The Silence of Murder 
by Dandi Daley Mackall

Hope Long and her brother Jeremy are being raised by an abusive alcoholic mother. Jeremy stopped talking years ago after being slapped hard by his mother. His one joy is working at the stables where he can hang out with Coach Johnson. The coach has even gotten him a Panther's uniform and his own special wooden baseball bat.

When the Coach is found dead at the stables, suspicions become indictments and Jeremy is arrested and put on trial for the murder. He was seen leaving the stables covered in blood, holding his bloody baseball bat. No one knows Jeremy as well as Hope. She knows his sweet nature and that he loved the coach. There must be some other explanation, but can she find it before he's sent to jail or to a mental hospital?