Page 53 of Pointy Ears and Purple Glitter
He pulled out his phone and texted Malik:Meeting successful. Huge developments. Heading back now.
There was no point in having Malik worry about him more than he already did.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Malik stared at the flash drive Tynan had placed on the kitchen counter, a small plastic rectangle that might hold the key to ending their troubles with Mrs. Cooper and Garrison. Behind him, the workshop was still in disarray from the attack, and Ian was recuperating at home with a broken arm. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
“Let’s see what we’ve got,” Malik said, picking up the drive and turning it over in his large hand. “If Hayley was telling the truth, this could be exactly what we need.”
Tynan nodded, his silver hair catching the light as he booted up his laptop. “She seemed genuine. Scared, but determined. Everything she told me fits with what we’ve already learned about Mrs. Cooper.”
“And the connection to Garrison explains a lot,” Malik added, settling beside Tynan at the kitchen counter. “If they’ve been working together for years, it makes sense they’d coordinate their efforts against us.”
Sparky fluttered onto the table, peering at the screen. “Let’s not forget that note that lured Tynan to the workshop in the first place. Signed with a ‘G’ that we assumed was Grok.”
“That could have been Garrison all along,” Tynan finished. “Although that raises another question. Was it just a convenient location in a rough neighborhood where I might get roughed up, or was there more to it? The only reason I was by your workshop at all was because you were the only place around with a light on.”
Malik frowned. “That’s been bothering me, too. If Mrs. Cooper hired you expecting you to fail, why would she also arrange to have you attacked?”
“Maybe to scare me off before I found anything useful,” Tynan suggested. “Or maybe she didn’t know about that specific action - remember it was Grok’s men who attacked me, not Garrison’s.”
“That could just have been a case of you being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way,” Malik said, “let’s see if this drive gives us any answers.”
Tynan inserted the flash drive into his laptop. After a moment, a folder opened containing dozens of files with date-stamped names. “Hayley was organized, I’ll give her that.”
The first file was a spreadsheet of financial transactions - large sums of money transferred from accounts labeled only with initials to various recipients, including police officers, judges, and local officials.
“Evidence of bribes,” Malik muttered, scanning the numbers. “Some of these are recent - within the last three months.”
Tynan opened another file - a series of emails between Mrs. Cooper and someone identified only as “A.G.” In them, they discussed the “ongoing monitoring” of Hayley and strategies to isolate her from friends they deemed “problematic influences.”
“A.G. - Alexander Garrison,” Tynan said, pointing to the screen. “These go back years. Look at how they talk about controlling Hayley’s movements, her friendships, even what college courses she could take.”
Malik’s jaw tightened as he read. The level of manipulation was disturbing. “No wonder she ran.”
They continued through the files, finding recorded phone conversations where Mrs. Cooper threatened her ex-husband with “consequences” if he tried to contact Hayley, legal documents showing how she had systematically gained control of family assets, and reports from private investigators whohad tracked her brother’s movements for months before he disappeared.
“This is extensive,” Tynan said, clearly disturbed. “She’s been operating like this for decades, using money and connections to control everyone around her.”
One particular email chain caught Malik’s attention. It was dated shortly after Tynan had been hired and included references to a “silver-haired freak” who was “poking around where he doesn’t belong.”
“She knew,” Malik said quietly, pointing to the screen. “Look at this. She knew you weren’t entirely human.”
Tynan paled slightly, leaning closer to read the exchange:
AG: The PI you hired isn’t what he appears to be. My sources indicate he’s one of the hidden ones. Could be useful.
EC: I don’t care what he is. Just make sure he doesn’t find her. Use whatever methods necessary.
AG: We could use this to our advantage. If he’s not human, he falls under our other project parameters.
EC: Fine. Do what you need to do, but keep me out of it. I want plausible deniability.
“Other project parameters?” Tynan repeated. He sounded uneasy. “What does that mean?”
Malik’s gut twisted. “I think we need to look for files about Garrison’s security operation. This sounds like he’s targeting paranormals specifically, not just as a side effect of working for Mrs. Cooper.”
After more searching, they found a folder labeled simply “Cleansing Initiative.” Inside were documents outlining a systematic plan to identify and remove what Garrison called“non-human elements” from various neighborhoods, starting with the area around Malik’s workshop.
