“What you working on anyway?” she asks.
“Murder case. Temescal Gateway Park.”
“Sounds like you’re having a good weekend.”
I smile. “You could say that.”
“Keep an eye on your BlackBerry.”
“Will do.”
I hang up and decide to start by researching the different clubs before moving on to Ward and After Dark. I soon find a Web site that lists Goth clubs around the world and do a quick check for L.A. On Thursday nights it’s Perversion in Hollywood, Fridays is Ruin, Saturdays is Bar Sinister and Sundays is Malediction Society. If Todd Fischer is telling us the truth Sherry must have come directly from Bar Sinister. I ring the club and leave a message, asking for a return call as soon as possible.
Both Malediction Society and Ruin are run out of the same place on Wilshire—the Monte Cristo. Looks like I’ll be heading down there tonight—if I decide to go through with it. The clubs don’t seem to have dedicated Web sites, but they’re all on MySpace and Facebook. Malediction Society’s page features an advertisement-style layout, with posters of upcoming events and DJs that play at the club. The other clubs use a similar approach.
Next I move on to Ward and After Dark. My Google search comes up with a few articles on the group and the man himself, but nothing much that’s not already in the fledgling file. Next, I log into my minimalist profile page on Facebook and do a search for Anton Ward. Sure enough, I find a few Anton Wards and soon pinpoint the group leader. The profile image on Facebook has him dressed in tailored pants and a skintight plum sweater, leaning on a grand piano. The image is more conservative than I’d imagined—like he’s trying to show off his wealth and hide any more Gothic tendencies. It’s also a very small picture—I can’t access his full details unless I send him a friend request that he accepts. And, for the moment, I want to fly under the radar. If I decide it’s worthwhile, I may set up a fake Facebook profile to see if I can get additional info. Next I search on his group’s name, After Dark. I discover that Ward’s set up a Facebook page, which I can view without having to join. I read the main blurb:
After Dark is a group of enlightened individuals who have embraced their real calling in this world—vampirism. Based in L.A., the group is headed by the self-made Anton Ward, who saw the need to band together with his fellow vampires and give them somewhere safe to meet. After Dark meets once a week and provides a mentoring program for all its members. The organization also helps people cross over into their new lives as vampires and matches vampires with willing donors. At the moment, our exclusive group is physically based and we purposely keep numbers low. However we will shortly be launching an online group so that After Dark can have a national and global presence. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
I have a quick look through thumbnail pictures of the page’s fans and the other basic information that Ward has posted on the page. He hasn’t included a lot of details about the group or its members; rather, he’s covered the basics and requested that people e-mail him with their interest in the forthcoming virtual group. It’s not exactly an empire, but it could feed his ego, if not his wallet.
Next I search MySpace. With no need to “friend” him first, I find Ward’s profile page quite quickly and this time have instant access to his vital statistics—at least those he self-reported. Then there’s also a longer “about me” section, a link to his blog and some more pictures. I flick through these images and find some that better fit my mental image of the man, including one in which he’s wearing contacts that make his eyes glow eerily.
He’s got two hundred and twenty friends on MySpace, including quite a few of the Goth-inspired clubs. Overall, the theme for women is definitely corsets, dark hair, pale faces and red lips.
I could spend hours clicking the friend links and reading about Ward’s online network, but I’ve got too much to get through before hooking up with Sloan again. Plus I’ve got enough initial info on him for now. While I’ll reserve final judgment until I meet Ward and his group members, at this stage I see two possibilities for Anton Ward. One, he’s a conman, someone who saw an opportunity to surround himself with devoted members who pander to his ego. Or two, he believes whatever teachings he may pass on to his members, believes he’s a vampire. Guess I’ll find out which soon.
Either way, until I discover more about Anton Ward and his group, it’ll be difficult to classify them. On the surface they seem to fit some definitions of a new religious movements—they’re a small, non-mainstream group that revolves around a single leader. NRMs are often associated with extremist behavior and their lifestyle is usually seen as unconventional in some way, and Ward and his group tick that box. Vampirism is extremist behavior, even in today’s society where it’s got a chic factor. But are they a cult? Does Anton Ward have complete control over his followers? The group didn’t come onto the law-enforcement radar until Riley and Davidson were arrested—no hint of illicit or illegal activities, no missing person reports filed by family members, and so on. And even if they are an NRM, it doesn’t mean they’re violent or capable of murder. Many NRMs function with no incident. It’s just that the ones that go spectacularly and tragically wrong get lots of media attention.
The question is, then, if After Dark is a cult, is it a destructive one?
A destructive cult tends to have one charismatic leader, uses deception in recruiting, uses thought-reform methods to effectively brainwash its members, is isolated from the rest of society, distinguishes between their kind and the rest of the world and strictly controls members’ daily routines. But from what I know so far, this group isn’t isolated, geographically at least. Riley and Davidson live in WestHo and Ward lives in Los Feliz. And having not met Riley or Davidson, it’s difficult for me to decide if they’re the “type” to be attracted to a new religious movement. From a psychological perspective, cults can give people a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose—two things people are striving for these days. Likewise, an NRM can guide people in their behavior—tell them what’s right and wrong—and some individuals would rather feel guided, controlled even, than alone. But if After Dark is a destructive cult, its members could be convinced that killing a woman in a ritualistic way is okay, even required. Members don’t usually question their leader’s instructions. Charles Manson and his “family” are a classic example. In 1969 Manson convinced four of his members to kill Sharon Tate and four of her friends. These cult members followed their leader’s directions without question, despite the fact that Tate was five months pregnant. They believed Manson represented the Second Coming and was infallible; and he convinced them that the act of killing another human being was simply releasing them from their physical bodies. Murder was not a heinous crime in their minds.
Jonestown is another famous example of the hold a charismatic leader can have on his disciples—and its disastrous results. Reverend Jim Jones founded the People’s Temple of California and even managed to rub shoulders with some of America’s most powerful individuals. Before long, nine hundred and seventeen of the cult’s members were killed in what initially looked like a suicide pact, but investigators soon realized that about two hundred died voluntarily and the rest were murdered by fellow members under the direction of Jones. Even those that killed themselves did so at Jones’ direction. Such is the power of charisma.
I check my e-mail and notice that Mercedes has sent me the full file on Ward, but before I look at that I decide to research new religious movements a little more, concentrating this time on the typical personality types of members.
An hour later, I check in with Sloan.
“How’s it going?” I ask.
“Getting there. I’ve put through all the paperwork for Sherry’s credit card records and phone records, plus I’ve logged a request for a computer forensic technician to get onto Sherry’s laptop.”
“Great. And the DNA?”
“Personally dropped it in.”
I fill in Sloan on my recent activities, including the online information I found out about the clubs.
“It’s