Hannah heard several people gasp and she turned to look at Ross. Burke had certainly stepped in every cow pie in Winnetka County and perhaps even in the whole state of Minnesota.

“Idiot,” Ross muttered under his breath, staring at the screen. “I hope that reporter’s a pro.”

“Very funny, Burke,” P. K. jumped in, turning to face the camera. “Movie people are always kidding each other like this, folks. But there’s no denying that Mr. Lawrence is not only a great director, he’s also a great actor. Burke didn’t mention it, but there’s a cat in the picture. His real name is Moishe and he’s got a couple of lines

or maybe I should say, he’s got a couple of yowls. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Lawrence could play that cat better than Moishe himself.”

“Smooth,” Ross said under his breath. “Now people will remember the cat.”

Hannah risked a quick glance at Dean. He was smiling, but it wasn’t a friendly smile and Hannah was glad she wasn’t Burke right about now.

“Thank you, Burke,” P. K. said from his chair on the set. He turned to face the camera. “We’ve got a treat in store for you next Friday night right after the news. It’s an in-depth story about the three actresses playing Amy Thompson in Crisis in Cherrywood. We mentioned that Lynne Larchmont plays her as an adult, and Erica James plays Amy as a teenager. What we didn’t mention is that the third actress is our very own Tracey Todd from Lake Eden, Minnesota, and she plays Amy as a child.”

The news had only five more minutes to run and everyone was silent as Rayne Phillips informed them that the weather tomorrow would be almost the same as it had been today. Then Wingo Jones gave the sports scores and showed a clip of the center from the Little Falls Flyers sinking a basket from the opposite side of the court in the last two seconds to win the game. The credits scrolled much too rapidly for anyone except someone’s mother to read, and then the screen went dark and all was silent as the lights came up.

Hannah sneaked a quick glance at Burke. He looked understandably nervous. What he’d said was inflammatory and might even be considered actionable.

“Uh

Mr. Lawrence?” Burke said, not daring to call the director by his first name.

“Yes, Burke.”

“I’m

uh

I’m real sorry about that. I’m not used to giving interviews and

um

I thought it would be funny. You know.”

“It was funny, Burke. I’m sure people will be talking about it for weeks to come.”

“But

you’re not

uh

mad, because of what I said and all?”

“Why on earth should I be angry? I just told you I thought it was funny.”

“But