"So he doesn't like open spaces, people, and most types of food," Cooper summarised.
"He suffers from severe anxiety," said Maeve.
"He's basically afraid of everything," added Kyle. "He came on the show to get over his fears and live a more normal life."
"And has he made progress?" Cooper asked.
"I think so," said Kyle. He looked uneasily at Maeve.
"Yes, he has," said the producer. "I was only speaking with the therapist the other day about Dax. She thinks he's done really well, but still has a long way to go."
"You said Dax and Ivy had bonded well," said Quinn. "What was his relationship like with Zara?"
Cooper didn't miss the exchanged glances between producer and host. There was a long silence, before Maeve eventually filled it.
"They clashed."
"They clashed how?" asked Cooper.
Maeve sighed. "You really haven't seen any of the show, have you?"
"No."
"In the episode that went to air last night, Dax threatened to kill Zara."
3
"He threatened to kill her?" Cooper asked.
"It was a heat of the moment thing," said Kyle. "He didn't mean it. Dax wouldn't hurt a fly."
"That's right," said Maeve. "We played it up for the audience, of course. Made a big deal of it in the promos. But really, it was nothing."
"Except a week later she's dead," said Quinn.
"I need some water," said Maeve.
"I'll get it," said Sergeant Adams, who'd been sitting listening intently this whole time. Cooper wondered whether he'd been watching the show. Did they even get television out here on the island? He looked around the lounge room; there was no television in sight. Maybe that was part of the show, though. Isolate the contestants from the rest of the world.
Sergeant Adams returned with five glasses of water on a tray, and set it down on the coffee table in front of them.
"Thanks, Garry," said Maeve. Cooper was surprised at the familiarity, but ignored it for the moment.
"Tell us more about this death threat," he said. "What exactly happened between Zara and Dax?"
"They didn't get on at all," said Kyle. "What?" he asked, when the producer gave him a look. "It's all been captured on camera, Maeve. They'll see it eventually. Zara and Dax hated each other. Or, more to the point, Zara teased Dax mercilessly and Dax hated her for it."
"I thought Zara was on the show to become a better person," said Quinn. "She was portrayed as the 'rich bitch', wasn't she? Her supposed transformation goal was to shed the role of societal privilege, and be a more caring and giving person."
Cooper's eyes widened at his partner. Someone had done more than just 'caught a couple of episodes'. They'd be discussing that later. For now, though, it was quite helpful.
"That was one of her goals, yes," said Maeve. "She wasn't very successful where Dax was concerned. I don't know what it was about him she didn't like."
"If she was so cruel to him, why was she still on the show? Why didn't the public vote her off?" asked Cooper.
"She was transforming in other ways," said Kyle. "She had kicked her drug and alcohol habit while in here, and the public responded to that."
"Yes," agreed Maeve. "She could still be a bitch when she wanted to, but for the most part Zara was making real progress. She was especially liked by two of the other contestants, Martha and Lucas."
"Martha Bremerton and Lucas Chan," said Quinn, for Cooper's benefit.
Cooper took a sip of water. "Okay. Tell me about them," he said to no-one in particular.
"Martha is the self-appointed mother of the group," answered Maeve. "She came on the show to lose weight and get the confidence to go back to work now that her children are teenagers. The contestants all love her, she's been their shoulder to cry on throughout the show. The public adore her as well."
"So her transformation has been a success?"
"All of the contestants are still a work in progress, Detective. But yes, so far she's done very well. She's lost over twenty kilograms, and been a strong support to the rest of the contestants as they worked through their own struggles. That, in turn, has proven to be quite a confidence boost for Martha herself."
This was starting to sound like an advertisement for the show, rather than an overview of the contestants. Maeve Singer may have been concerned for the welfare of the remaining five, but it was becoming clear her priority was keeping the show on the air.
"What about Lucas Chan," said Cooper. "What's his story?"
"Lucas is a truck driver from Western Australia," said Maeve. "He's also on the show to lose weight, as well as address some anger-management issues."
Anger management? Interesting. "What kind of anger management?"
"Too much road rage, in a nutshell," said Kyle. "He's a big teddy bear most of the time, but can fly off the handle if provoked."
"And did anyone make a habit of provoking him?"
"Apart from the therapists?"
Maeve jumped in. "What Kyle means is, our therapy team determined that once Lucas had undergone a series of treatment sessions, they needed to test whether the treatment was successful."
"So they deliberately provoked him in an effort to make him 'fly off the handle', as Kyle put it?" asked Cooper.
"They didn't, exactly. They got the other contestants to do it. It was part of the group therapy."
Cooper was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this television program. He knew the makers of reality shows had a habit of going to extremes to get reactions out of contestants, and contestants signed up for it willingly, but this was sounding dangerous. He looked over at Sergeant Adams, who was still listening quietly to the interview, and wondered how much he'd been aware of what was going on in this house. Probably a lot, if he watched the show.
"Could you explain these group therapy sessions?" asked Quinn.
"Of course," said Maeve. "But it's probably easier if we show you. They're all recorded, naturally."
"Naturally," Cooper repeated. "We'll be wanting to review your recordings, yes. But for now, perhaps you could explain the relevant points?"
Maeve finished off her glass of water. As soon as she put it down, Sergeant Adams picked it up and went to the kitchen for a refill.
"Anyone else while I'm here?" he asked. No-one answered. Cooper made a note for himself to investigate just how well Maeve and Sergeant Adams knew each other.
"The group therapy sessions are designed so that the contestants use their individual strengths and weaknesses to help each other. With Lucas, the therapists encouraged those of the group with low self-esteem issues to do their best to antagonise him. It helped those who lacked confidence to improve their confrontation skills, and tested Lucas's resolve and ability to control his temper. It was a win-win."
"Except when it wasn't," said Kyle, which earned him another glare from Maeve.
"What went wrong?" Cooper asked.
"A couple of weeks ago Ivy pushed Lucas too far," said Kyle. "He lost control, got right in her face, and Paul, one of the therapists, had to pull him away. He was going to hit her, I've no doubt."
"And you televised that?" asked Cooper.
"No, of course we didn't," said Maeve. "There's no way Lucas would still be here if we had, the public would have voted him out immediately. Paul managed to diffuse the situation, and we aired enough to show that Lucas still had a way to go with his therapy. He's done very well in the weight department, though. Lost almost thirty kilograms, I believe."
Cooper had had enough of this woman, but there was still one more contestant to discuss. He checked his notes for the final name Quinn had given him on the plane.
"Jerome Kokinos," he said to the group. "What's his story?"
"Jerome's still struggling," said Kyle. "He's painfully shy. He's gay, but he hasn't had the courage to come out to his family and friends. Of course they know now, if they've been watching the show. Jerome applied for Transformation in Paradise to over
come his shyness. I think it was a way for him to come out to his loved ones without having to have the actual conversation."
"And he's still shy? How's his transformation going?"
"It's slow, but he is making real progress. Zara's death has devastated him, though. They were quite close." Kyle looked down at his hands, and the room fell silent for a few moments.
Cooper reflected on what they'd learned so far. They had five very different contestants, all of whom would have got close to the deceased in some way over the last nine weeks of forced co-habitation. Then there was the host, Kyle, who seemed to care more about the contestants than the producer did. Maeve struck Cooper as a no-nonsense professional – good for a television producer, but perhaps not the most compassionate person to have around for those undergoing life-changing transformations.
Then there were the therapists and trainers, not to mention the crew. All of them would need to be interviewed, and there was just him and Quinn here to do it. With the help of Sergeant Adams, of course, but Cooper had his suspicions Garry Adams might know more about these people than he was letting on. The whole situation was a nightmare, further complicated by the fact it made compelling viewing for a significant part of the population, including his own mother-in-law.
"What do you want to do next?" asked Maeve. "The contestants are expecting you. I've told them they'll all have to give interviews to the police."
Cooper looked at his watch; it was almost seven pm. "We'll go and take a look at Zara King's room," he said, stretching his back and legs as he stood. "Perhaps, while we do that, the two of you could gather the contestants down here. We'll speak to them as a group tonight, and interview them individually first thing tomorrow."
Cooper and Quinn followed Garry Adams as he led them upstairs. "You don't want to make a start on the individual interviews tonight?" asked Adams.
"No. That will take too long. We'll spend tomorrow doing that. For now, I just want to get an idea of what happened here. Besides, we don't have a cause of death yet. We won't know until tomorrow whether there are any suspicious circumstances. It's just as likely the deceased died of natural causes."
"Natural causes? A twenty-eight-year-old woman who showed no sign of a problem hours before her death?"
Cooper shrugged, and lowered his voice as they reached the top of the stairs. There were a number of closed doors, and he had to assume the remaining contestants were within earshot. "We can hope," he said. "But we can't take any chances. By tomorrow morning, I suspect the whole country will be watching us."
4
The room in which Zara King had spent her last moments alive would have been a disappointment to most interior designers, given the luxury with which the living areas had been appointed. There were two single beds, two small desks, a built-in wardrobe, and a door leading to a small en-suite. If it wasn't for the subtle furnishings and female grooming items, Cooper would have mistaken it for a child's bedroom.
"It's a bit basic," Quinn commented.
"Why two beds?" asked Cooper.
"There are six bedrooms in the house, and they began with twelve contestants," Adams explained. "Two to a room."
"When was Zara's roommate eliminated?" asked Quinn.
"The second or third week, from memory," said Adams.
"You've been watching the show?" asked Cooper.
"My wife is hooked," he admitted. "I've seen enough. Plus, I keep a general eye on arrivals and departures on the island. It's been hard keeping up with all the tourists these past couple of months, but I'm familiar with the comings and goings of people associated with this show."
"That could come in handy," said Cooper.
They had a good look around the room and en-suite, but could find nothing helpful. No pill bottles or packets, nothing that wasn't supposed to be there. Quinn took photos, then they joined the assembled group back downstairs.
"Let me start by expressing how sorry we are for your loss," said Cooper, once the introductions were complete. Maeve and Kyle had been accurate in their descriptions of each of the contestants. "We'll be doing everything we can to find out how and why Zara died."
"Should make for some decent ratings," said Lucas Chan. It brought a fresh outburst of tears from Ivy Lennox, who was comforted by Martha Bremerton. The remaining two guys, Dax and Jerome, sat quietly, doing their best not to make eye contact with anyone.
"Lucas, that's not our focus right now," said Maeve. Cooper wondered whether she could be any more disingenuous. Of course it was their focus. It wasn't Cooper's focus, though.
"Finding out what happened to Zara is all I care about, Ivy," he said softly, directly to her. "Can you tell me what happened this morning?"
Ivy nodded, and with Martha's arm draped over her shoulder in a reassuring hold, she started talking.
"Zara didn't come down for breakfast. That was unusual. None of us ever misses breakfast. Not since we've been here, anyway. We're all on special meal plans, and most of us get so little we don't even contemplate missing a meal." Ivy paused to use a tissue, and seemed to struggle to continue.
"Go on," Cooper encouraged.
"So when she didn't come down, I went up to see what was wrong."
"What time was that?" asked Quinn.
"Just after nine o'clock, I think. The rest of us had already eaten." Quinn made notes, and Ivy pressed on. "I knocked on her door, but there was no answer, so I went in. I figured maybe she was in the bathroom. But she wasn't. She was on the bed, just lying there on top of the covers, still in her clothes from last night. Her eyes were open, staring up at the ceiling." Ivy buried her head in Martha's shoulder, and the older woman pulled her in close as Ivy sobbed.
"She's had quite a shock," said Martha. "We all have." She turned to Maeve. "Can you give her something to help her sleep tonight?"
Maeve nodded. "We'll get the doctor over." She turned to Cooper. "Assuming that's okay with you?"
"Of course. We don't want to interview anyone any further tonight. You've all had a rough day. We'll be back tomorrow, and we'll get started on individual interviews then. Thank you for your time this evening."
Cooper, Quinn, and Adams stood to leave. Maeve showed them out, while Kyle stayed with the group.
"It's been hard on them," said Maeve, once they were outside. They were on the western side of the island, and Cooper stood facing the water, thinking of his family back home in Sydney.
"I understand," he said to Maeve. "But it will only get harder for a while yet. Like I said, we'll do our best to find out what happened to Zara as quickly as possible."
"I appreciate that, Detective." She returned to the house and closed the door on them, and they headed to the Land Rover.
"Where to now?" asked Garry.
"Wherever we're staying," said Cooper. "If I don't eat soon I'll be no good to anyone."
They were staying at the resort, which probably had an official name but was referred to by locals as 'the resort', the same place Kyle Aren, Maeve Singer, and the rest of the crew had called home for the last two months. After saying goodbye to Garry Adams, who refused their offer to join them for dinner, Cooper and Quinn checked in, dumped their bags in their rooms, and met downstairs in the dining room.
"What's good here?" Cooper asked the waiter who showed them to a table by the window.
"It's all pretty good," he replied. "The lamb shanks are popular," he added, taking cloth napkins out of wine glasses and expertly placing them in their laps.
"Thanks. Give us minute. And beer. We'll both have a beer, please."
After ascertaining their beer preference, the waiter retreated. Cooper perused the menu and chose the chicken parmigiana, which he guessed was a slightly lighter option than lamb shanks. When the waiter returned, Quinn ordered fish.
"So what do you think, boss?"
"It's certainly a suspicious death. Whether it's murder or not, that's another question. We'll have to wait until Garrett does the autopsy tomorrow." Dr Garrett Byrnes was one of
the lead forensic pathologists at Glebe Morgue in Sydney, where all New South Wales autopsies were performed. Cooper was certain Garrett would do this one himself.
"That producer was a bit much, wasn't she?" asked Quinn, after downing half his beer in one gulp.
"They're all strong personalities, Joe. That's what makes a reality television show, I guess." He took a long drink from his own beer, and realised how thirsty he'd been. It felt hotter here than back home.
"How are we going to approach this? I mean if it is murder?"
"Same way we always do. We look at the facts, come up with theories, discount them. It's no different, just because we're out here in the middle of the ocean."
"Narrows down the suspect pool," said Quinn, draining the rest of his beer and signalling to the waiter for another.
"Somewhat. At least that's one thing we've got going for us."
When the waiter arrived to deliver Quinn's drink, he told Cooper there was a message for him at reception.
"What kind of message?" Cooper asked.
"A phone call, I believe," replied the waiter. He left before Cooper could ask any more.
"Why didn't they just call my mobile?"
Quinn smiled. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. No mobile reception here."
"At all?"
"No. Locals rely on landlines."
"And you waited until now to tell me this?"
Quinn shrugged and picked up his fresh drink. "Sorry, boss. Didn't think you'd take it too well."
Cooper took a deep breath, then stood and found his way back to reception. The message was from Munro. He spotted a bank of phones in the lobby, and after purchasing the required phone card from the desk staff, was finally able to return the call.
"Hey, Sarge. Any news?"
"Too much news. Press has found out. You'll be joined by a fair few of them tomorrow, no doubt."
Cooper's shoulders slumped. "We knew that would happen." He filled Munro in on their day, and outlined the plan for interviewing the remaining contestants and crew tomorrow. "Garrett doing the autopsy tomorrow?" he asked when he was finished.
C&Q04,5 - Dark Paradise Page 2