Page 30 of Pointy Ears and Purple Glitter (Quirk of Fate #5)

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 who had 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.

“This is why he tagged the workshop with the rhino symbol, and the snake symbol on that place that Grok mentioned,” Malik realized, his anger building. “He’s been cataloging paranormals by neighborhood, using animal symbols to classify us.”

Tynan’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he opened more files. “Look at this - he’s got a whole network. The ‘cleansing crews’ are mostly human, but he’s got a few paranormals working for him too - ones who hate their own kind or want to pass as human.”

“That explains how he knew what to look for,” Malik said grimly. “And why he was so confident calling me out during the attack.”

As they delved deeper, the picture became increasingly clear.

Garrison had been building his operation for years under the guise of neighborhood improvement and security services.

Mrs. Cooper had been one of his primary financial backers, using his services for her personal vendettas while funding his broader anti-paranormal agenda.

“It’s all connected,” Tynan said, sitting back and rubbing his eyes. “Mrs. Cooper hired me, knowing I’d fail to find Hayley, but when Garrison realized what I was, I became a target in his separate crusade.”

“And when you started spending time with me, we became a priority target,” Malik added. “Two paranormals in one location, one of whom was already on their radar.”

“The question is,” Tynan said, glancing at Malik, “what do we do with all this information? We can’t exactly take it to the police - half of these files implicate officers on Mrs. Cooper’s payroll, and that’s without the paranormal angle.”

Malik stared at the screen, his rhino stirring restlessly beneath his skin.

The evidence was damning, but using it required careful consideration.

Exposing Mrs. Cooper and Garrison might also risk exposing the existence of paranormals to the wider world.

It was bad enough that if Hayley compiled the files, then she probably already knew something more than she should’ve.

“We need help,” he decided finally. “Someone with connections and manpower who understands the stakes.”

“Who?” Tynan asked. “We can’t exactly call the paranormal police.”

Malik’s lips quirked into a humorless smile. “No, but we know someone else who controls this territory and has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.”

“Grok?” Tynan looked skeptical. “You’re talking about the same guy whose men attacked me when we first met.”

“The very same,” Malik confirmed. “Grok may be a criminal, but he’s pragmatic. If Garrison’s operation threatens the balance of power in this neighborhood, Grok will want it shut down as much as we do.”

“I guess he’s got the muscle to help make that happen,” Tynan acknowledged reluctantly.

“Exactly. Garrison has been operating in Grok’s territory without permission. That alone would make him an enemy. It doesn’t matter why he was doing it - he’s undermining Grok’s authority in his territory. Among criminal elements, that’s a huge issue. Garrison is breaking the rules.”

Tynan considered this, then nodded slowly. “It’s not an alliance I would have expected, but it makes sense. What about Hayley, though? She trusted me with this information to help her stay hidden from her mother.”

“We use the evidence against Mrs. Cooper and Garrison without revealing Hayley’s current identity or location,” Malik said firmly. “The goal is to neutralize the threat they pose to all of us - including Hayley - not to expose her.”

“So what’s the plan? Call Grok and show him all this?”

Malik nodded. “We show him enough to make him understand the threat to him. Grok doesn’t need to know the paranormal side of things, either.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Sparky chimed in, speaking for the first time in a while. “A principle as old as time, though I must say, I never thought I’d be strategizing with criminals.”

“Not the first choice,” Malik admitted, “but sometimes you need fire to fight fire.”

Tynan leaned into Malik’s side, seeking the comfort of his solid presence. “I just hope we’re not making things worse. Hayley trusts us to use this information carefully. She took a huge risk giving me this information today.”

“We will keep Hayley safe,” Malik promised, wrapping an arm around his mate. “But we also need to protect ourselves, Ian, and everyone else Garrison has targeted. If we do this right, Mrs. Cooper loses her enforcer, Garrison loses his financial backing, and we all get to live in peace.”

“When you put it that way...” Tynan offered a small smile. “I guess I’m in. Let’s call Grok.”

Malik reached for his phone, his expression grim but determined. The flash drive contained enough evidence to destroy Mrs. Cooper and Garrison - if they played their cards right. And with Grok’s help, they might just have the winning hand.