Freak the Mighty
At school, Freak nearly dies when he chokes after eating American chop suey. Max alerts the nurse.  Freak is taken to the hospital.  Later, Grim reveals to Max that his father has been let out on parole.  Throughout the story, it has been slowly revealed that Max's father killed his mother by strangling her, and that Grim and Gram hate him and are afraid of Max ending up like him. Max is shocked and scared by the news of his father's parole. Freak returns from the hospital and the two celebrate Christmas Eve together. After Christmas Eve, Max is woken up by his father, Killer Kane, who has come to kidnap him.  After Max is kidnapped by his father, the two drive to Iggy Lee's apartment in the "New Testaments" (really tenements).  Killer Kane is even bigger than Max and acts in a very threatening, intimidating manner towards everyone, including his son, who he keeps tied up.  Killer Kane swears on the Bible that he did not murder Max's mother. He also reveals that he plans to head to "warmer weather" and be a con man.  At night he leaves Max alone, tied up in a room in the apartment of an old lady on vacation. Loretta, shocked that Kane would do something like that to his own child, tries to help him escape. Killer Kane catches her and starts to strangle her.  Max attempts to stop him and reveals that he witnessed his father kill his mother in the same fashion.  Kane gives up on training Max to be his obedient assistant and tries to kill him, but Freak arrives just in time and saves Max by squirting Kane with a squirt gun he claims is filled with sulfuric acid when in fact, it is filled with soap, vinegar, and curry powder.  The police are waiting outside, and Killer Kane goes back to prison, this time until he's an old man.