GREEN MONSTER

Did Boston win the 2004 World Series fair and square, or did two Cardinals throw it?

Lucky Louie Kenwood brought respectability back to the Red Sox by fielding the first team to win the World Series since management traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees back in 1919. But a blackmailer calling himself Babe Ruth has said that unless he gets $50 million, a witness will squeal to the press that the Series was fixed. Rather than call in the cops and risk publicity, owner Kenwood and his dishy assistant Heather turn to PI Sam Skarda (Amen Corner, 2007), who tracks down former Cardinal All-Star right fielder Ivan Hurtado and phenom MVP pitcher/third baseman Alberto Miranda. Both were suspiciously off their game in the series, and one could now be the whistle-blower who leads Skarda to the blackmailer. Tales of steroids and gambling send Skarda and Heather to question L.A. crime boss Sid Mink. Frankie Navarro, who’s threatening Mink’s turf, may have been in on the Fenway fix with Kenwood’s estranged son Bruce, who later disappeared in a sailing accident. And that’s not all. Skarda learns that Heather, who’s been sharing his bed, plans to marry Kenwood once his oxygen-deprived second wife Katherine dies—until she hooks up with Miranda and decides that ownership of Fenway is less important than true love.

Minor league stuff compared to Field of Dreams. Almost more bed-hopping than ball-playing too.