Cereal Killer

table simply ignored Desiree as she flounced and giggled before the camera, Tesla Montoya openly shot her hostile looks. And the lack of chemistry—or even civility—between the two women proved to be a challenge for the photographer.
    “Could the two of you move a bit closer to each other?” he said. “I need some tight shots of you and the product. Tesla, your shoulder slightly behind Desiree’s, and lean into her... more... more. Tilt your head a little in her direction....”
    Tesla was following his directions, but it was obvious that her heart wasn’t in her work.
    Finally, even Matt Slater acknowledged the fact: “Tesla, what’s with you today? You look like crap. Your eyes are all swollen, your face puffy. Don’t tell me you partied last night, the night before a shoot.”
    “Hardly,” Tesla said, in a voice so low they could scarcely hear her.
    To Savannah’s surprise, Matt Slater seemed to sprout a conscience. His tone softened, and he walked over to place his hand on her shoulder. For once, there was no lusty sparkle in his eye.
    “I’m sorry, honey,” he said. “We’re all a little down today about Cait and Kameeka. We probably should have canceled the shoot, but—”
    “No way,” piped up Jerrod Beekman. He had been sitting quietly in a folding chair at the perimeter of the action, leaving his seat occasionally to pace and smoke a cigarette.
    He strode over to the spa, where Tesla sat on the edge, a bowl of cereal in her hand, the all-important box of Slenda Flakes prominently displayed on the tiles between her and Desiree.
    “I don’t know what’s going on here today,” he said. “But we’ve got a lot of ground to cover to get this campaign back on track. This thing with Cait and Kameeka couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
    For a moment, Tesla Montoya’s sad eyes flashed as she glared up at him. “I guess there’s just no convenient time to get murdered,” she said in a tone so smooth, yet full of bitterness, that everyone on the set held their collective breath.
    “Sorry,” Jerrod replied, looking anything but remorseful. “It’s awful what happened to them. But life goes on.”
    “Not for them,” Tesla shot back.
    She stood and set her bowl down on the tiles so hard that they could hear it crack. Turning to Desiree, she said, “For some of us it worked out just fine. But for Cait and Kameeka...”
    Without another word, she left the area, heading toward the makeshift dressing “room” at the rear of the deck. As she passed her, Savannah saw tears in her eyes, and her whole body was shaking.
    After Tesla disappeared behind the curtain, Savannah waited for someone to go after her, perhaps to comfort her. But no one made a move until Jerrod Beekman said, “Lost ground, folks. That’s what we’ve got to recover. Let’s get going.”
    But Matt Slater seemed to think better of it. He shook his head and said, “No, Jerrod. I’ll do some more product shots here with Desiree, but other than that, it’s over for today. I was right the first time when I thought we should reschedule in a couple of days.”
    “A couple of days? Are you nuts?” Jerrod’s face flushed and his fists clenched at his sides. “First we have a couple of models who are supposed to be losing weight, who aren’t. And now we’ve got so-called professionals moping on the job! I don’t need this! Wentworth Industries expects us to launch this campaign in six weeks and where are we? Square one!”
    Matt took a couple of steps toward the ad exec, a calm but firm look on his face. “Like I said, that’s it for today, Jerrod. I’m working with human beings here, not just boxes of corn flakes, okay?”
    Jerrod hesitated a couple of heavy seconds, then reached into his pocket for his cigarette pack. Tapping one out, he moved back behind his chair and started to pace again.
    Deciding that she probably wouldn’t be missed, Savannah decided to try her luck once more with Tesla Montoya behind the dressing curtain. She might be able to glean a little something more out of her and if not, she could at least offer a bit of sympathy... since no one else on the set seemed interested in doing so.
    But as Savannah approached the curtain, she was surprised to hear Tesla talking on the other side.
    She was even more surprised when she heard her say, “Detective Coulter, yes.”
    Savannah stopped a few feet from the curtain and listened.
    Nothing at first. Then Tesla said, “Okay, when he gets in,