Stowing his stethoscope in his gym bag, Cade slipped out of Richard’s house via the basement door, setting the alarm and locking it behind him with the key Richard had given him months ago. He had a minute to get past the cameras before the security system engaged.

The basement door opened to the backyard, which had an eight-foot-high privacy fence. Tall enough that Cade didn’t have to slouch to keep his head from being seen as he jogged to the back gate. His SUV was parked on the next street. He needed to hurry. He had an appointment with his father in the nursing home.

He visited his dad every Saturday, rain or shine. The old man couldn’t say anything to him, but he listened. Cade never held back.

Major Konrad Kaiser—US Army JAG Corps, Retired—had controlled Cade’s life when he was younger. He’d been a firm believer in “spare the rod, spoil the child.” No one could ever say that Cade had been spoiled. Or that his mother had.

But Konrad was smart enough to know where to hit. And when. There were never visible marks for a teacher to see and report. Not that it would have stuck.

Major Konrad Kaiser—US Army JAG Corps, Retired—knew the law. Knew how to get around the law.

And knew powerful people who’d gotten him out of trouble the two times he’d “gone too far.” That was what he’d called it both times he’d hit Cade’s mother too hard. The first time, she’d landed in the hospital. Cade had been ten.

The second time, she’d landed at the bottom of the basement stairs after Konrad had snapped her neck with his bare hands. Cade had been almost twenty-one and he still had nightmares about what he’d seen that night.

God, he hated the SOB. His father had never let Cade have the last word. Until he’d had a “stroke” four years before. He was supposed to have died, but he’d been found too soon. That had taught Cade the value of proper planning. And making sure that his victim was actually dead before he walked away. He’d bought the stethoscope the very next day.

That particular outcome, however, hadn’t been a bad one. Cade liked this version of his father—a pathetic old man who was dependent on strangers to feed him, wash him, and change his diapers.

Cade got the last word every single week now.

Chapter Three

Cincinnati, Ohio
Saturday, March 16, 1:50 p.m.