Chapter 1
Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 (ESV)
Burbank, California September 15, 1982
Leland Stein watched as the ambulance attendants loaded the gurney bearing his mother. A cold chill cut like an icicle down his back bone. Not from the weather, but from the icy grip of hatred clawing at his soul. The only heir of Johann Stein’s financial empire stood helpless to intervene for the woman who had birthed him twenty years ago. His whole life, as far back as he could remember, was spent as an observer of the slow death his father inflicted on his mother. Efforts to protect her from her husband’s cruel, insensitive treatment provoked passionate intercession pleading that Leland not do anything to harm his father.
Now, she has suffered a stroke Leland is certain resulted from the verbal and emotional abuse meted out by Johann. What could I possibly do to Johann that would recompense for the life of my mother? Murder would be too quick and would likely result in my incarceration. Would any lawyer be able to get me off with a light sentence for my plea of justifiable homicide? I might have a case as a victim of Johann’s mental cruelty. He has always despised me. Whatever expectations the man had for his offspring evidently were never realized. Did his resentment of me have anything to do with the punishment he inflicted on my mother? The man is obviously sick, obsessed with power, inebriated with money. He is unfit to occupy space on this planet.
The rage boiling within him surged as he walked toward his car, a 1979 Mustang. The sight of the car incensed him as it reminded him that he probably wouldn’t have the vehicle if it weren’t for his father’s influence and resources. He felt an impulse to kick the door, but thought better of the idea realizing that he would doubtless end up with a broken toe. He slid in behind the wheel and started the motor. Gripping the wheel with both hands, he banged his head on the top of the wheel, frustrated with an anger that produced no satisfaction. He shifted to follow the ambulance to the hospital.
