ago?”
“Not me,” she said immediately. “I haven’t touched my old accounts in weeks. When I saw that post, I panicked. Someone’s accessing my accounts - probably my mother.”
“To make it seem like you’re fine but don’t want to be found,” Tynan mused. “Clever on her part, too.”
“She’s nothing if not calculated.” Hayley leaned forward. “The only reason I reached out now is because of Ian. I recognized his name from when a friend of mine had her car serviced at Malik’s Motors last year. I went with her to pick it up, and I remembered him being kind, and when I saw he’d commented on my post...it seemed like a sign.”
“What exactly do you want from us, Hayley? How can we help?” Tynan asked gently.
“I want my mother to stop looking for me,” she said simply. “I want to live my life without constantly looking over my shoulder. I’m twenty-one years old, and I have the right to choose my own path.”
“But you don’t want us to tell her we’ve found you,” Tynan confirmed.
“God, no.” Hayley’s eyes widened in alarm. “She can’t know where I am or that I’m still in town. She’ll never leave me alone.”
Tynan considered his next steps carefully – how much to divulge. “Your mother has become complicated for us, too. She’s connected to some dangerous people who might be targeting my partner’s business.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Hayley said grimly. “She has connections everywhere, and uses money and influence to get what she wants. Who’s she working with this time?”
“A man named Garrison,” Tynan said, watching her reaction closely. “Does that name mean anything to you?”
Recognition flashed across Hayley’s face. “Alexander Garrison? Tall guy, dark hair, talks with a posh voice as if he thinks he’s royalty?”
“That sounds like him,” Tynan confirmed, excitement building. “You know him?”
“He’s one of my mother’s associates.” Hayley made the word sound dirty. “He runs a security firm that specializes in ‘problem resolution,’ whatever that means. They’ve worked together for years.”
Tynan’s mind raced with the implications. “So the break-in at Malik’s shop, the threats against us - your mother could be behind all of it?”
“If she thinks you know something about me, or if you’ve stopped cooperating with her ‘search’...” Hayley trailed off. “She doesn’t like loose ends.”
“That explains why she was so eager for us to stop investigating when we mentioned your posts about ‘G,’” Tynan murmured, more pieces falling into place. “She knew it was a fabrication and didn’t want us pursuing that angle.”
“Exactly.” Hayley checked her watch nervously. “I can’t stay much longer. I’m supposed to be back at work in fifteen minutes.”
“Just one more question,” Tynan said quickly. “The note that led me to Malik’s shop initially - it was signed with a ‘G.’ I thought it might be connected to your mysterious boyfriend, but now...”
“‘G’ could be Garrison,” Hayley finished. “It fits his MO. Lead you somewhere isolated, have his men rough you up as a warning. He’s done it before for my mother.”
Tynan nodded. Hayley was confirming what he’d already suspected. A warning against what was the question, but thatwasn’t Hayley’s concern. But maybe…? “Hayley, your mother is dangerous, and now she’s targeting people I care about. I need to find a way to stop her.”
She bit her lip, then reached into her purse and pulled out a small flash drive. “Here. It’s everything I gathered before I left - financial records showing her bribing officials, emails discussing her harassment campaigns against my father and uncle, and recordings of her threatening me. I haven’t been through it all. There might be a lot there that’s not relevant, but I just grabbed what I could and left. I’ve added new stuff where I can – I still have access to her email and messenger systems. I was saving the information as insurance if she ever found me and was going to ask Ian if he knew what I could do with it.”
Tynan accepted the drive, tucking it safely into his pocket. “This could help protect both of us.”
“Use it,” Hayley said firmly. “Just...keep my current identity out of it. Please. I just want to be left alone.”
“I understand,” Tynan assured her. “And I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.”
Hayley stood, adjusting her scarf. “Thank you. For listening, for believing me. Not many people have.”
“I’ve dealt with controlling family members myself,” Tynan said with a sad smile. “I recognize the signs.”
After Hayley left, Tynan sat for a moment, processing everything he’d learned. He was conscious of the flash drive in his pocket – was this the evidence they needed to stop Mrs. Cooper and, by extension, Garrison?
