Contemporary Fiction Section

Grandpa Pitched for The Cubs

[A Novel]

Plot

A young high school pitcher named Noel Remle dreamed of playing baseball professionally - and it finally happens.

A boy dreams of fame on the baseball diamond, but when he finally plays in a professional uniform, his inner struggle with another love - preaching - makes him hide his achievement from family and church. Why keep it secret? How did he do it?

Noel accidentally killed a man who was raping a woman in a darkened alley in Chicago - strangely, it happened near Wrigley Field. He stopped the rape, but his index finger was shot off. The murder was covered up when Noel had an automobile accident driving away from the crime scene, but Night-Train Hatch, a dogged police inspector, finds Noel's the finger, promising to find the murderer.

Noel struggles with himself, until his charade harms his pitching. Night-Train Hatch struggles with his obsession, but can’t give up the quest to find the man with a missing index finger. Noel pitches for the Cubs, while Night-Train Hatch is closing the dragnet around his murderer. Will the Cubs finally make the World Series? What happens when Hatch meets Noel?