or a magician. It’s all an illusion. And it’s all accomplished by misdirected attention. Smoke and mirrors. You know what I mean, right?”

Hannah stared at her partner with new respect. “That sounds right to me. But how do you know that?”

“Herb’s an amateur magician. He says he’s not good enough to take his act public yet, but he’s done a few tricks for me, and I think he’s simply fantastic. He started practicing in high school, but he never showed anyone until he married me.”

It was a new fact about Herb she’d never known, and Hannah added it to the complicated mix that made up her high school classmate. “I had no idea. He really ought to perform at the community center on Halloween.”

“I think so, too. He almost did it last year, but he said he wasn’t quite ready. Maybe this year.”

“Maybe,” Hannah said, taking the lesson she’d just learned to heart. Living in a small town was deceptive. Just when you thought you knew everything about everybody, something came along to knock that theory to smithereens.

JANE’S MINI CHERRY CHEESECAKES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the center position

2 eight-ounce packages softened cream cheese (room temperature)***

ž cup white (granulated) sugar

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

24 vanilla wafer cookies

24 cupcake liners (48 if you’re like me and you like to use double papers)

1 can cherry pie filling, chilled (21 ounces net weight)

***Use brick cream cheese, the kind that comes in a rectangular package. Don’t use whipped cream cheese unless you want to experiment—whipped cream cheese, or low-fat, or Neufchatel might work, but I don’t know that for sure.

Line two muffin pans (the kind of pan that makes 12 muffins each) with paper cupcake liners. Put one vanilla wafer cookie in the bottom of each cupcake paper, flat side down.

Chill the unopened can of cherry pie filling in the refrigerator while you make the mini cheesecakes.

You can do all of this by hand, but it’s easier with an electric mixer on slow to medium speed:

Mix the softened cream cheese with the white sugar until it’s thoroughly blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then mix in the lemon juice and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy.

Spoon the cheesecake batter into the muffin tins, dividing it as equally as you can. When you’re through, each cupcake paper should be between half and two-thirds full. (They’re going to look skimpy, but they’ll be fine once they’re baked and you put on the cherry topping.)

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top has set and has a satin finish. (The center may sink a bit, but that’s okay—the topping will cover that.)

Cool the mini cheesecakes in the pans on wire racks.