Free Kiss of Death by P.D. Martin Page B

word After written above it and Dark below it.

    According to the article, Anton Ward was born Brett Simons in Virginia. He was educated at Stanford, but inherited his parents’ substantial fortune when they were both killed in a car accident when he was eighteen. Ward is thirty-two, single, with no children. A large photo for the article shows me he’s extremely good-looking, with raven-black hair that drapes across his dark blue eyes and pale skin. Could be hair dye, contacts and makeup.Or maybe the LA Weekly Photoshopped the file. Who knows?
    I ring up Mercedes Diaz from the Bureau’s Cyber Crime Division. Mercedes is my workout partner and a good friend. “Hey, Mercedes.”
    â€œHi, Soph. What’s up?”
    â€œSorry to bug you on a Sunday, but do you mind running a background check for me?”
    â€œSure thing. Hold on a sec while I fire up my laptop.”
    â€œYou mean it’s not on?”
    She laughs. “Hey, I’m not that bad.”
    In my experience, most computer techs are addicted—in and out of work. Unlike the chef who never cooks at home, computer analysts seem to spend countless hours on their computers.
    â€œOkay. What do you want?”
    â€œGive me everything you’ve got on Anton Ward. According to an LA Weekly article he was born Brett Simons in Virginia but you better check that, too.”
    â€œPolice, travel, education, investments, newspapers?”
    â€œAll of it.”
    â€œOkay.” She’s already typing speedily on her keyboard. “I’ll e-mail you everything I find. Give me about thirty minutes, an hour tops.”
    â€œMan, you guys are fast.”
    â€œIt’s not us…it’s the computers.”
    In reality it’s both. The computers may store the information, but techs can get in, and out, quickly.
    â€œWhat you working on anyway?” she asks.
    â€œMurder case. Temescal Gateway Park.”
    â€œSounds like you’re having a good weekend.”
    I smile. “You could say that.”
    â€œKeep an eye on your BlackBerry.”
    â€œWill 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