The Demon and Investigative Journalist Chapter 1

(This one is the sequel to The Demon and The Convent)

Gloria clipped another article to her board. There were several papers pinned on the board with notes and marks on them.

Gloria Bright was an investigative journalist. She was new in the field but has been gathering some name for herself after she help to reveal a corruption case done by a government official. Gloria was young, eager, and ambitious. She was ready for a new round of investigation after the previous success. And her current case was related to the surging case of vice and what was behind many women in the city who went missing. But it wasn’t the scary part of the case she investigated, those missing women were often found working as whores or a part of criminal groups, and from their testimony, nobody **** them to whore themselves or partake in criminal activities, it was their full consent. If those women were from a low economic household, Gloria would not feel anything fishy, but those missing were often those who did not struggle financially and were once known as good-natured women by their acquaintance. Gloria could smell how fishy the case was and decided to dig for the truth.

“Found a new clue, honey?” Another woman entered the study, bringing two cups of coffee with her.

Gloria was a lesbian, and the woman who just entered her room was the love of her life, Victoria Buchanan. The lesbian couple was actually going to get married a few months ago before an incident **** them to postpone their plan; that accident was also closely related to the current case she investigated.

Victoria's mother, Gloria's soon-to-be mother-in-law, Bridget Buchanan, was suddenly missing as if the one behind the case warned them not to dig the case further. It was an unfortunate event for both Victoria and Gloria. Bridget was a supportive woman, and she didn't object that Gloria had a lesbian relationship with her daughter. Losing Bridget made the two acquiesce that it was not the right time to talk about their wedding, they decided to postpone their wedding until at least they found Bridget.

Gloria took a cup of coffee from Victoria's hand. She looked at her lover with a tender loving gaze. Victoria is a long-haired brunette girl. Her face looked like a young Kate Beckinsale. Victoria wasn't that well endowed in the chest department with her only B-cup breasts but has a round and bubbly buttock and slender long legs.

Gloria was not that far in terms of beauty compared to Victoria, but Gloria leaned toward a more masculine style, she was a butch dyke, the 'man' in their lesbian relationship. She had her blonde hair styled in a pixie haircut. But despite Gloria being masculine, her body was an embodiment of femininity, as if God played a joke on her. She has natural massive 40 E cups breasts that were hard to hide. Her body was the typical blonde bombshell bimbo had, but people shouldn’t underestimate her as she was also a master of self-defense arts.

“Yes, and this one put us closer to the truth, I hope…” Gloria replied.

“Let’s see, first, we have a significant rise in streetwalking whore and prostitutes during the past five months. We have several women leaving their old lives behind and deciding to be a whore or partake in criminal activities. There seems no connection between at victims at first, aside from the trait they share in common, these women were known as good-natured women and all of them were of legal age capable to give consent, thus giving an impression that nothing happened behind the scene, and these women were only sexually repressed and they became whore to explore their sexuality. It is the consensus told by the mainstream media to explain the phenomenon.”

Gloria then pointed to another article, “three months ago, a convent in the city suburb that had existed for years choose to disband their convent, all the nuns were transferred to another convent in the other city, at least the news said. A month later, in the site of the old convent, a new strip club-cum-brothel was built, with a sexualized parody of nuns as their attraction. What is the chance that these strippers and whores in Bad Habit were the same nuns that were once the members of the convent? I may be mad thinking that was a possibility, one or two nuns forsaking their belief and becoming a whore maybe still logical, but when the entire body of the convent denounces their beliefs and take the path of whoredom, nobody will believe it, it sounds like a sick joke but it probably the one behind the scene wants us to think.”

Victoria nodded, “Yes, what can make a whole thirty devoted Christian nuns suddenly want to be whores anyway?”

“I have some guesses now after the latest clue I found, but let’s move over all our clues first, so I can have some opinion from you.” Gloria moved to another article, “Our second clue; I trace back the one who buy the site of the convent after the convent disbanded, the buyer was Ivy Beacunt. I check it in the citizen database, and this city doesn’t have anyone named Ivy Beacunt, so she was using fake names. Aside from the Bad Habits, she also built and operate several other brothels. She is largely responsible for the increase of whores in this city, several of these missing women ended up working as her whores.”

“It’s a pity that the police don’t want to investigate this Mrs.Beacunt.” Victoria let out a sigh.

Gloria shook her head, “It isn’t that easy for police to investigate this Mrs. Beacunt, I don’t know how she pulled it, but both the gov and bank said that her money was clean, and she didn’t break any rules. But that also means there is a guarantor for her. Now, the question is who is the guarantor that backs Ivy Beacunt?”

“Someone strong enough to influence the police, and is seen as reputable by the banks, so either a politician or those large company bosses,” The brunette-haired girl replied with her conjecture.

“Yes, but what do they get from doing this? Why do they want a rise in the number of women partaking in vice activities?” Gloria skipped the unanswerable question, and continued, “Clue #3, Around half of those missing women were related in some way to the Kohls foundation, from one who once receive their foundation’s scholarship and grant, some runaway women under their shelter and even the employee in their companies branch or their employees’ relatives. As if they deliberately target the Kohls Foundation and undermine their effort for stopping woman exploitation. Their new head, Lilian Kohls has been seen to visit those women from time to time. The media said that she was trying to convince those women to stop whoring, but it seems to be ineffective.”

“Maybe if the one who did it was her mother, it would result in a different outcome. Ivanna Kohls was a woman many looked up to, but it’s a pity that her daughter did not have even half of her vision, charisma, and capability,” Victoria responded.

It was well-known that Lilian handled the foundation poorly compared to her mother. Lilian was nothing like her mother, ever since she got in her position, she had been caught on camera several times dressed like a tramp herself and had some scandals with men who lot older than her. She telling the whore to stop whoring was a pot-calling-the-kettle-black situation and came out as pure hypocrisy on her part.

“I wonder what was in Mrs. Ivanna’s mind when she passed the baton of leadership to her daughter? The bratty troublemaker wasn’t suited at all as the leader of the Kohls Foundation. Anyway, what happened to Mrs. Ivanna?”

“Can’t be helped, as big as the Kohls Foundation, it’s still a family-owned business in the end, No outsider can influence the decision that Ivanna has made. And as for, what happened to her, the media rumored that she was ill, as for the truth, we don’t know. The Kohls keep a tight lip about any matter related to Mrs. Ivanna.”

“Do you think Mrs. Ivanna went missing like all those women? She filled all the criteria we have with most of the missing women; good-natured women, and related with the Kohls Foundation,” Victoria asked.

“The possibility is there but It will be disastrous if it is true. If she is missing, even the Kohls will be unable to cover the story and the bigger media would dig the news faster than us. At least, let’s believe that she is fine until proven otherwise.”

Gloria then pointed to the latest article she clipped, “Clue #4, our latest one, Gabriella give me this, a pamphlet for Church of Ero, and from Gabriella of all people.”

Gabriella was Gloria's identical twin sister but they ended up pretty different from each other because of their life choice. While Gloria was a butch dyke, Gabriella was a straight-as-ruler feminine woman. It was easy to distinguish Gabriella and Gloria, Long hair and loves to wear dresses, it would be Gabriella, whereas the one with short hair and a suit was Gloria.

Another distinct point between the twin was Gloria was quite the unbeliever of religion, after all being lesbian was shunned by Christianity, hence she forsaken her religion to be with her lover. Meanwhile, Gabriella was a devoted Christian as her parent were.

Gloria had cut her relationship with her parent ever since her mother opposed her relationship with Victoria, but Gabriella still acted as a bridge from time to time to tell her news from the family, even though Gabriella often made it clear how she was disappointed with Gloria's life choice every time they meet.

Gabriella gave her a pamphlet about a new church in the city called the Church of Ero. And after a little research, Gloria made about the church, she knew the true nature of the Church of Ero; a sex cult. Why Gabriella had it? Her twin said that she found the pamphlet left alone in her office. Gabriella also said it was not the only one.

Gloria's sharp mind was alarmed and she had a strong feeling that it was a lead she needed to finally unveil the case.

"Gabriella worked at one of The Kohls Foundation business branches as one of their managers, and finding these stacks of pamphlets about sex cult inside their office can only mean one thing, that the sex cult, Church of Ero, have infiltrated the ranks of the Kohls Foundation, hence why a lot of the victims have a relation in some kind with the Kohls Foundation. Let's say that Ivy Beacunt is related to the cult, if the cult managed to snare some influential people to be their members, they are perfectly capable of guaranteeing that the money used by Ivy Beacunt is clean. And last, if we assume that the whores who work in the Bad Habit are the same nun from the now disbanded convent; the cult leader must be someone very charismatic and charming that they can even sway the belief of a devout nun."

"Should we warn the authorities about this matter?"

"Unfortunately, we can't yet, we didn't have any strong evidence and after all, this is only based on our conjecture. Warning others will only startle them and make them put their guard up."

"So, what shall we do?" Victoria's expression was full of anticipation. Seeing the case become clearer made her want to quickly solve the case. She wanted to find her mother as soon as possible.

"I will ask Gabriella for help so I can seek more information about the cult inside the Kohls Foundation," Gloria answered.

"And what shall I do?"

"Nothing. You just need to keep yourself safe, I don't want you to be targeted by them and get hurt. I promise I will find your mother for you, Victoria."

Victoria hid her disappointment. She knew that Gloria meant well and her lover had no intention of belittling her. But she didn't need to be protected, she was a smart and capable woman that could hold her ground without being helped by others.

The tenderness that Gloria showed to Victoria this time was counterproductive. She nodded at Gloria's reply, but the fire in her heart had been stoked. She would prove to Gloria that she could contribute to the investigation even if Gloria didn't let her.

Victoria read the pamphlet again and had an idea of what to do.

Gloria contacted her twin sister, Gabriella.

When the two were together, aside from their hairdo and the dressed they wore, the two looked identical to each other.

"So, you want to swap places with me for a few days to investigate the office from the inside?" Gabriela asked.

"Yes, we look identical, people will not notice that it is me who is in the office."

"I'm happy to help you, sis, but I have some meetings with the foundation's benefactor scheduled these weeks, these people may be the ones you seek, but I don't want you to mess with my career, so except if you confident to be able to handle those meeting without making a mess on my work, I can't go with your plan."

"Leave it to me, I am confident that I can handle people well as long as I don't need to do a presentation full of business lingo." With her journalistic background, Gloria was fully confident to hold conversations and interviews with people as long as she understood the topic.

"I will give you some source material to conduct the talk, what you need to do in the meeting is mostly try to convince them to keep supporting the foundation, you also need to note all their demands and suggestions."

"Sounds easy enough."

"I'm glad that you are confident in doing this, but it may be harder in practice, so don't take this lightly," Gabriella warned.

Gloria nodded in understanding.

"Now, let's talk about the matter of swapping places with me, if you want to take my place, we need to do some makeover for you, sis," Gabriella looked at her sister mischievously like a little girl who just got a new doll to play with.

"Shit, can you just cut your hair short?"

"No, can’t do, it is easier to make your hair long with hair extensions. If I cut my hair short, it will take time for it to grow back and I don't like it. Accept it or just forget about your plan," Gabriella said triumphantly, she knew that she held the bargaining power over this matter.

Gloria could only accept the demand of her twin sister and agreed to undergo a makeover to her appearance.

After a visit to the beauty salon hours later, there were now two women who looked like Gabriella Bright.

"How long has it been since the last time we had the same appearance, sis?" Gabriella asked.

"The last time I had long hair was when I was a freshman in high school. So around 8 years now."

"Won't you consider going back home? Mom wasn't as closed-minded as before, and there must be a way for concession between you two."

"I don't know, as long as she can accept me as who I am, a lesbian, I will consider it.” Gloria continued, “Let’s not talk about Mother now, so, what will you do when we are swapping place?”

“Well…I will enjoy my holiday in your place with you sweet lover, maybe I can make her fall for me,” Gabriella teased.

Gloria imagined Gabriella and Victoria got together, and did what usually she did with Victoria but Gabriella was in her place, and she was only a watcher on the sideline. She scoffed at the idea, fortunately, Gloria knew her sister well, and Gabriella, the straight Gabriella would not do what she said.

“Enough with the joke, I want you to keep Victoria safe when you are in my place. You got it?”

“Got it. You know how I am, sis, what is the worst I can do to her, anyway?”

Gloria knew how Gabriella was; she was the embodiment of a prim and proper lady, she would not do something against morals and rules but was not inflexible in believing that others must stick to the same rule, she was the type that maintain politeness and try to be kind even in the front someone she dislikes. If she dislikes someone, she tries to convince them with talk and kindness to change their mind. Gloria deemed Gabriella was sometimes a bit too naive with her no-hold grudge policy.

Later that day, Gloria brought Gabriella home to brief Victoria about the thing they were going to do.

"Is that you, Gabriella?" Victoria asked when the two entered the house.

"Guess, which one of us is Gabriella and which one is Gloria?" the second Gabriella appeared behind the first ‘Gabriella’.

“Don’t play a prank on her, Gabriella,” said the first ‘Gabriella’ who actually was Gloria.

Gloria then proceeded to tell Victoria about her plan and why she looked like her twin sister for now.

“Hope we get along, I’m sorry that maybe our previous meetings weren’t that pleasant, I am a better person now,” Gabriella said to Victoria and gave her a warm smile.

After Gabriella said it. Gloria recalled that like their mother, Gabriella didn’t have any good impression of Victoria on their first meeting. Gabriella even acted holier-than-thou by asking Victoria to repent and left her lesbianism behind. Their subsequent meeting was better as Gabriella no longer showed her hostility upfront but Gabriella's response toward Victoria could only be considered as formalities. A treatment no better than outright giving someone the cold shoulder.

Gloria was glad that the two closest women in her life could finally accept each other's existence, but it made her wonder about what happened at home during the time she cut any contact with her parents. She remembered that Gabriella also said that her mother was more open-minded now. Gloria’s detective intuition was tingling that there was something big that happened at her home, big enough to make her family change their stance on lesbian. On the other hand, these change was working in her favor, thus Gloria decided that investigating what happened in her home could come later after she has done with investigating the cult and finding the missing Mrs. Buchanan.

The next day.

Gabriella briefed Gloria on the job she must do in her stead one last time before trading places with her.

“Okay, I just need to not miss the meeting with the man named Mr. Robert Bael for today at 10 o'clock, and then I can freely do any other thing for the rest of the day, right?”

“Yes, the most important schedule for today is the meeting with Mr. Robert Bael. He is an important benefactor and business partner for the foundation. You need to secure his support and don’t forget to take note of his complaints and suggestions. After that, you are free to slack off and go on your investigation as long as the higher-ups don’t ask you to do some errand but maintain the front that you are working on something, understand?"

“Don’t worry, I’m used to doing undercover work.”

Gloria then turned to Victoria, “While I'm away, please take care of yourself and stay safe.” Gloria then gave her lover a peck on the lips before she left.

Gabriella looked at Gloria’s car which drove further and further away. After the car was no longer in her field of view, she turned her attention to the lover of her twin.

“So, Tori, what do you want to do now?”