Murder in Wrigley Field

``Dream'' Weaver, ace pitcher of the Chicago Cubs, is shot dead in the tunnel leading from the field to the Cubs' clubhouse, before the start of a game. The killer vanishes, and police are baffled. The list of suspects grows as unnecessary. didn't yet know he was unsavory. aa Dream's unsavory private life is unearthed. Could the killer be one of Dream's many jilted girlfriends? A jealous boyfriend or husband (a category that includes several teammates and Cub executives)? One of the gamblers or drug suppliers who gravitated toward the pitcher? Duffy House, a retired sportswriter of the old school, is called upon by the commissioner of baseball to investigate sub rosa . With his beautiful niece, Petey, who is about to enter law school and shares her dear ``Unk'' 's love of baseball, unless you mean she loves baseball as much as she loves Unk.aa/change ok/pk House follows trails that lead to an exciting after-innings finish in Wrigley Field. Evers uses many apt baseball metaphors, writes in hardboiled tradition (`` `Lila, it's been too long,' I said, taking her digits and feeling the current.'') and employs familiar baseball names from the past, such as Cubs manager Freddie ``Bonehead'' Merkle. This is the first of three baseball mysteries by the pseudonymous Evers scheduled to be released during the 1991 season. (Apr.)