Kiss of Death (19 page)

“Only for Anton. All the female vampires in the group sometimes act as donors for our master. Especially psidonors.”

“You sometimes call Anton ‘master,' as do others in the group. Is this how you see him? As the master of your house?”

“Of course. He runs it, organizes everything, pays for everything.”

“So there are no membership fees?” Sloan jumps to one of our later questions, which slots in nicely here. Ward admitted there were some minor administration fees, but what's his idea of minor?

“There are some. A one thousand dollar joining fee and
then five percent of your annual salary. But it wouldn't cover the costs of running the group.”

“That could add up.”

“Look around, Detective Sloan.” There's a hint of anger in Teresa's voice. “Does it look like Anton needs money? And if he wanted money, he'd just make the group open to everybody and anybody. But he doesn't, he keeps it intimate and safe.”

“Safe?”

“If someone gets past Anton's screening process, you know they're okay. They're healthy, they're not violent and they're emotionally stable.”

“How does he test all this?”

“We all have thorough medicals before we join and every month we're tested for blood diseases and sexually transmitted diseases. He conducts criminal record checks using our fingerprints, and while small, nonviolent misdemeanors are accepted, anything serious or violent is grounds for exclusion from the group. And we all undergo personality and IQ testing, too.”

“Sounds invasive.”

“It's for our protection.” Teresa pauses. “A little invasion of privacy for an assurance of my safety and the quality of the group…I can cope with that.”

“You said you're screened for sexually transmitted diseases. Does that mean you engage in regular sexual intercourse with the other members of After Dark?”

“For most of us, Detective Sloan, the two are linked. While we need blood to remain healthy, we prefer to drink blood during the sexual act. Plus Anton encourages sex between the members because it creates a deeper bond across the group and makes our clan closer. Vampirism usually includes a lust for blood
and
sex. And in the case of psi-vampirism the best time to feed off someone's energy is during sex.”

“That's when Anton feeds on you and the other female vampires?”

“Correct. The female donors look after his need for blood and the female vampires attend to his need for energy.”

“What about you? Who's your donor?”

“Reece. He is the only person whose blood I drink. We also live together.”

“That's the friend who introduced you to Anton Ward?”

“Yup. He was already a member of After Dark and we met a few months after I moved here. He brought me to meet Anton, and while Anton gave his permission for me to feed off Reece, it was not until a month later that I was initiated.”

Two words are ringing bells for me in Teresa's response—
permission
and
initiated.
“Ask if
she
required Ward's permission to feed from Reece.”

Sloan repeats my question for Teresa.

I hear ice clinking against glass—Teresa must be having some of her gin and tonic. “When you're a member of After Dark you agree to an exclusive relationship with fellow members. At the time,
Reece
needed permission, not me.”

It's certainly another example of Ward's control over the group; and another element of the group dynamic that cries cult.

I'm about to prompt Sloan to ask her about the initiation process when she beats me to it. “And once you were invited to join, there was some sort of initiation process?”

“Once we've passed the medical, criminal and personality tests, a formal ceremony is held. All the donors in the group give blood, which is then mixed together. Then all the vampires in After Dark drink from the initiation
goblet. They stand in a circle with the new member and Anton in the center. Once everyone has drunk, Anton drinks, and then finally the new member drinks. The blood binds the new member to the group—to the group's donors through their blood and to the group's vampires through the communal drinking.”

“You stand in a circle,” Sloan says. “Do you hold candles or anything like that?”

“Yes.” Her voice is friendly. “How did you know that?”

“Just a hunch.” Sloan takes another sip of coffee. “Does that usually take place indoors or outdoors?”

“Depends on the weather. Outdoors, if possible.”

“And when was the last initiation?”

I've moved to the edge of my seat. If Teresa says Saturday night…

“About a month ago. Julian's our newest member.”

“Uh-huh.” Sloan does a good job of keeping any hint of disappointment out of her voice. “So after you drink the blood, that's it?”

Teresa hesitates. “No, there's one more element. The ceremony ends with a sexual act.”

“You were uncomfortable with that?”

“At the time, yes. Sex takes place with the rest of the group as witnesses. I have always been highly sexed—like I said, it's part of our makeup—but before joining After Dark I'd never had sex in front of someone else.”

“You had sex with Ward or Reece?”

“Anton.”

“So he made you have sex with him?”

“It's not how it sounds, Detective Sloan. The new member gets to choose their sexual partner for the initiation ceremony, but the heterosexual or bisexual women always choose Anton.”

“Why? Is there pressure to choose him?”

She laughs. “You've seen him, Detective Sloan. What's not to want?”

I have to agree with Teresa there.

“Plus we all feel that it increases our bond with him, the master of our clan.”

“And if the new member is a man?”

“They choose their sexual partner, too—within all the members' sexual orientations. If the man is gay, he must choose one of our gay or bisexual members. While many of our numbers are bisexual, Anton isn't, and he does not force anyone to change their sexual orientation. He doesn't force us to do anything we don't want to do.”

“
You
didn't want to have sex in front of the group.” Sloan's voice is firm.

“Actually, Detective Sloan, I enjoyed it. I
was
hesitant, but Anton read me correctly. He knew that my hesitation would soon be—” she lets out a contented sigh “—washed away in pleasure.”

Sloan could argue the point, but she moves on. “So that's the end of the initiation ceremony?”

“Correct. And as the couple climaxes, the psi-vampires in the group feed off their sexual energy.”

I stop myself from letting out a whistle that would pierce Sloan's ears. Swapping sexual partners or having sex with spectators has never been a fantasy for me, but I suddenly realize the thought of having sex with Anton
is
arousing, and the public aspect of the scenario adds to the excitement. I push the imagery away and focus on the interview.

“So, besides the sexual part of the initiation ceremony, Anton Ward has never done anything else or asked you to do anything else that made you uncomfortable in any way?”

“No.”

“What do your friends and family think of the group and your involvement?” Sloan asks.

“My dad split when I was two and I haven't seen or heard from him since. My mom lives in Seattle and I've never really mentioned the group to her. She wouldn't understand and already gives me enough grief over the clothes I wear.”

“I see. Brothers or sisters?”

“No, I'm an only child. Mom had a tough time raising me and only ever seemed to date deadbeats. Thankfully her choice in contraception is better than her choice in men.”

“You ever been married? Kids?”

“No.”

“And do you feel that you
need
blood?”

“Of course.” She sounds almost insulted…or surprised that Sloan would ask such a question.

“What happens if you go without?”

“You don't want to see that, Detective Sloan. That's why Reece and I live together—so he's always close. After about twenty-four hours my mood changes and I become anxious and quick to anger. If I don't feed quickly, I soon move into complete lethargy and break out in cold sweats. I've never gone more than seventy-two hours without feeding, since after seventy-two hours I felt like I was dying and was doubled over in pain with stomach cramps. I never want to feel that way again.”

The whole thing sounds dramatic, but the symptoms are probably psychosomatic.

Sloan broaches the next question. “Is there anyone in After Dark you don't like or who you think doesn't belong or doesn't follow the rules?”

“No. Like I said, Anton's screening process is thorough.”

“What about jealousy? Surely if you're sharing partners some of you must feel a little jealous from time to time?”

“We're family to each other, Detective Sloan. A clan.”

Teresa's analogy has two major flaws—family members don't have sex with one another…unless things are seriously wrong, psychologically and criminally. They do, however, get jealous of one another for a variety of reasons.

“What about Ward?” Sloan says. “Do the women in the group vie for his attention?”

“To a certain extent. But we all get our turn…though he does have favorites.”

“Favorites?”

“Sure.” She gives a contented sigh. “And I'm happy to report that I'm one of them.”

Again, that doesn't surprise me, based on what little I saw of Teresa last night.

“So how regularly would you have sex with him?”

“A couple of times a week.”

“And the other girls?”

“Most are once a week or even once a month. But Paula, Rachel and I tend to get more…attention.”

Sloan moves to the next question, which I wrote specifically to help me decide if After Dark is a cult. One feature of cults is that they often have their own lingo, sometimes even a complete language. It's another way the leader isolates the group.

“Do you have your own language? Insider terms or anything like that?”

“The vamp culture does have quite a few terms, but it's across everyone, not just After Dark.”

“Such as
donor, psi-vampire, wannabe, vampdar?
” Sloan reels off some of the terminology from the printout I gave her and Carey.

“Exactly. My favorite one is
coming out
…of the coffin.”

“Clever.” There's no enthusiasm in Sloan's voice.
“Does Anton Ward oversee your daily activities or instruct you on how you should behave in any way?”

Teresa thinks about this one for several seconds before responding. “He's there if we need his advice and he does have certain rules of etiquette that we follow.”

“Such as?”

“Our donors must all be willing and approved by him. We are to act kindly to others, even those who think we're freaks or are cruel to us.”

“Do unto others as you would have done unto you?”

“Exactly.” Teresa seems pleased that Sloan's made the analogy back to such a mainstream expression.

“Prior to or after joining After Dark, have you ever been isolated physically or emotionally?”

“No.” Her tone is dismissive. “This isn't a cult, Detective Sloan. No matter how you or anyone else tries to spin it, you're way off base. This is a social network of like-minded people…who may be persecuted by the general public. And I have more friends now than I used to…my After Dark friends plus my regular social network. I'm not isolated in any way.” She pauses. “Think of us like one of those fancy country clubs.”

“So you're mostly wealthy?”

“Wealth doesn't always equate with exclusivity, Detective.”

“What do you think of Walter Riley and Larry Davidson?”

This isn't one of the questions on our list, but it's extremely relevant given where the interview is going. Even though I haven't met Riley or Davidson, from what Carey and Sloan have told me and from their mug shots, they're anything but exclusive looking.

“They are my clan. I respect them and look out for them. But they're not my donors so I'm not as close to them as Reece or Anton.”

“So they are donors?”

“Yes. I know you've already spoken to them, Detective, and I'm sure you noticed their personalities are more passive.”

“So Ward has different standards for donors and vamps? Is that what you're saying?”

She's silent, considering her answer. “Not in terms of the medical, criminal and personality checks. But vampires, by nature, are more dominant and often successful people in the outside world. Donors, more submissive.”

“So he'd get more from his five percent on you than Riley or Davidson.”

“I'd assume so, yes. But we don't talk about these matters. It's not important to the group.”

“And what about new members? Are you required to recruit?”

She laughs. “Certainly not. During my seven years in After Dark I have brought five people to Anton's attention. Two made it through and three didn't. But those five people wanted in…Anton didn't need them. Like I said, every vamp and donor in L.A. wants to be part of After Dark.”

So what happens if one of them doesn't get their way? Maybe Sherry's attack is someone's attempt at a frame-up. It could be payback for Ward's exclusivity policy.

I hear a few papers shuffling and then Sloan says, “Have you ever seen this woman?”

After a short pause, during which Teresa is obviously looking at the photo of Sherry Taylor, she says no.

“Are you sure? We know she went to the clubs dressed in Gothic clothes.”

“She doesn't look familiar.”

“What about the name Sherry Taylor? Ever heard of that name?”