Damn the Luck — Ken Smith

In the early hours of March 5, 1865, Lucas Brooks and Danny Boyle broke into the home of President Abraham Lincoln. They were hoping to find just a few semi-valuable objects left behind after the First Family had moved to Washington. What the two burglars found was much more than they had hoped for -- or maybe not: a mysterious, and seemingly impenetrable, iron box. All the boys had to do was break into the box. Well, that was easy to say. Actually doing it proved to be much more difficult -- and dangerous.

In 2002, Springfield engineer Robert Voyles was living a successful and reasonably uncomplicated life. The discovery of a body on one of Rob's projects was a startling and troublesome thing. But a quick look and everyone present could see that the body was probably very old, just some archeological curiosity. However, as they poked around the mummified corpse, they made a more interesting discovery: the iron box.

The contractor on site that day found it a lot easier to open the box than the pair of burglars did during the Civil War. And what he found inside quickly complicated Rob Voyles' life -- as well as the lives of everyone present that day.