“Richards was an extremely good proselytizer, setting himself up first as a minister and, as his pathology got deeper and darker, claimed to be the second coming of Christ.” Jade said, “And people believed that?” “Not only did they believe it, but they began to worship him and some folks still do. He has quite the following to this day.
“By the late sixties, he had a group of about four hundred members, all a part of the Richards’ family church. He preached and sold his B.S. on every street corner and in every church that would have him. Then, in sixty-eight, he dropped off the scene completely. There was a war going on and all kinds of other shit, so his absence wasn’t immediately noticed. But what was noticed was a rash of child kidnappings and sacrificial killings.”
“And this was Richards?” Jade asked. “You’re getting ahead of things. The killings went on for nearly seven years, brutal and sadistic. They became more and more brutal and included adult men and women as well as children. The killer started to leave cryptic messages on stone walls around the southland where he killed the victims.”
“So how does Richards play into all of this?” Jade asked, hanging on Jim’s every word. John was smiling as he watched her. “The ‘Family,’ as he called his followers, would probably have never been caught had it not been for a very, very small fuck up on a crime scene in seventy-five. While state and federal investigators were working a sacrificial killing in the Simi Valley Hills, they came across a young girl about ten years old who said she had been separated from her parents and family. Law enforcement took her in and started a search for the family, and while she was with police, she told them the story of two recent killings that her ‘family’ had performed. She had such detailed information that law enforcement knew she was an eyewitness to the killings. One thing led to another, and they nailed Richards and his followers. The guy was a complete nutjob; he really believed he was ushering in the end of the earth, the return of Jesus, and the beginning of Armageddon.”
Jade asked, “Where is he now?” “Well, he was found guilty of some thirty murders and sentenced to death, but the state became a pussy state and ended the death penalty in seventy-two. But then the U.S. Supreme Court had a say in it, and the death penalty was reinstated in seventy-eight. Richards, along with several dozens of his followers, had their sentences commuted to life in prison, so the fucker is living the good life at Corcoran State Prison.”
Jade sat back and asked, “If this guy was such a sicko, what the hell did you talk about?” “Mostly the weather. He tried some of his mind crap on me, and I told him, ‘I’m not your typical cop. I will kick your ass…slick…there are a lot of steps between here and the van to take you back to prison. Your ass could trip, slip, or just fuckin’ fall.’”
John let out a laugh. “You get angry at the Eagle, yet you threatened Bruno Richards?” Jim bit down on the smoke between his teeth and said, “Well, I was young, and it was a different time. There was no Iron fuckin’ Eagle to take care of things.”
Jade asked, “So you think these killings are ritualistic? Some kind of sick religion?” Jim let out a deep belly laugh and said, “If there’s one thing I can tell you about religion, it’s that they are all sick and twisted. You don’t have to do literal human sacrifice to be inhumane in the world of religion.”
Jade looked confused, and John said, “Jim was an altar boy and a choir boy in the Catholic church when he was a kid.” Jade looked at Jim and said, “I’m sorry.” Jim laughed again and said, “Not to worry, angel. It was a long fuckin’ time ago, and that priest might have fucked me, but in the end, no pun intended, I know that he got his, and I will say no more on the subject.” John asked, “Where do we begin with this case, Jim? I’ve had no exposure to religion. It’s another of the vices I have been able to resist through my life.” Jade laughed and said, “That’s not hard to believe.” Jim laughed, and John frowned.
Jim said, “These killings are ritualistic, and they are, in the minds of these religious zealots, justified. They are old school. I mean real Old Testament wrath of God shit.” John asked, “Judaism?” Jim said, “I thought you didn’t know anything about religion?” “I studied it in college, and I have friends who believe in some of that stuff. Old Testament Levitical law kind of shit.” “It’s not Jewish. It’s all wrong, and it’s not mainstream Christian. They did away with human sacrifice over a thousand years ago.”
Jade looked horrified and asked, “Christians used to sacrifice humans?” Jim laughed again. “All religions and superstitions sacrificed humans at one time or another. I mean, if we learned anything in the last few years and mostly from the Devil’s Chair fiasco, meat is meat!”
Jade leaned over and threw up in a trashcan, and John slapped Jim on the shoulder so hard he knocked him to the floor. “Jesus, I’m sorry. Are you okay, Jim?” Jim was laughing and getting back on his feet. “Yeah. Damn, you’re a strong fuck. You don’t know your own strength. What we have here is human sacrifice, and it is down to a very, very specific age group and manner in which these kids are killed and offered as a burnt offering to whatever deity this group worships.”
“Satanism?” Jade asked, wiping her mouth, sweat running down her face. Jim shook his head with the cigarette in his mouth. “No…I don’t think so. They would be leaving pentagrams and ram’s heads not biblical sayings. God and Satan are mutually exclusive.” John laughed and said, “Like God and religion.” Jim shot John a look and asked, “So you believe in God not religion?” John nodded and said he was not now or ever going to get into a religious argument. Jim said, “Well, don’t look now, but I think that we are all about to be thrown into the middle of one. Find the kids, and we find the cult! We find the cult, and we find the killers.”
Chapter Three
“No one can outgrow God,
Erick, but one can outgrow the
illogical aspects of religion.”
Annette and George Swan were beside themselves. Their daughter was kidnapped while sleeping in her crib right out from her parents’ arms. There was a candlelight vigil for the safe return of Emily Swan at the First Baptist Church of Arleta on Van Nuys Boulevard and a lot of media coverage. The AMBER Alert had set a city in motion to locate Emily. The problem was no one saw anything. No vehicle, no person, not a thing. Jim had gotten a call to speak at the vigil, and as Sheriff of Los Angeles County, it was part of his job. He called John and told him he had to give a brief speech, so the two men agreed to meet at the church at six p.m. for the vigil.
Jim arrived on scene at a quarter to, and John’s truck was already parked in front of the church. Jim looked around, but there was no sign of him. He walked around the outside but nothing. He walked into the foyer of the church, and there was John, towering over a man and woman, with his tablet in his hand. He was wearing an FBI windbreaker and had an intense look on his face. Jim looked on and was grabbed by the pastor of the church, Arnold Espanza. Pastor Espanza was the founding pastor of the church some fifty years earlier. The man, now in his mid-seventies, was slower in his walk but bright eyed in his conviction and care for his parishioners. He spoke with a slight Mexican accent and said, “Thank you for coming out to support the family, Sheriff O’Brian. It means the world to the community.” Jim nodded as he looked over at John who was still engrossed in a conversation and taking notes and looking at photographs.
Arnold took notice of Jim’s stare and said, “I was not aware that the FBI was involved in this case?” Jim shook his head and said, “Neither was I. Who is the agent talking to?” Arnold tried to look but had to put on his glasses. “That’s George and Annette Swan. Their daughter was abducted this morning.” Jim nodded his head as he tried to make small talk with the pastor while watching John. “So, how long have the Swans been members of your church, Pastor?” Jim asked. “Well, their family has been a part of this congregation since I founded it nearly four decades ago. However, Annette and George recently left our church for a new seed c
hurch that has been renting space from our congregation.”
Jim suddenly lost interest in John and asked, “You rent out your church?” Arnold let out a little laugh. “Of course. We don’t use the facilities twenty-four seven, so we have several different churches that we rent out the facilities to. Why?” “Is there a way I could get a list of those churches, Pastor?” “But of course, Sheriff. You don’t think there is anything wrong with our tenants, do you?” Jim shook his head and said, “No, Pastor, not at all. But in the case of a missing child, no stone should remain unturned, and if the Swans have gotten involved with another church that operates out of your building, we should know about that. What’s the name of the church that they joined?” “Agape Trinity Blood of the Savior Church.” Jim asked, “Has the church been around long?” “No…it’s a seed church.” Jim interrupted him and asked, “Seed church?” Arnold laughed and said, “Well, it’s really not the right name for what that church is. It’s what we call a splinter church that breaks away from a larger one. The pastor is Erick Walton Jr. He started the church about a year ago.”
Jim looked at Arnold and asked, “Erick Walton Jr.? The son of the mega-church founder, Erick Walton, of Agape Trinity Blood Church in Van Nuys?” “That’s correct. He is Erick Walton’s son.” Jim looked on and said, “I know that Erick Sr. has a huge televangelist church and has tens of thousands of members the world over. Was there a falling out between him and his son? I seem to recall about two years ago senior was talking about retiring and his son taking over the church.” “Your memory does not deceive you, Sheriff. Erick Jr. was in line to succeed his father, and there was a falling out early last year, and they went their separate ways. I have known Erick Sr. from the time that he started his church, and I have known Erick Jr. since the day he was born. When the split happened, he came to me and asked if he could start his church here. He didn’t have a lot of resources, but I agreed. He has been slowly building a following. He’s quite the charismatic speaker.” “Like his father, no doubt,” Jim said. “The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in that family,” Arnold said. “So, are you officiating tonight?” “Oh no, Sheriff. This is Erick ’s church, and it was one of his member families whose child was abducted. He will run the vigil.”
Jim looked around for someone in robes or a collar, but there was no one. “Is Pastor Walton here?” “Yes sir. He is right…over….there.” Arnold was pointing at a bright eyed, dark haired, handsome young man. He was talking with some people just out of earshot of John and the Swan family. Jim walked over and interrupted and said, “I’m sorry to interrupt. Can I have a word with you, Pastor Walton?” Erick looked at Jim with a strange look on his face and said, “Of course, Sheriff.”
“So nice to see you here tonight, Sheriff. Thank you for coming.” “It’s a part of my job, Pastor. I was speaking to Pastor Espanza, and he tells me that you rent space from him here at his church.” “Yes sir. My church is quite small at this moment, but the Lord is adding to our congregation daily.” Jim looked at him and said, “I see, so tell me how you know the Swans.” “They are new members. They have only been coming for a few weeks and then this tragedy befell them.” Jim stared him straight in the eye and asked, “You’re the son of Erick Walton Sr., the founder of the church that bares a strikingly similar name to your own?” “Yes, Sheriff. I don’t recall ever meeting you at my father’s church in the years I was with him.” Jim laughed for a second and said, “It’s unlikely that you would. It was many, many years ago, and you were just a little boy. I don’t think you were four. I was investigating the death of one of your father’s church members. I got to know your father pretty well. I’m surprised to hear that there was a falling out between you. As I recall, you two were very close.”
“We were and still are, Sheriff. We just came to a fork in our spiritual roads, and we could not reconcile the differences, so I left the church and started this one.” “I hear you have been at it now about a year?” “That’s correct. I started this splinter church about a year ago this month. Do you speak to my father?” “No, no…I outgrew religion.” Erick got a surprised look on his face and asked, “How does one ‘outgrow God?’” Jim laughed and said, “No one can outgrow God, Erick, but one can outgrow the illogical aspects of religion.” “I’m afraid I’m not prepared to discuss that this evening. I do need to get to the business of our missing church family member, Emily. However, I would very much like to visit with you and your idea. The concept fascinates me.” “Well, any time, Erick. How about after the service tonight?”
“Oh…I’m sorry, but I have a prayer meeting with my men’s leadership group tonight. Why don’t you call my office and speak to my assistant, Lisa. I’m sure that she can set up a time when the two of us can meet and talk about the fascinating ideas that you have in your head.” Erick handed Jim a business card, and he handed him one of his own. “Wow…so professional, like a real business expert.” Erick didn’t respond. Instead, he asked to be excused, and he called for everyone to enter the sanctuary of the church. Jim looked over to see John still engaged in an intense conversation with the Swans, and he walked up and said, “Special Agent Swenson, the pastor has just called for a gathering in the sanctuary.” John stepped back and said, “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. I’m going to put this information into the federal database to beef up our search. We will do everything in our power to find Emily, Mr. and Mrs. Swan.” Annette was in tears as was George as they walked into the service. Jim and John sat in the front row of the church as Erick delivered an impassioned call for Emily’s safe return to her family.
Erick said, “I beg the person or persons who took our little Emily to please return her safe to her father and mother. You can drop her at any police station or fire station or hospital, and they will reunite this grieving family.” When the service was over, a small group of people joined hands outside the church and lit candles for Emily and prayed and sang songs.
Jim delivered a quick plea for the girl’s return and a stern warning to the kidnapper. “While we want Emily home safe with her family, those who have undertaken this cowardly deed are being sought by state and federal law enforcement. It’s not an if only a when that we catch you. You would do yourself and us a favor by turning yourselves in and returning Emily safely. The City of Los Angeles pays me to lead the hunt for you. It is also a fact that while law enforcement is looking for you, I would say chances are very good that the Iron Eagle is looking for you, too. Better we find you than him.”
Jim looked for any reaction in the crowd. Much to his surprise, there was none. John stepped up and said a few words for the FBI then stepped back and sat down. Jim walked over to him when the vigil was over and asked, “What were you talking to the Swans about for so long?” “The disappearance of their child!” “Okay…I’ll bite. What did you learn?” Jim asked, taking a cigarette out of his left top pocket. “They recently joined this church. They have been members of the First Baptist Church for many, many years. They recently were introduced to the Trinity Blood Church and fell in love with the concept.” Jim folded his arms and stepped off the curb and said, “This is not a news flash, John. I have known the founding pastor of this church pretty much from day one, and Arnold told me that the Swans had left his church for this new one.” Jim lit the cigarette and took a hit off of it and asked, “So, what do you make of this Walton character?” John looked on as the vigil was breaking up and said, “He’s a charismatic speaker. He knows how to whip a crowd into a frenzy, and that can be good, bad, or dangerous.” “Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. I think I’m going to pay his father a visit.” John looked over at Jim standing with the smoke between his fingers and asked, “Why? Do you think that senior knows what the kid does?”
Jim dropped the finished cigarette on the ground and said while pressing it out with his foot, “I’ve known him for a lot of years. If his kid was performing blood sacrifices or human sacrifices, he would have called
us right away. The answer to what’s going on might be in the reason the two men had a falling out and why junior moved out on his own.” John nodded and said, “I’m going to follow up on the sacrifice issue. I understand what they would want and do with the heart prior to sacrifice, but for consumption in the ritual it’s not going to feed very many.”
Jim laughed and said, “Loaves and fishes.” John tilted his head and asked, “Loaves and fishes? You mean Jesus feeding the multitude?” “I thought you weren’t religious?” Jim yelped. “You don’t have to be religious to understand the concepts and twisted metaphors.” Jim nodded and said, “Well, we don’t have much time. I have a feeling Emily is in the hands of these psychos, and we will have another shish kebab baby on our hands.” John nodded as the two men went their separate ways.
Four dark cloaked figures walked slowly around a pyramid shaped fire that rose high into the night air. They were chanting unintelligibly. It was melodic and rhythmic. Quiet coos and gurgles could be heard resonating from within the group. A figure rose before the fire and stood on a makeshift stone podium. The face was set alight by the fire, and the eyes burned wild and evil in the light. The chanting continued as Emily Swan lie nude in a silver bowl with royal purple bedding. Her little eyes glistened, and she moved and smiled off and on as the robed figures grew in number walking around her bed. The chanting became louder and louder until finally the figure on the stone podium called out in a loud and androgynous voice.
“We come before you, oh Lord, king of kings, creator of all things, and present this burnt offering to you as atonement for the sins of man. Hear us, oh Yahweh. We have waited patiently for your return, Jehovah. May this burnt offering be pleasing to you, oh Yahweh.”
The crowd of cloaked and robed figures parted, and a small robed figure walked into the light of the fire with a shining steel rod. The point on the end of it shimmered in the light, and from the podium the voice called out, “Prepare the sacrifice!” Emily was picked up by two of the robed people and gently stretched out. One held her arms while the other held her legs and pulled her straight. She let out a whimper, and a second robed and hooded figure stepped forward and pulled a small serrated knife from a sheath and drove the blade under Emily’s rib cage. The child let out a gasp, and the blade was gently turned under her sternum, and the serrated side slowly cut open her chest. The only sounds outside of the crackling of the fire were gurgling noises as the child died.
Cleansing Page 2
