Winnie Lou Best. Do you think that’s a coincidence?”
“Winnie Lou . . .” Chips repeated, then slapped a
hand to his head. “You mean as in Winifred Best?”
Judith nodded. “I showed her this tape and she
pitched a small fit. Why would she do that?”
“Golly,” Chips said, “I’ve no idea. Maybe she’s embarrassed.”
The explanation was so simple that it made sense.
“That’s possible,” Judith allowed, though a snippet of
doubt remained. Before Chips could resume his walk
to the bathroom, she held up a hand. “Quick question.
Why is there so much controversy over the way
“You mean the picture’s length?” Chips responded.
“No, not exactly,” Judith said. “I understand there
were differing opinions about the story itself.” Maybe
that was more to the point. “That the result wasn’t true
to the original book.”
Chips laughed. “You’d better ask Dade about that.
Of course, he’ll tell you I didn’t direct the picture right.
The fact is, I directed it the way Bruno wanted. Of
course I wouldn’t admit that publicly, but you’re not in
the business.”
“In other words,” Judith said, “Bruno dictated how
you should direct?”
Chips shrugged. “It was his picture.”
“You felt he knew what he was doing?”
A flush crept over Chips’s freckled face as he began
inching his way toward the bathroom. “I admit, I
hadn’t worked with him before, but until I signed on
for
he directed his first six films himself. It was only for
the last two—including
another director. I had reason to trust him. All his films
had been successful.”
Through the window over the landing, Judith could
see the fog swirling around the house. It was going to
be a gloomy, damp night for the trick-or-treaters.
“What went wrong with this movie?” she asked,
aware that Chips was trying to escape.
“Well . . .” He looked pained. He also looked around
the hallway. In the process, he noticed the fog through
the window. “Wow,” he said softly. “Real fog. We
didn’t have that in the Midwest, where I was raised. In
L.A., we have only smog, which doesn’t create this
kind of atmosphere. Would you mind moving to your
