Chapter 88

His car roared away while I stood in stunned silence.

"What the hell's in the box, sis?"

I walked to the table and lifted the lid, handing one of the Plexiglas-encased balls to my brother. It was marked with a small plaque showing the name and date.

"Holy shit, it's a Babe Ruth."

At least it was someone I'd heard of and I didn't feel stupid. I picked up another, lifting it to the dim light. Mickey Mantle, someone else I'd heard of, so I knew these balls were worth some money.

When word went out on the street that Big Jim, the local fence, would pay ten grand for Reed Tyler's autographed baseball collection, I had no idea exactly which balls I was after. I just figured that some dumbass rich jock could afford to lose them. I didn't know Reed's father gave them to him. I looked down. There was one more in the box. I peeked inside with my brother peering over my shoulder.

I picked it up.

Jon whispered, reverence dripping from his voice. "Joe Jackson. Holy shit, that's Shoeless Joe'