Author's Note: This is the conclusion of the story. I hope you can forgive any errors. Thanks for reading.
*****
Through fits of tears, Highrider told me that she and Bundt, last Friday night, had sex together in Bundt's room. As an NCO, she got a private room. Afterwards, Bundt asked if Highrider ever had sex with Glashing. She said no. Bundt talked about how hot Glashing was.
At the party, Bundt told Highrider how to lure Glashing into sex, called them her "turning tactics." Bundt, apparently, enjoyed sex with straight women and had developed an effective method. She taught it to Highrider and told her to try it after the party. And she told Highrider to change the blinds so that Bundt could watch.
Bundt had watched them and left. Highrider was already awake at 0615 the next morning, holding Glashing, when she saw PFC Morales look in the window. It was then that she freaked.
"Morales?" I asked. This was ballooning out of control.
Highrider nodded. "When I saw it wasn't Corporal Bundt, I got scared. I thought Morales would report me, and I'd get kicked out."
I considered this for a second and said, conclusively, "Morales was ordered there by Bundt."
"Why?" Highrider asked, suprised.
I shook my head. "Some other time, Highrider." She put her face in her hands. I said, "You fucking lied to me."
"I'm so sorry, sir," she cried.
"Shut the fuck up so I can think."
I sat down and my mind raced to put it together. Bundt ordered Morales to look in the window because she wanted leverage. Bundt knew what Morales would see—Glashing and Highrider, basically naked in bed together. Morales would report what she saw back to her NCO—Corporal Bundt. Bundt would use that information against Highrider and Glashing.
No. Bundt would use it against Glashing. She'd already had Highrider.
Bundt wanted Glashing.
I got up to leave, and Highrider clutched at me, begging for help. She threw herself at me, taking off her bathrobe.
"Please, sir! Don't leave me this way!"
"No," I said. "I'm leaving. You deserve everything you get." I walked to the door.
"Sir!" she pleaded.
I left and went back to Glashing's room.
Already spooked by my earlier departure, she was pacing the floor when I came in.
"Sir..." she began.
I raised my hand. "Wait, please."
She stopped.
"Did Corporal Bundt ever try to seduce you?" I asked, and then I added, "Not even necessarily seduce, but maybe invite you to her room alone or act strangely? Talk about sex? Anything like that?"
Glashing said, "Yes, sir. She did. More than once."
"Okay, tell me."
Corporal Bundt, a communications Marine, was not in Glashing's section, so opportunities for them to see each other during the work day, other than during formation, were rare. Yet, Bundt often dropped by the Motor T shop and hung out wherever Glashing was working. Any time they spoke, Bundt was making sex jokes or talking about sex.
Twice Bundt had invited Glashing back to Bundt's barracks room, and Glashing suspected her to be a lesbian. At a previous party, Bundt tried to get alone with Glashing, and even went so far as to grab her ass. Glashing told her to stay the fuck away.
"Sir," she asked, "what does Corporal Bundt have to do with all this?"
"I can't tell you now, but I will later. What do you know about PFC Morales?"
"Morales?" she asked. I nodded, and Glashing said, "Not much, sir. She's a pretty shy, pretty quiet boot." Boot—meaning fresh out of boot camp.
I nodded, thinking and rubbing my jaw.
"Is everything okay, sir?"
"I don't know, yet, Glashing."
"I'm scared, sir."
"You've told the truth. There's nothing for you to fear."
"Can you stay with me now?"
"I can't."
I left, went back to the 1stSgt Wolverton's office, and had a closed-door conversation with him. Then, I returned to my quarters and got my tape recorder. I went back to 10th Marines.
PFC Morales was alone in her barracks room when I walked in. She was a frail looking thing. Demoralized, was my first impression of her. She might have been cute, but something inside was eating her up.
I didn't put her at ease. I started the recorder and said. "I'm representing the 2nd Marine Division in an investigation into some matters that occurred on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. As background, I need to understand your relationship with Corporal Bundt."
The second I mentioned Corporal Bundt's name, Morales lost control. Her chest heaved up and down, and she began to cry—a whimpering, sniffling affair.
"Morales, at ease. At ease." I went over to her. "Sit down."
I took her shoulders and set her on the bed.
"Did the two of you have sex?"
"Yes, sir."
"How many times?"
"Three times, sir."
"Did you feel coerced by her?"
"Coerced, sir?"
"Like you didn't have any choice," I clarified.
"Yes, sir."
"Was it rape?" I asked.
"No, sir."
"Are you sure, absolutely sure, it wasn't?"
"It wasn't rape, sir."