Otter Under Fire (30 page)

“I think you’re right about the concussion, and you are going to have one heck of a black eye. Did she try to strangle you?”

“Not for very long.”

“You have bruises forming on your neck. I’ll bet you’ll be in the hospital for a couple of days like this.”

“How is she?” Otter heard Addison’s voice.

“Beat to shit,” Joel said.

“Yeah, but you should see the other guy,” Addison chuckled. “She’s looking worse than Otter.”

“She’s never had anyone fight back,” Otter said, leaning back in the office chair. “She’s always attacked people who had no reason not to trust her.”

“The thing that’s bugging me,” Addison said, “Is how did she miss you in such close quarters? She was at your office door, your office isn’t that big, yet she missed and hit the back wall.”

“The light was dim and I took a chance that she was like someone I used to know. I was lucky that I was right, or I’d be as dead as Clark right now.”

“You’re finally awake, I was beginning to wonder,” Tempest said cheerfully. Otter slowly opened her eye and saw her best friend sitting by her hospital bed. Someone had brought Jabberwocky and tucked him under her arm. She pulled him onto her lap and wished he was Spooky.

“I was under for a while,” Otter said. “The stuff they give you here must be really strong. I could swear there was a doctor in here earlier wearing a satin bustier with half her boobs hanging out and a short pleather mini skirt.”

“You may not have imagined that. I think I know her sister.”

“Oh yes, Mitch’s sister. Victoria, you heard about her?”

“I know you were almost killed by a crazy woman. How did you get away?”

“You know something Tempest; she was a lot like my mother.”

“Oh Otter, I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s what saved me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I learned how to deal with Mom’s bouts of destruction; fortunately Victoria had a very similar pattern.”

“That’s really interesting,” Tempest said. “For the first time in your life you can say that your mother prepared you in the event of a life threatening situation.”

Otter would have laughed if it hadn’t hurt.

“I’ll have to call my sisters later and tell them. They might find it interesting.”

“Illuminating,” Tempest said.

“It was actually quite cathartic,” Otter said, “A lot of the rage I didn’t know I held suddenly came out. I actually feel better.”

“That’s funny, because you know, you look like hell.”

“Feel like it too.”

“Mom wanted to come and see you, but I told her you would probably be out of it most of today.”

“Oh yeah, your mom is back. How is she?”

“She’s doing yoga to the golden oldies, how do you think she’s doing?”

“Well, she is your mother.”

“And her suitcases are full of dinner napkins that she swiped and plans to use at her next dinner party.”

“As to be expected.”

“Uncle Leonard and Aunt Carole are on their way here, they want to make sure you’re in once piece too.”

“I need to make sure I get a flu shot before I leave here then. You had better get one, too before they arrive at the house.”

“I’ll stop at a pharmacy on the way home. Your boss was here earlier by the way, but you were asleep. So were Joel and his merry men.”

“So did you talk to my doctor?”

“Yeah, he said you looked like you spent some time in a cement mixer. Dammit Otter don’t do anything like this again, you scared 5 years off my life.”

“Almost took the rest of mine from me. I knew something was wrong; I just couldn’t put my finger on it. When I saw her at my office door, I knew I was in trouble even before I saw the gun. Talk about dark, evil vibes.”

“So what happened then?” Addison said coming into the room. “Excuse me for interrupting ladies, I was about to knock when I heard you talking.”

“The power went out in the shop. Mitch must have told her where the breakers were.” Otter said. “Once the backup generator kicked in, I saw her in my doorway.”

“She nearly had you at point blank range,” Addison said. “And she still managed to miss you?”

“I dropped to the floor and the shot went over me. I knocked the gun out of her hand, slipped past her and kicked the gun down the hall into a pile of scrap parts.”

“So there were two guns.”

“At least,” Otter said, “I knew she was smart enough to bring a backup weapon in case there was a problem with the first gun. You will notice that the shot in my office wall doesn’t match the one by the door going out to the shop.”

Detective Addison raised an eyebrow, but continued taking notes.

“So what happened then?”

“I ran out to shipping and tried to decide where to go to next. I didn’t want her shooting by the furnaces; she would have blown up the building if a stray bullet hit one of them. The same with the welding area, I knew a lot of people would get hurt if she shot a round in there.”

“You have a crazed killer after you and you’re trying to lead her to the safest place for her to shoot at you?”

“Not quite. I knew I needed a weapon, and one of the best weapons we have around the shop is a piece of bar stock at least an inch and a half diameter, about thirty-six inches long. I had to get to a department that had something that I could use. I certainly didn’t want her to kill all of us before I could stop her.”

“I told you,” Tempest said patiently, “She figures out a way to bring metal into every conversation. Fortunately this time she did.”

“So you’re having this rational, logical train of thought,” Addison said, “Then what?”

“I knew the best place was Dan’s department. I ran for his office.”

“Why did you choose Dan’s office?”

“Dan is an interesting character. He was in the merchant marine and was severely injured while serving. He lost half an arm and one of his legs is shorter than the other. His office is equipped with all kinds of interesting tools that he made himself for heavy duty use for someone with only one hand. He is also a stickler for making sure all his tools are in his office in the exact place he expects them to be.”

“So you went to Dan’s office for a weapon.”

“Yes, he has a homemade pry bar that’s always by his desk. I grabbed the penetrating oil because he has the caps of all his spray cans cut and filed so you can flip them off with your thumb while holding it in one hand.”

“Clever man,”

“Yes, we’re lucky to have him. Since he runs the presses and they’re massive machines, it was perfect. I had a place to hide from any flying bullets.”

“Sounds like you thought this through.”

“I did, I’m the safety coordinator for the shop and I had to come up with a plan in case of attack. The hydro forming department was my choice for a fortress.”

“That makes sense,” Addison decided. “Ok, then what?”

“I crouched behind a press waiting for her to come after me and I smashed her hand as it was coming around the corner. I tried to run for it, but she caught up to me and tried to strangle me. I fought her as best I could.”

“Her doctor found her injuries very interesting. He said it was like she was attacked by someone who knew the engineering of the human body. Every weak point and joint was hit like it was calculated to do the most damage.”

“I had to stop her. She wanted to kill me.” Otter repeated patiently. “She would not stop and she went psycho crazy at the end and kept coming at me, so I pulled out the can of oil and sprayed her in the face, hoping to incapacitate her. Fortunately, Gonzo was there with a couple of the lathe operators and they hosed her down with the fire extinguishers.”

“You have your people trained well.”

“They’re good folks. All of them.”

“I’m inclined to agree with you.” He hesitated for a moment, “Charlotte asked if you would come and see her. She would like to talk to you.”

“Actually I would like to talk to her; I want to verify a couple of things.”

“I can arrange it, but it will cost you.”

“You want to see my security system.” Otter sighed. “Detective if it’s that important to you, I’ll show it to you.”

He grinned at her and she rolled her one visible eye.

There was a quick knock on the door and Michael strode in.

He nodded at Addison and greeted Tempest. “How are you feeling?” He asked Otter.

“I’m hoping Dan won’t kill me over what I did to his office,” Otter said. “I took stuff and made a mess.”

“Are you kidding?” Michael said, “He wants to clear coat the floor where most of the blood is in the hall outside his office and have a plaque to you put on the wall next to the bullet holes. Everyone has tried to sneak in over there to see the damage.”

Otter chuckled at that. “There are probably rumors flying all over the shop.”

“Oh, you bet. It goes from a fist fight with someone’s crazy wife to a gun fight with someone who wanted to bomb the shop. You’re a folk hero. If I didn’t like you, I’d make you production manager right now.”

Otter snorted out a laugh, it hurt but she couldn’t help herself. “So you have to dislike the production manager?”

“Well, it’s a tough job and they guy doing it does better if he’s a bit of an asshole. Ron Defray was actually a pretty good production manager, I’m thinking of giving the job back to him.”

“That would be ok,” Otter decided, “As long as he’s not my boss.”

“Since you’re the manager of shop coordination and scheduling, he couldn’t be. I might make you his boss or at least his equal, so he’d have to play nice.”

“He won’t like that.”

“I’m counting on that.” Michael grinned. “Is there anything else?”

“Well, there’s a rumor that Clark didn’t kill himself, have you heard?”

“Yeah, I heard something like that.”

“And I’ll probably need a couple of days off.”

“I think we can accommodate that.”

“Thank you.”

They grinned at each other for a moment and Michael turned to leave.

“Get some rest Mackenzie; I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Ok, I will.”

“Oh and Mackenzie…”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Otter smiled. “You’re welcome.”

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Joel asked Otter as they drove to the jail the day after she was released from the hospital.

“Of course, I am. I have a lot of questions.”

“It’s weird, but you don’t seem as traumatized as I expected.”

“I actually feel quite good;” Otter said with a contented sigh, “Like a huge ball of cold has left me. It’s quite nice.”

“Most people would be afraid to leave the house after confronting a crazed killer with a gun.”

“I had the chance to confront a childhood nightmare,” Otter said, “and I won. Not many people get that opportunity.”

Joel looked at her for a minute and then looked back at the road.

“Are you going to tell me about that?”

“One day maybe, today I’m focusing on Charlotte and the last pieces of the puzzle.”

“OK,” Joel said. “Tempest said that one of your co-worker’s stopped by your house with his family.”

“Yeah, Gonzo and his wife came over with their kids. He’s my number one guy in the heat treat and machining department.”

“Sounds like you have a number one guy in every department.”

“Yeah, but Gonzo is special. He and his wife brought me like ten dozen tamales. Some are green and some are red. She makes the best you’ve ever tasted.”

“Wow, that was nice of her.”

“Wasn’t it? Usually I have to wait until Christmas; now my freezer is stocked full.”

“What did Susan say?”

“She said she wants me to enroll in self-defense classes. I told her I had done fine on my own.”

“She thinks you survived on luck.”

“That is true,” Otter admitted, “and brains. I was able to keep a clear head.”

“Addison thinks there’s more to you than meets the eye. I hear he got to see your security system.”

“Yes, he did. I found out he’s not really crazy about spiders.”

“Yeah, I heard that too, but he was seriously impressed.”

“Good, hopefully he’s satisfied.”

“Not everyone has guard spiders.”

“There are scorpions too.”

“Did you tell him that?”

“No, I figure it will be a surprise if he ever decides to test it.”

“Ok, here we are. Addison and I pulled a few strings so you can talk to her in a small interrogation room instead of over a television monitor.”

“Thank you.”

“Go get her Tiger,” Joel said, but his eyes were worried.

Otter steeled herself, and then went in to see Charlotte.

They put her through a metal detector. They checked her shoes. She had to sign a paper saying that she wasn’t carrying any drugs or contraband. They put her in a waiting room with a bunch of other people—women mostly—waiting for visiting time. Otter was surprised to see so many young girls with babies, waiting to see husbands or boyfriends to show them their children.

When the guard came to announce that the inmates were ready, they walked as a group through another metal detector. The assemblage was then taken into a room where their particular inmate was sitting at a table waiting for them. She didn’t see Mitch, but a guard singled her out.

“Are you Mackenzie Ottenberger?” He asked.

“Yes,”

“This way, please.”

She was herded into a small room that had only one table in it and Mitch sat there in chains. He lit up when he saw her. Then he got a good look at her bruises and his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“I had one last dance with Victoria, you haven’t heard what happened?”

“I haven’t been told anything.”

“She came to the shop to shoot me.”

“I am so sorry. I tried to tell everyone that to leave her out there alone was a mistake. I have to be with her to keep her under control.”

“You did a rotten job, she killed people.”

“Unfortunately I couldn’t be around her all the time. She’s smart and she figured out how to get away once in a while.”

“And you thought it would be ok if you just kept an eye on her instead of having her put away?”

“It’s a long and complicated story, Mackenzie.”

“It just so happens I have time now.”

“I know this is hard to believe, but it is so great to see you. I thought you’d refuse to come.” Mitch said with a smile.

He didn’t use his fake accent, and Otter found it disconcerting.

“I’d rather call you Mitch instead of Charlotte,” Otter said. “If you don’t mind, it’s what I’m used to.”

“Call me whatever you like.”

“So you wanted to talk to me?” Otter asked, “Something you want to say?”

“Of all the people I’ve dealt with professionally, you’re the first one I really felt like I need to explain things to.”

“What do you want to explain?”

He sighed for a moment in thought.

“From the time she was little, we knew my sister was not quite right and by the time she was in her pre-teens my parents found out Victoria had a severe mental illness.”

“So what did they do?”

“My poor folks, they had two defective children. They didn’t deserve that.”

“I know about the intersex thing. Hardly makes you defective.”

“It made us freaks! You have no idea what
that
is like. Then Victoria turns out to be completely mad. My poor parents didn’t know what to do. To make it worse, I was the only one who could keep her calm.”

“Were you both into theater and acting?”

“Victoria was the better actress; I was better with make-up and setting up scenes. I could make up your face right now so nobody would know you had bruises at all.”

“A lot of people thought you were the actress.”

Mitch shrugged. “A lot of people thought she and I were twins. With a little color magic, I could make her up to look just like me.”

“So which of you killed your boyfriend in high school?”

“Victoria decided that she didn’t want to have any surgery. She wanted to stay the way she was. I told her she needed to keep it quiet, but she wouldn’t listen. She made herself up to look like me and then she got my boyfriend to take her out. She flashed him while he was driving and he totally lost it. In order to protect both of us, she made the accident happen.”

“She stole your boyfriend.”

“Yeah, that whole situation sucked. After the ‘accident’ my parents decided to put her in a mental institution. We weren’t sure she had murdered the guy, but we knew she was very unstable.”

“To say the least,”

“About that time Mom and Dad decided to give me the surgery for a graduation present. They took out the money to give to me as a gift. Victoria was furious at me for wanting to make myself legally male. Do you know how much easier it is to get a job when you’re a man? I figured I would have the advantage. She didn’t understand at all and then she found out about the plans to put her away.”

“I supposed she didn’t take that well either.”

“No, not a bit,” Mitch sighed, “So while I was going through high school graduation, she was burning down the house with my parents in it.”

“And you didn’t go to the police.”

“Because I didn’t know for sure she did it. I didn’t really know until after we left Michigan. The police were sure it was an accident, so what did I know? So I was stuck with a crazy sister and I had to support us, so I took a job at a casting factory.”

“You didn’t take your parents’ money.”

“I didn’t at first, but I thought about it and I knew it was meant for me, so I had my aunt transfer it to my account.”

“Did your aunt know about Victoria?”

“She was just glad Victoria wasn’t her problem. So while I was working at the casting factory, I had the surgery and I changed my name legally to Jameson.”

“Where was Victoria while you were having surgery?”

Mitch’s eyes slid away from her. “I put her someplace safe.”

“Where was that?”

“It doesn’t matter; it wasn’t as safe as I thought it was. She got away and killed our boss.”

“The real Mitch Balan,”

“Yeah, and it wasn’t like anyone missed him. He lived alone, he had no family. Nobody at worked liked him or cared.”

“She still didn’t have the right to kill him.”

“She said he assaulted her.”

“Do you really think that happened?”

“Maybe,” Mitch shrugged.

“So you’re on the run as Mitch Balan and/or Jameson Pennell with a crazy sister who kills people. Instead of turning her in to the police, you take her with you and you start telling people she’s your wife.”

“It’s easier for a grown man and woman to travel together if they say they’re married.”

“OK, you tear a swath through the Midwest and you end up here in Phoenix.” Otter said.

“You know, I don’t like the tone of your voice,” Mitch said. “You’re getting a little judgmental there. You have no idea what it’s like to live with a person with mental illness.”

“You’d be wrong there.” Otter said, “And the person I had in my life didn’t kill anyone as far as I know. She only tormented those of us who were her children.”

“Seriously, what was her diagnosis?”

“It’s not really important. She didn’t have a diagnosis until a few weeks ago. All her life she refused to go and get help. She often had hysterics because in her mind people were saying she was crazy. She was forced to undergo treatment in the last few months because she has dementia now and she is in an institution.”

“I’m sorry,” Mitch said, “so you understand what I was going through.”

“I understand the torment, but you weren’t a helpless child. You were a grown man and you had a murderer in tow.”

“Once we got to Phoenix, things got better. I got the job at AzTech and I loved it.”

“On false papers from a dead guy,” Otter said.

“Yeah, but I was able to buy a house with a half basement. I built a cell for Victoria down there. I made it as comfortable as possible and I kept her in there when I went to work.”

“What about Clark?”

“Victoria and I met Clark and his wife for drinks. He noticed that I kept a short rein on her. Somehow the nosy bastard found out I kept her in a cage and thought I was as barbarian.”

Otter thought so too, but she kept it to herself.

“So Clark and I had plans to go shooting and afterward we’re having drinks in his room and the bastard tells me he found out I was a girl in high school and that I was using the wrong name. He also mentioned that I was wanted for murder of my parents. I freaked. I left, got in my car and drove off trying to think what to do. I called Victoria and she went right over to his room and shot him in the head. He told her he was going to help her get away from me.”

“So you aimed your sister at Clark.”

“I suppose I did. I just wanted her to make him leave us alone and it almost worked. Except for you, you wouldn’t mind your own business.”

“Actually you’re wrong about that; the police figured out that Clark was murdered without me. They’ve been looking for you.”

“Victoria went back home to Michigan and killed Marvin. I feel really bad about that. Marvin was my best friend. If I regret anyone, I regret what happened to him.”

“Very noble of you,” Otter said, “What about Ron Defray, why did you lock him up in your sister’s cage?”

To Otter’s surprise, Mitch burst out laughing.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that,” he said with glee. “I did it for you.”

“What do you mean you ‘did it for me’? I never asked you to kidnap him.”

“Oh, but you told me how he talked to you and how sexist and nasty he was. I didn’t like that he gave you such a hard time. I thought I would have some fun.”

“I see,” Otter said, even though she wasn’t sure she did.

“C’mon Otter, tell me you enjoyed it--even if it was just a little.”

A smile twitched at her lips, she couldn’t help it. Mitch looked so earnest.

“Ok, it was kind of funny,” she admitted. “He was pretty pissed.” And
scared
, she thought to herself.
He believed he was going to die. Maybe he would have if the police hadn’t found him.

“I
knew
you’d like it. I wanted to tell you about it so badly because it was so funny.”

“So who impersonated Defray and tried to steal some electronic bugs from the company?”

“I’m not going to tell you. If you didn’t figure it out, you don’t deserve to know.”

“It had to be one of you. I’m thinking it was you because you had time to study the way he walked. It doesn’t matter either way, nobody thought it was Defray.”

“It was funny though. We laughed about it all night.”

“Was it funny when you saw the junk in the box instead of electronics?”

Mitch shrugged again. “It wasn’t a serious plan so I wasn’t that disappointed.”

“Which of you tried to get over the wall behind my house?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He involuntarily shuddered, “It must have been Victoria.”

Otter knew better, but didn’t push the issue.

“Are there any more victims that I should know about?”

“No, you were supposed to be the next one—which is why I wanted to get home and lock Victoria up again. It looks like she beat the shit out of you.”

“Yeah, but she’s in worse shape than me, with a lot more broken bones.”

“You hurt my sister?”

“Well, she was trying to kill me. I thought it was rather rude.”

“Because you were becoming a pain in the ass,” Mitch started to show signs of agitation, “You had better not have hurt her or done permanent damage to her or I will make you pay.”

“You just hold onto that thought,” Otter said and smiled at him. “You and your sister killed a decent man who had a family, a good man who helped people in need and many others. What happened to Victoria was only a fraction of what she deserved.”

Mitch was becoming extremely upset and vocal and guards were coming in from both sides. “This isn’t the last of this you bitch, you will see me again.”

“I’m sure I will, I plan to be at your trial.”

Otter was absorbed in her own thoughts as she and Joel drove away from the jail.

“What are you thinking?”

“That Ron Defray must have brushed up against something that belonged to Mitch at some time,” Otter said, “That’s how he got the blond hair on his shirt. I can’t think of any other way.”

“That could have been it,” He said, “So what did Mitch tell you?”

“I’m sure you’ll see the tape later,” Otter said, “But basically he said that he didn’t kill anyone, it was all the fault of his mentally unstable sister.”

“You don’t believe that?”

“I think that they were a team. I almost believe they thought they were interchangeable in some way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think they staged that Victoria was a prisoner, just like they pretended to be husband and wife. It was all a performance and they were the stars. If something needed to be done, or someone needed to be killed one of them would go—but it could be either one.”

“I didn’t think they looked that much alike.”

“Actually they did, when they wanted to. I think they used that to their advantage when it was needed. But they were also masters of makeup and disguise, practiced and honed to a fine art by the time they got to Phoenix.”