Protege — Christopher Scott

Unconsciously, she tried to pass her damp tongue over her dry upper lip-her tongue was cut short by thick tape. Terry Mitchel was confused. The sound of tinkering caught her ear. It reminded her of her father in the garage on a Saturday afternoon when she was a young girl in Ohio. The comforting memory gave her great pain. Her reflex effort to wipe her mouth was stopped by a chain and dog collar shackling her hand. She knew her father wasn't around. Consciousness set in, revealing her desperate situation. The taste and smell of stale beer and chloroform quickly became insignificant when she viewed her naked body stretched out beneath her.

“Good evening, my dear.” The cold and deliberate voice of the madman introduced a terror-filled shock through her body. “Welcome to the show.”

In this spine-tingling murder mystery, professor Tim Wernick must become the unwilling protégé of a ruthless murderer if he hopes to conceal his own previous criminal activity. Author Christopher Scott presents a fascinating mix of clues as he poses the challenging question: Do we all have the capacity to kill?