3pl Report Essay Example

3pl Report Essay Outsourcing Logistics Report Outsourcing Logistics – The latest trends in using 3PL providers January 2005 For further details please contact: Laura Goddard [emailprotected] com US Toll Free: 1 800 814 3459 ext 321 Rest of World: +44 (0) 207 375 7231 Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog 1 Outsourcing Logistics Report Table of Contents: I II III IV V VI VII Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Survey overview †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Overall use of 3PL services †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. 4 Key drivers in outsourcing lo gistics to a 3PL †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 Overall performance of 3PL providers †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦. †¦. 6 Will companies increase their use of 3PLs †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦ 7 What percentage of companies not currently using 3PLs are planning to use a 3PL in the future †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 VIII IX Overall industry implications and conclusions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. 9 Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practices for Managing 3PL Relationships Conference †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦ 11 Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog 2 Outsourcing Logistics Report I Introduction The 3PL industry has been growing at a steady rate, and it’s clear that more and more industry verticals are seeing real benefits from outsourcing their logistics operations to a third party. Manufacturers and retailers are continually pressured to reduce transportation costs, which has created an opportunity for companies that are able to provide more favorable rates and increase overall supply chain efficiency. Recent statistics have even shown that shippers’ logistics costs have been reduced when outsourcing to 3PLs at an average of more than 15% in North America! However, it is still a difficult decision for many to outsource. So what are the key reasons ‘shippers’ choose to outsource and how do they rate the value of their contracts? eyefortransport conducted the Outsourcing Logistics Survey from December 2004 to January 2005. This survey was timed to coincide with the eyefortransport Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practices for Managing 3PL Relationships conference, April 25-26 2005 in Chicago. We will write a custom essay sample on 3pl Report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on 3pl Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on 3pl Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Much of the data gathered in this report will be discussed and debated at the conference. For more information on the eyefortransport survey results or the conference, contact Laura Goddard at [emailprotected] com, 1 800 814 3459 ext 231 or +44 (0) 207 375 7231. II Survey overview 173 logistics professionals from manufacturing and retail companies responded to the survey, which was conducted by eyefortransport. Responses were solicited in a targeted email campaign that included select trade associations, industry related databases, and other highly specific groups. Respondents were asked a number of questions, to establish: the percentage of companies currently using 3PL services, what percentage of their overall logistics operations are outsourced, what the key drivers were and the overall performance of 3PLs. They were also asked how much they plan to increase logistics outsourcing in the future and whether they see 3PLs as supply chain suppliers (service providers) or supply chain partners. Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. yefortransport. com/outsourcelog 3 Outsourcing Logistics Report III Overall use of 3PL services Based on the responses to the survey, it is clear that manufacturers and retailers consider 3PL services to be a viable option. A strong 79% are currently using 3PL services for their logistics operations, which is in line with other industry reports. However, it is interesting to see that shippers rarely outsource 100% of their logistics operations to a 3PL provider. % of total logistics operations outsourced to a 3PL 0% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 0-20% 20-40% 40-60% 60-80% 80-100% N/A Only 14% of respondents said that they outsource 80-100% of their total logistics operations, while 34% use 3PLs for between 40 and 80%. Overall, 1 in 4 respondents outsources less than 20% of their logistics operations to 3PLs. Is this is a sign that shippers are hesitant to allow too much ownership of their supply chain to outside companies, or that they prefer to bring the expertise into their own logistics division? Concerns over integrating the two businesses into a successful working relationship and ensuring mutually viable contract terms could also be factors in the decision against outsourcing a large percentage of key business operations. Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog 4 Outsourcing Logistics Report IV Key drivers in outsourcing logistics to a 3PL Given that 4 out of 5 companies are using 3PL services, what are the key reasons behind using a 3PL? The survey aimed to uncover some of the common drivers for outsourcing logistics. Key drivers in choosing a 3PL Relevant Very Important Reduce Costs Increasing customer satisfaction Increasing speed of services Improving Supply Chain Management Reducing staff headcount Globalising your supply chain Increase efforts on core competencies Lack of in-house skills 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% The percentage of respondents who selected â€Å"reducing costs† as either â€Å"relevant† (14%) or â€Å"very important† (17%) in their choice to outsource logistics was equal to the objective of â€Å"increasing customer satisfaction†. Although the need to increase the speed of services wasn’t as high as the first two drivers, it still ranked as â€Å"very important† (15%). This confirms that shippers continue to predominantly view 3PLs as tools for reducing costs and improving their basic logistics services. On the other hand, the aim of â€Å"improving supply chain management† only rated â€Å"very important† for 10% and the need to concentrate on core competencies was â€Å"very important† to only 12%. This seems to suggest that, despite many 3PLs now marketing themselves as total logistics providers with a range of capabilities and supply chain expertise, these are not yet the core reasons shippers use 3PLs. The opportunity to improve overall supply chain management systems and give shippers more time to concentrate on the non-logistics related aspects of their business, have yet to become the top reasons for contracting a third party. Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog 5 Outsourcing Logistics Report V Overall performance of 3PL providers Once the decision has been taken to outsource to a 3PL, shipper satisfaction levels are good. A total of 81% of respondents selected â€Å"good’, â€Å"higher than expected† or â€Å"outstanding (4%)†. In comparison, only a total of 19% were less than pleased with their 3PL contract. Overall performance of current 3PL Outstanding Higher than expected Good Lower than expected Poor 0% 4% 12% 65% 15% 4% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. yefortransport. com/outsourcelog 6 Outsourcing Logistics Report VI Will companies increase their use of 3PLs Given the relatively low number of businesses using 3PLs for a large percentage of their total logistics needs, it is useful to try to predict if this may change in the future. Since the majority of those currently using 3PLs ar e getting a â€Å"good† to â€Å"outstanding† service, it would seem natural that they plan to increase their reliance on 3PLs. Increasing use of 3PL services Possibly, 54% Very likely, 19% Unlikely, 27% Although 27% of respondents said it was â€Å"unlikely† that they would increase their use of 3PLs, a total of 73% were at least considering this move, with 1 in 5 rating it as â€Å"very likely†. Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog 7 Outsourcing Logistics Report VII What percentage of companies not currently using 3PLs are planning to use a 3PL in the future For those companies that have chosen not to outsource to a 3PL, the survey asked if this current status was likely to change within the next 5 years. Respondents who currently favor in-house logistics, were also asked if they had previously used a 3PL and decided against future outsourcing as a result. If you dont currently use a 3PL, do you plan to outsource your logistics operations to a 3PL in the future? Previously outsourced, now favour in-house, 21% Within a year, 32% Not likely, 26% Unsure, 11% Within 2-5 years, 11% In total, 43% of respondents were considering using 3PLs for their logistics operations and the highest percentage of the group (nearly 1 in 3) are looking into using a 3PL â€Å"within a year†. With 11% of respondents being â€Å"unsure† just over 1 in 4 said they thought it â€Å"unlikely† that they would outsource in the future (26%). Nearly 1 in 5 respondents who have used 3PLs in the past are now favoring inhouse logistics operations. This could reflect companies that used 3PLs at some stage but found very little value gained, or the complexity of the contract and ownership of the supply chain meant 3PLs could not offer enough (in terms of savings or expertise to risk another contract). Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. yefortransport. com/outsourcelog 8 Outsourcing Logistics Report VIII Overall industry implications and conclusions The over-arching theme is consistent with other industry reports and points to an increasing market for companies that are able to provide third party logistics for the purpose of reducing costs and increasing customer satis faction. 3PL customers are generally happy with the level of service they’re getting, with the majority keen to outsource more of their logistics to 3PL providers in the near future. In fact, across the board the rapid growth of 3PLs is clear, with nearly 3 out of 4 of current 3PL customers considering an increase in outsourcing. Just under half of those not currently using a 3PL are also showing an interest in 3PL services for the future. Despite a largely positive feedback on 3PL performance, there are clearly still some reservations on outsourcing. Of those who currently don’t outsource their logistics operations, just over 1 in 5 were companies who were previously 3PL customers but, for undisclosed reasons, now choose not to use 3PLs. This could reflect a failure from either side on expectations. If the initial terms in the contract are clear but then those objectives are not met, there is an obvious drop in satisfaction from 3PL customers. In addition, where the manufacturer or retailer is looking for a total supply chain logistics provider but the 3PL does not fulfill this expectation, the fault could be on the side of the customer. Obviously 3PLs must be sure they can meet their contract objectives and shippers must be clear on their demands. The survey pressed the respondents one step further and asked them if they saw 3PLs as an integral part of their operations and a real supply chain partner or if they simply viewed 3PLs as supply chain suppliers (service providers). The results of the grapgh on page 10 reflect the 3PL-users’ understanding of this business relationship and the 3PL’s role. Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog Outsourcing Logistics Report Do you see your 3PL as a service provider or a supply chain partner? 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Service provider Supply chain partner 56% 44% The largest percentage (56%) selected â€Å"provider†. This could indicate some hesitancy on the part of the 3PL-user to fully integrate 3PLs into their supply chain strategy, preferring to maintain strict boundaries. It could be argued, however, that both sides would get mor e out of the relationship if they focused on a closer business strategy. Given the range of services that 3PLs now offer and the satisfaction from current 3PL-users, perhaps those companies who set up strategic partnerships with 3PLs will benefit most for the future of the third part logistics provider. Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog 10 Outsourcing Logistics Report IX Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practices for Managing 3PL Relationships Conference The eyefortransport Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practices for Managing 3PL Relationships conference will take place April 25-26 in Chicago. This event will bring together senior logistics executives from different industry verticals to discuss 3PL adoption, selection, contract negotiation and relationships. Topics up for discussion, analysis, and questioning will include: †¢ Assessing if outsourcing is the right choice for your company †¢ Top tips on RFQs and industry advice on tackling the selection process to ensure the best 3PL for you! Setting incentive schemes and remuneration profitable contracts and ROI †¢ The benefits of using a 3PL for supply chain technology and tips for smooth integration †¦and much more! Learn from special, exclusive presentations and executive panels and join in the discussions at intimate round table sessions. Attend the Chicago event to benchmark your current 3PL contracts against your peers and make the most of the unpreceden ted networking opportunities with speakers from leading manufacturing and retail companies – such as Target, Rolls Royce, Owens Corning, Nestle, Intel, Kellogg, Levi Strauss, Sysco, Supervalu, Ingersol Rand. See the website for full speaker details. For more information on attending, exhibiting or sponsoring this event, contact Laura Goddard at [emailprotected] com, 1 800 814 3459 ext 231, or +44 (0) 207 375 7231 Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practice for Managing 3PL Relationships April 25-26 2005 Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago, IL www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog 11 Register NOW and SAVE $300! Outsourcing Logistics 2005 25 26th April †¢ Hyatt Regency – McCormick Place, Chicago, USA Come away with the answers you need! Industry Presentations, 6 Panels, 9 Roundtables, 2 Workshops 7 hours Networking time! Best Practices for Managing your 3PL Relationships The must-attend event for logistics executives working with 3PLs! Learn to successfully select 3PLs, negotiate contracts, ensure smooth operations and evaluate performance The ONLY event to give you in-depth knowledge of the 5 KEY topics! 3PL selection and contract negotiation – What are the key factors to consider when renewing existing 3PL contracts and selecting new 3PLs? – Hear the secrets to setting up successful contracts Learn from more than 20 industry leaders †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The Home Depot, Director of Operations, Tim Wilkerson Rolls-Royce, 3PL Program Manager, Jill Barnett Intel, Global 3PL Sourcing Manager, Ashley Hall Ingersol Rand, Global Transport Logistics Director Bob Newcom Target, Business Partner Mgt Group, John Bauer Nestle, Head of Ocean Transports EMEA, Georgios Skopelitis Levi Straus, Distribution Director, Brian Wehner Supervalu, VP Supply Chain, Mark Foster Alcan, Director of Logistics, Linda Green Sysco, GM – Supply Chain Services, Gene Klein Titan Steel, Int. Logistics Manager, Damon Gunter Owens Corning, Global Leader – Transportation Affairs John Gentle Kellogg’s, Director NSD Distribution, Christian Lahti Sara Lee Bakery, VP Supply Chain Optimization, Kevin Krigline Darden Restaurants, Supply Chain Initiatives, Jonathan Zakary Riddell, VP – Supply Chain Operations, Charles Whitmer Oakley, Director of International Operations, Jim Addison Andrew Corporation, Director – Global Logistics Transport, James Lamb Hickory Farms, National Logistics Manager, Matt Alloway Agere, Director – Global Logistics Compliance, Simon Powell Solectron, Senior Director Global Logistics Frederick Hartung Efficient day-to-day operations – What are the secrets to establishing a successful working relationship with your 3PL provider – clear instructions, good communication and sensible expectations Tapping into 3PL capabilities – Hear how Owens Corning and Levi are taking advantage of their 3PL’s technology – How to exploit the newest supply chain technology without the hefty price tag! – Top tips on using a 3PL to increase the efficiency of your overseas operations, help ease you into new profitable markets and overcome infrastructure, cultural and political obstacles Evaluate your 3PL provider Best practices for measuring and evaluating 3PL performance – Find out which KPIs are right for your company – Discover the key warning signs that indicate it’s time to change your 3PL provider The future of your 3PL Relationships – Find out if you are using an optimum number of 3PLs – steps for successfully reducing yo ur number of 3PLs – Should you be using a 4PL/LLP? – Hear from Nestle about a successful and innovative alternative to using 3PLs Get practical advice from industry experts: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Cliff Lynch, President, C. F. Lynch Associates Richard Armstrong, President, Armstrong Associates Ken Ackerman, President, K. B. Ackerman Company John Caltigirone, Vice President, The Revere Group John Coates, President/CEO, The Fennimore Group Mike Erickson, President/CEO, AFMS And many more! Official Media Sponsors: Organized and Researched by: Open NOW for the FULL PROGRAM Download SURVEY online at www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog/report. shtml Cost reduction remains the largest driver for outsourcing Find out what should be driving YOUR company’s use of 3PLs! A recent eyefortransport industry study noted that despite 4 out of 5 of companies using 3PL providers, only 14% are using them for the majority of their logistics operations. It also noted that the key driver for choosing to outsource logistics remains â€Å"cost reduction†. With 3PLs offering more and more services, are you getting the most out of your 3PL contract and how can you ensure improved operations and performance in the future? Attend eyefortransport’s Outsourcing Logistics 2005: Best Practices for Managing 3PL Relationships conference to learn from the top logistics executives directly responsible for managing their 3PLs in the industrial, hi-tech, retail, food, FMCG and apparel verticals. Letter from the Chairman: Few informed supply chain professionals would suggest that outsourcing is not a meaningful force in their industry, and it is expected that it will become even more so in the future. As the activity increases, however, so do the issues. There is much more emphasis on the outsourcing of supply chain management systems. The list of traditional logistics service providers now contains names of companies that were unheard of a few years ago. After years of discussion and writing about them, we finally have begun to see true global outsourcing arrangements. Up until recently, there were any number of firms that had operations in foreign countries, but in most cases their logistics activities were confined to the countries in which they were located and those in close proximity. Today, we routinely move products back and forth throughout the world. To some firms outsourcing has become more important internationally than it has been in the U. S. Finally, logistics service contracts are becoming more sophisticated and are placing more pressure on the relationships to provide process and cost improvements and share these benefits with the client. Join us in Chicago and gain insights from both users and providers on the implementation and management of successful outsourcing relationships. This April in Chicago you will hear from more than 20 industry leaders, from companies including: †¢ Target †¢ The Home Depot †¢ Levi Strauss †¢ Supervalu †¢ Sysco †¢ Owens Corning †¢ Sara Lee Bakery †¢ Darden Restaurants †¢ Kellogg’s and many more! †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Ingersol Rand Nestle Intel Alcan Titan Steel Rolls-Royce Riddell Oakley Hickory Farms eyefortransport is renowned for providing an environment in which attendees learn and business gets done! Via exclusive presentations, interactive roundtable sessions and unprecedented networking opportunities, the eyefortransport conference will answer all your questions on the key issues for working with 3PLs. Cliff Lynch, President C. F. Lynch Associates Topics up for discussion, analysis, and questioning will include: †¢ What are the key factors to take into account when renewing 3PL contracts or using 3PLs for the first time? †¢ What are the secrets to working efficiently with your 3PL providers and getting the most out of the relationship? The benefits of using a 3PL for supply chain technology and tips for smooth integration †¢ How to take advantage of 3PL’s local knowledge to improve and expand global networks †¢ Best practices for measuring and evaluating 3PL performance †¢ Alternatives to outsourcing! †¦ and much more Main drivers in choosing a 3PL Reduce Costs Increasing customer satisfaction Increasing speed of services Improving Supply C hain Management Reducing staff headcount Globalising your supply chain Increase efforts on core competencies Lack of in-house skills 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Relevant Very Important Graph taken from the eyefortransport Outsourcing Logistics Report – January 2005 REGISTER NOW! CALL 1 800 814 3459 Day 1: Monday 25th April Morning PANEL: Find out if your business is ready for a 3PL – Determine which aspects of your logistics operations are ripe for outsourcing Statistics in a recent industry survey show that 80% of companies are using 3PL services. However, only 1 in 7 use them for the majority of their logistics operations. This panel will help you assess the extent that your business should engage 3PLs? Hear different perspectives from both retail and manufacturing companies †¢ Tips on evaluating your supply chain to recognize the optimum time to outsource †¢ How to determine which logistics operations are ripe for outsourcing – the key signs to look for †¢ Outsourcing is not always the best policy – how to realize when to keep operations in-house †¢ What external factors should you take into consideration? Find out what influence geography, politics, economics, company culture and technology should have on your outsourcing decision Mark Foster Vice President – Supply Chain, Supervalu Linda Green, Director of Logistics, Alcan Charles Whitmer Vice President – Supply Chain Operations Riddell Matt Alloway National Logistics Manager, Hickory Farms John Caltigirone Vice President and Global Practice Leader – Supply Chain Strategy The Revere Group (moderator) Kellogg’s Case Study: Negotiating 3PL contracts and finding a sustainable coststructure for both parties †¢ Learn from the Kellogg’s experience – Hear how they negotiated their 3PL contracts to ensure a realistic cost-structure, for both them and their 3PLs †¢ Minimize potential problems and conflicts by ensuring your contracts are foolproof and watertight – Make clear who is accountable and responsible for every eventuality, including wage increases, union action and external supply chain disruption †¢ Top tips that will fully prepare you for the negotiating table Christian Lahti Director NSD Distribution, Kellogg’s PANEL: How to assess the performance of your 3PLs and measure the overall success of your outsourcing decision Evaluating the outcome of your logistics outsourcing decision and measuring your 3PL’s performance is different for every organization. However, there are certain best practices and tools that translate across all industries and companies. In this panel you will hear innovative ideas from leading companies across 5 different industry verticals that you can implement in your business †¢ How to clarify objectives, choose the right performance measures and implement them successfully for comprehensive business performance management †¢ Learn to identify any gaps or redundancies in your KPI set †¢ Find out how you can measure company morale †¢ What is a realistic time-frame for reaping significant rewards – how soon can you expect real cost reduction, increased service levels, improved customer services and successful systems integration? How to use your KPIs to determine whether to renew 3PL contracts Tim Wilkerson Director of Operations, The Home Depot Gene Klein, General Manager of Supply Chain Services, Sysco Simon Powell Director of Logistics Compliance, Agere Jim Addison Director of International Operations, Oakley Jonathan Zakary Strategic Supply Chain Initiatives Darden Restaurants Ken A ckerman President, K. B. Ackerman Company (moderator) PANEL: Your guide to pricing and incentive schemes that really work – direct from leaders in the apparel, hi-tech and aerospace industries †¢ Top tips on establishing workable pricing structures, setting realistic goals and implementing gain share techniques †¢ Ensuring that the relationship doesn’t sour! How to set incentives that keep the relationship moving forward †¢ Hear he latest innovations in 3PL pricing and incentive schemes †¢ Renewing contracts: How to ensure you pay the market rate! Ashley Hall Global 3PL Sourcing Manager, Intel Jill Barnett 3PL Program Manager, Rolls Royce Brian Wehner Distribution Director, Levi Strauss Richard Armstrong President, Armstrong Associates (moderator) Ingersoll Rand Case Study: How to select the right 3PL for your needs †¢ Hear firsthand from a global, diversified manufacturer with revenues of $9. billion, how to successfully evaluate and select the perfect 3PL for your sp ecific and complex needs †¢ Find out the tools and strategies Ingersoll Rand used to ensure they made the right decision †¢ Discover the challenges and rewards Ingersoll Rand are currently encountering, as they implement two specific 3PL contracts for a TMS system that will move them forward in 2005 and 2006 Bob Newcom Global Transportation Logistics Director Ingersoll Rand Owens Corning Case Study: How do you evaluate and measure your 3PL providers? Owens Corning employs more than 17,000 people and has manufacturing, sales and research facilities including joint venture and licensee relationships in more than 30 countries on six continents. †¢ Find out the criteria Owens Corning uses to successfully evaluate and measure the performance of multiple 3PLs around the globe †¢ How to constantly revise your KPIs to match your changing business, with the full support of your 3PL providers John Gentle, Global Leader Transportation Affairs, Owens Corning Don’t get distracted by note-taking! Purchase your copy of the Delegate Audio CD (at the special delegate rate of $250 or as part of a conference package) which includes: †¢ Complete audio recordings of every main session, including workshops †¢ Complete set of Presentations †¢ Timed program, attendee list, exhibitor and sponsor information The CD is designed as a user-friendly source of information for yourself and colleagues who are unable to attend – Simply insert the CD and the timed program will appear to walk you through the audio and visual PLACES LIMITED CALL eyefortransport NOW! 800 814 3459 Day 1: Afternoon Roundtables Take this unique opportunity to discuss 9 different crucial topics affecting 3PL users today! Don’t miss out on this chance to ask questions, benchmark and get advice on your key concerns from conference speakers and fellow attendees. Each roundtable discussion will last for approximately one hour and will be led by one to four influential industry experts. These di scussions are completely interactive and will provide you with ample opportunity get the answers you need, in a highly focused, small group environment. Acquiring technology through the use of logistics service providers – Tailored IT systems, RFID, etc Frank Riva Industry Development Director, EPC Global Mark Foster, VP Supply Chain, Supervalu 6 Specific considerations for retailers when selecting and working with a 3PL Richard Armstrong President, Armstrong Associates 7 2 Specific considerations for manufacturers when selecting and working with a 3PL Jill Barnett 3PL Program Manager, Rolls Royce How security-conscious is your 3PL – Who has the responsibility and accountability for security? Gene Klein, General Manager of Supply Chain Services, Sysco 8 3 Specific considerations for food and beverage companies when selecting and working with a 3PL Jonathan Zakary Strategic Supply Chain Initiatives Darden Restaurants How to manage a global outsourcing relationship John Coates, President and CEO, The Fennimore Group 4 5 9 Outsourcing reverse logistics to a 3PL Brian Wehner Distribution Director, Levi Strauss Specific considerations for the hi-tech industry when selecting and working with a 3PL Ashley Hall Global 3PL Sourcing Manager, Intel Outsourcing logistics accounting functions (Auditing, Inventory, Freight Payment) Mike Erickson, President/CEO AFMS Logistics Management Group For complete speaker details and updates please check the website at www. eyefortransport. com/outsourcelog Does your company provide logistics services to manufacturers and retailers? Sponsorship, Exhibition Advertising Opportunities If you provide third party logistics make sure you attend this event to hear what 3PL customers – and potential 3PL customers – want from you! Find out shipper’s key concerns and demands to better market your services to your customers. Take it a step further and ensure your services are available to the audience by participating in the program as an event sponsor! If you provide technology and consultancy solutions, make sure you attend this event to stay ahead of the market trends. Hear what shippers need, that 3PLs don’t provide. Go one better and get involved in the exhibition or conference sessions to raise wareness of supporting technology and alternatives to using 3PLs. Exhibitors will benefit from a co-locating event – the 7th North American Technology Forum – to give you twice the number of attendees to network with. For more information see www. eyefortransport. com/natech Whether you’re looking to develop new business, maintain relationships or raise awareness of your company’s activities, we have a range of packages to suit your goals. Contact Sid Ladapo for more informa tion at: email: [emailprotected] om call US Toll Free: 1 800 814 3459 ext 335 Rest of the World: +44 (0)20 73 75 7213 SPECIAL OFFER ON REPORT Get 40% off the â€Å"2005 North American 3PL Report† †¢ Normally $1795, Outsourcing Logistics attendees can purchase the report combined with the full conference pass and delegate CD (worth $1845) for just $2790 – SAVE $850 †¢ Book before February 18th to knock an extr

Lakota essays

Lakota essays The Lakota/Dakota/Nakota Nation is also known as the Great Sioux Nation. The word Sioux was adopted by the United States government from the term (Nadowesioux), which comes from a Chippewa (Ojibwa) word which means little threatened snake or enemy. This was because the Ojibwa or Chippewa learned to respect and fear the respective territories and hunting and fishing grounds set in place by the Sioux. The people of the Sioux Nation refer to themselves as Lakota or Dakota which means friend or ally. The French traders and trappers who worked with the Chippewa Ojibwa people latter shortened the word to Sioux. The Black Hills are a sacred land to the Lakota and are located in the center the Great Sioux Nation. The Black Hills are spiritually connected to the Lakota/ Dakota people and are now considered an important part of their sacred lives. The 7th Cavalry led by General George A. Custer entered the Black Hills in violation of an 1868 treaty, the center of the Great Sioux Nation and discovered gold. This was the catalyst that sparked The Gold Rush in the Black Hills opening the conflict between the United States and Great Sioux Nation. The United States Government recognizing the value of the land wanted to buy or rent the Black Hills from the Lakota people. The Great Sioux Nation refused to sell or rent their sacred lands. They believed that this land was given to them by the (White Buffalo Women) and that they had always been a part of the Black hills. This did not stop the United States from moving forward to seize the land. General George Custer was assigned the task of relocating the Lakota onto constricting reservation lands that had very little use and lacked substantial natural resources. This is the premise for one of the more famous Indian battles known as the Battle of the Little Big Horn, one of the great blunders of the military. General George Custer full of bravado greatly underestimated his adversaries result...

The Civil War in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Civil War in England - Essay Example This paper shall discuss the effects that the war had on the people of England and the different aspects of the nation then. Before the commencement of the war and even during it, the reins of the economy and the funds of the government rested with the Parliament that would then be in a position to dictate terms to the King (Bucholz and Key, 254). This marked a change in the way in which revenue was utilized during the Elizabethan age when the monarch had a far greater role to play in the handling of the nation’s funds that when the Stuart dynasty took over. The expenses of the monarch would have to be ratified by the Parliament and this was a great blow to James I. He however, managed to maintain a balance between the demands of the Parliament and the maintenance of his power. His son, Charles I, however, could not do so. Many attribute this failure to Charles’ belief in the divine rights that he believed kings to have (Trueman). According to this theory, kings were th e deputies of god on earth and this right of the king could not be taken away by the Parliament which according to him was merely a collection of mortals. This belief of Charles would be the reason that led to his ultimate execution. His failure to recognize the real aspirations of his people finally led to his downfall. Apart from this, one also needs to look at the flawed military strategies that were employed by the Royalists and the successful ones by the Parliamentarians. John Pym, according to Robert Bucholz and Newton Key, was instrumental in ensuring the victory of the Parliamentarian cause in many battles that occurred during the civil war (Bucholz and Key, 254). Religious reasons were very important in the civil war. It marked a transition to a phase in history where religion would be a major determinant in political affairs in an explicit manner. The puritans were responsible in a large way for the civil war. Oliver Cromwell himself was a puritan (Oliver Cromwell). These aspects along with the fact of the different sects that people in England, Ireland and Scotland were a part of, had led to tensions within the nation (Stoyle). A different form of politics too had taken shape, one that would thrive on the politics of identity. This was a change from earlier days. This change has survived to modern times when political parties survive on the identity of the community they represent. The major economic effect of the English Civil War was its detrimental impact on trade. Ben Coates in his work The Impact of the English Civil War on the Economy of London observes that the years spanning from 1648 to 1650 were marked by poor agricultural produce and naval and trade weakness. The recession of 1648-50, however, was a product of bad harvests and weakness on the seas. The Dutch regained their supremacy in the seas and thus undermined English trade and industries. It is noteworthy that the war weakened the erstwhile flourishing English foreign trade at the pr ecise point of time when the Dutch consolidated their commercial and naval power after the completion of the Thirty Years' War (1648) (Coates, 22). The importance of these developments needs to be analyzed in conjunction with the role that these changes enabled in the transition to modernity. Not only were the seeds of democracy sown

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 33

Personal Statement - Essay Example Therefore, I have decided to take a step to pursue the next level of education in order to continue acquiring more knowledge that is beneficial to the society and me. In this case, in order to realize my full potential, I had to apply in one of the best institutions offering the PhD program that I need to proceed with pursuing of my academic goals. After identifying this institution, I had to apply hoping that I stand a chance to be one of your students, having met all the requirements for pursuing the program. Knowledge  acquired from my degree and master’s program has facilitated interaction with different people and sharing of relevant ideas with them. After graduating in 2002, I worked as an English teacher under the ministry of education until 2006. Later in 2009, I joined the Arab Open University, where I became a part-time lecture until 2010. During the same year, I worked with the Training center of public security as a part time English Instructor. I later joined Taif University under the ministry of higher education working as English lecturer. Therefore, throughout this career path, I have faced challenges, which serve as a source of inspiration to acquire more knowledge in the field, in order to develop other ways of dealing with the problems in my field. In this case, I believe that by pursuing the PhD program, I will be able to acquire more knowledge that will benefit others people and me. I have spent a significant part of my life acquiring knowledge, and spending time and energy on gaining experience in the field of linguistics. I had set objectives such as laying a good foundation of knowledge by acquiring basics from the degree program, which facilitated achievement my long-term goals to pursue my PhD program. Therefore, through this way, I have been able to learn and cope with the rate of changes occurring in this field. In this case, my perception towards achievement of career objective is not about making a good living, but has

What are fundamental points of conflict between Confucianism and Essay

What are fundamental points of conflict between Confucianism and Legalism How were these ways of thought blended into the Chinese theory of empire - Essay Example These people propagated the ideas of Confucius as a philosophy in the human race. This is not only done as guidance for living up to the ideas of Confucius but also as a direction in politics and a sense of morality. Confucius strongly affected the historical make-up of East Asia, the neighbors of China, especially Japan and Korea. Considering the Chosen dynasty in Korea, the influence of Confucius took over much of what we can see. The Yi dynasty accredited for introducing the Chinese examination system during the Tang dynasty. During this critical era, Chinese people adhered to the principles of Confucianism. Legalism, the so called â€Å"school of law", rose as one of the mainstreams of Chinese philosophy though it never lasted for long. Legalism is quite different from the ideas of Confucianism. The rationale behind legalism was law, which is a main principle in legalism. Because legalism has a mistrust of human nature, which was regarded as a lazy and cowardly creature, like the view of Xunzi, the law should create order and eliminate chaos. Both the thoughts and practices of Confucianism and legalism have expanded to become a tool for the betterment of individuals. The Chinese had put much interest on both philosophies which subsequently became deep rooted into their culture. There are similarities and comparisons between the great philosophies, Confucianism and Legalism to the principal values or norms of conduct. Confucius favorable view on human nature and its optimism were more persuasive to people of during that period, although in China today there still exists a legalist society but not as severely and strict as in Qin dynasty. In the third and second century B.C.E., when rivalry among the Warring states was getting more complex and competitive, legalism had risen as a new ideology that was in opposition to Confucianism. One of Confucianism thoughts was to

History Of The Dna And Forensics Criminology Essay

History Of The Dna And Forensics Criminology Essay Wyman established the foundation for the concept with the hallmark observation and White (1980) of a polymorphic DNA locus characterized by a number of variable-length restriction fragments called restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). The history of DNA fingerprinting, is even more recent, dating from 1985 with the paper Hypervariable Minisatellite Regions in Human DNA by Alex Jeffreys et-al (Kirby, 1998 p.19) In 1985, a routine investigation into the structure of a human gene led to a breakthrough discovery that portions of the DNA structure of certain genes are as unique to each individual as fingerprints. Alec Jeffrey and his colleagues at Leicester University, England, responsible for these revelations, named the process for isolating and reading these DNA markers DNA fingerprinting. As researchers uncovered new approaches and variations to the original Jeffreys technique, the terms DNA profiling and DNA typing became applied to describe this relatively new technology (Saferstein, 2011p.226). The theory that a criminal perpetrator leaves a part of himself at the scene of a crime and takes a piece of the crime site with him was postulated by Edmund Locard Lyon,of France, who established the worlds first crime lab. Referred to as the Locard exchange principle, this idea, along with the need to reconstruct what took place at the site of a criminal act, is the basic rationale behind crime- scene investigation (Fisher, p 4). The term associative evidence describes traces of things that, pursuant to the Locard principle, connect a suspect to or associate him with the scene of an offense (Fisher, 2008 p. 4) Benefits of DNA in society Through the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the deciphering of its structure and the decoding of its genetic information our understanding of the underlying concepts of inheritance changed and expanded. Molecular biologists are unraveling the basic structure of genes at an incredible pace; we are now able to create new products through genetic engineering and develop diagnostic tools and treatments for genetic disorders (Saferstein, 2011 p. 266). How DNA affects investigations? The legal system, in both the criminal and civil arenas, may well be revolutionized by the advent of forensic DNA typing. One state trial judge has written that DNA typing can constitute the single greatest advance in the search for truth, and the goal of convicting the guilty and acquitting the innocent, since the advent of cross-examination. People v. Wesley, 140 Misc.2d 306, 533 N.Y.S.2d 643 (Co. Ct. 1988) (Kirby, 1993 p. 206). DNA identification analysis, identity testing, profiling, fingerprinting, typing, or genotyping refers to the characterization of one or more relatively rare features of an individuals genome or hereditary makeup. Every human, has a characteristic phenotype or physical appearance because each possesses a unique hereditary composition. An exception to this rule is identical twins, because they possess the same unique genotype but, because of the consequences of developmental events, have faintly different phenotypes. The DNA of any individual is identical whether extracted from hair bulbs, white blood cells, or a semen specimen. The uniqueness and identical DNA structure within all tissues of the same body provide the basis for DNA profiling (Kirby, 1993 p.18). The forensic applications of DNA typing are limited only by precaution and alertness of the criminal mind. Regardless of the type of crime committed, whatever trace evidence is appropriate for DNA analysis, left behind by the p erpetrator, is later recovered by the police. Forensic test results can prove to be important investigative tools. Most frequently, such evidence will be found because of violent crimes (Kirby, 1993 p.207). What Controversies are there in the use of DNA evidence in criminal cases? The inventor of DNA fingerprinting Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, recently launched a candid attack on the way the genetic profiles of suspects in the UK who have been cleared of any crime are still stored by the authorities. He believes that the practice of storing the genetic profiles of suspects who have not been found guilty of a crime is a step too far. Professor Jeffreys said, The practice was discriminatory and measures should be taken to safeguard against particular individuals or groups being targeted. In addition, he called for the creation of a national database, storing the profiles of the entire UK population, managed by an independent body. He said, If were all on the database, were all in exactly the same boat the issue of discrimination disappears. Another potential problem according to a number of scientists is that as the database grows the probability of two very similar profiles from two different people emerging increases (Anonymous, 2002). These arguments are ech oed in the United States as well. For police and prosecutors, DNA science has been a double-edged sword; Thousands of rapists and killers have been identified by DNA and sent to prison. On the other hand, DNA technology also reveals flaws in other forensic sciences such as bite-mark and hair follicle identification. It has also exposed weaknesses and corruption in the way crimes are investigated (Fisher, J. 2008 p 231). What Benefits are there in the use of DNA Evidence? The forensic science community finds DNA of great value because forensic scientists now have the ability to link biological evidence such as blood, semen, hair, or tissue to a single individual with confidence (Saferstein, 2011 p. 266). What improvements can be made in the use of DNA in Criminalistics? In an effort to improve the crime-fighting potential of DNA profiling, the FBI initiated a pilot project called Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The program would link data banks across the country housing computerized collections of DNA profiles of arrested felons. Investigators would be able to submit an unknown DNA profile for identification by activating one computer instead of running the evidence through dozens of statewide systems. An evidence submission that matches a DNA profile in one of the databases is called a hit, when such a computer match is made; it is tantamount to solving the crime and proving who committed it. CODIS promised a crime-fighting potential equal to the FBIs Integrated Automatic Fingerprint Identification System. Even better, the criminals caught by CODIS would be the worst of the worst- rapists, child molesters, and sexually motivated killers serial offenders all (Fisher, 2008 pp. 231-2). The National DNA Index (NDIS) contains over 9,535,059 offender profiles and 366,762 forensic profiles as of March 2011. Ultimately, the success of the CODIS program will be measured by the crimes it helps to solve. CODISs primary metric, the Investigation Aided, tracks the number of criminal investigations where CODIS has added value to the investigative process. As of March 2011, CODIS has produced over 141,000 hits assisting in more than 135,500 investigations (FBI) The United States is having a backlog handling all of the data being submitted to the forensic laboratories. There are two types: (1) casework backlogs and (2) convicted offender and arrestee DNA backlogs (DNA.gov , n.d.). The demand for DNA testing is rising primarily because of increased awareness of the potential for DNA evidence to help solve cases. The demand is coming from two primary sources: (1) the increased amount of DNA evidence collected in criminal cases and (2) the expanded effort to collect DNA samples from convicted felons and arrested persons. According to a 2010 report from the National Instituted of Justice Until laboratories can meet the rising demand for DNA services and until their capacity to process samples is greater than the demand, backlogs will continue to exist and increase in proportion to the demand for services (Nelson, 2010). Crime laboratories are processing more cases than ever before, however expanded capacity to meet the increased demand (Nelson, 2010). What is in the future of DNA in society and what benefits will they bring to the criminalistics and forensic investigations? In the future, we will be able to determine the color of a persons hair and eyes though a sample of DNA taken from blood, sperm, saliva or other biological materials relevant in forensic case work. Criminals can run, but they might be leaving some incriminating evidence behind. Scientists have figured out how to use DNA information to predict a persons hair color. In the near future, DNA from blood, sperm or saliva samples being used to help track down an unknown perpetrator. Dutch researchers from Erasmus Medical Center and their collaborators in Poland have discovered 13 genetic markers in 11 genes that can be used to predict hair color. The research was published in the journal Human Genetics, where scientists, claim they can predict if a person has red hair or black hair with 90% accuracy. When it comes to predicting if a person has blond or brown hair, the scientists claim to be 80% accurate. The scientists can also predict different shades of hair color, so people with dirty blond hair or other unusual colors can be tracked down too (Dickinson, B. 2011). The necessary DNA can be taken from blood, sperm, saliva or other biological materials relevant in forensic casework. Prof. Manfred Kayser, Chair of the Department of Forensic Molecular Biology at Erasmus MC, who led the study, stated, That we are now making it possible to predict different hair colors from DNA represents a major breakthrough as, so far, only red hair color (which is rare) could be estimated from DNA. For our research, we made use of the DNA and hair color information of hundreds of Europeans and investigated genes previously known to influence the differences in hair color. We identified 13 DNA markers from 11 genes that are informative to predict a persons hair color. Predictability Prof. Ate Kloosterman, of the Department of Human Biological Traces at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) said: This research lays the scientific basis for the development of a DNA test for hair color prediction. A validated DNA test system for hair color shall become available for forensic research in the not too distant future (Erasmus Medical Center 2011). This study might pave the way for yet another DNA test that would give forensic scientists more tools to crack unsolved mysteries. Predicting human phenotypes like a persons hair color would certainly give crime fighters an edge Dickinson, B. 2011). DNA and its application to Criminalistics are changing the way evidence is pursued. The past decade has seen enormous advances in this powerful criminal justice tool: deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA can be used to identify criminals with incredible accuracy when biological evidence exists. Similarly, DNA evidence can be implemented to clear suspects and exonerate persons mistakenly accused or convicted of crimes. DNA technology is increasingly vital to ensuring accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system. We take for granted all the progress that has been made in the last few decades due to new breakthroughs in science. DNA has not only affected science and medicine in our society but it also has affected the judicial system, and the way we conduct our criminal cases in the courts of the United States.

Memory and the Quest for Family History in One Hundred Years of Solitud

Memory and the Quest for Family History in One Hundred Years of Solitude and Song of Solomon Pierre Nora proposes that "the quest for memory is the search for one's history" (289). In their attempt to reconstruct the communal histories of their people, Toni Morrison and Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez rely heavily on the use of memory as a means to rewrite the history of those oppressed because of race, class and/or gender in a world where historiography has been dominated by the white man. Memory is closely related to the reclamation of identity and history -- both personal and collective. Both memory and history dominate Cien Aà ±os de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) from the very beginning, where the character Aureliano Buendà ­a is introduced through his own recollections: "Muchos aà ±os despuà ©s, frente al pelotà ³n de fusilamiento, el coronel Aureliano Buendà ­a habà ­a de recordar aquella tarde remota en que su padre lo llevà ³ a conocer el hielo" (9) / "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendà ­a was to remember that dis tant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice" (9). Like Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez, Toni Morrison claims memory -- as well as imagination -- as an essential part of the narrative act: "The act of imagination is bound up with memory. You know, they straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for houses and livable acreage. Occasionally the river floods these places. 'Floods' is the word they use, but in fact it is not flooding; it is remembering. Remembering where it used to be. All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. Writers are like that: Remembering where we were, what valley we ran through, what the banks were like, the light... ...tive Literature Courses." Approaches to Teaching Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. Marà ­a Elena de Valdà ©s and Mario J. Valdà ©s. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1990. 21-32. Parkinson Zamora, Lois. "The Usable Past: The Idea of History in Modern U.S. and Latin American Fiction." Do the Americas Have a Common Literature? Ed. Gustavo Pà ©rez Firmat. Durham: Duke UP, 1990. 7-41. Pierce, Robert N. "Fact or Fiction?: The Developmental Journalism of Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez." Journal of Popular Culture 22.1 (1988): 63-71. Ricci Della Grisa, Graciela N. Realismo Mà ¡gico y Conciencia Mà ­tica en Amà ©rica Latina. Buenos Aires: Fernando Garcà ­a Cambeiro, 1985. Strouse, Jean. "Toni Morrison's Black Magic." Newsweek (30 March 1981): 52-57. Watkins, Mel. "Interview with Toni Morrison." New York Times Book Review (11 September 1977): 50.

Black House Chapter Thirteen

13 DANNY TCHEDA and Pam Stevens already have their hands full with would-be gate-crashers when they hear the sound of motorcycles gunning toward them, and the arrival of the Thunder Five is all they need to make their day really complete. Getting rid of Teddy Runkleman and Freddy Saknessum had been easy enough, but not five minutes later the eastbound lanes of Highway 35 filled up with people who thought they had a perfect right to gawk at all the little corpses that were supposed to be stacked up in the wreckage of Ed's Eats. For every car they finally manage to send away, two more show up in its place. Everybody demands a long explanation of why they, as taxpayers and concerned citizens, should not be allowed to enter a crime scene, especially one so tragic, so poignant, so . . . well, so exciting. Most of them refuse to believe that the only body inside that tumbledown building is Irma Fre-neau's; three people in a row accuse Danny of abetting a cover-up, and one of them actually use s the word â€Å"Fishergate.† Yikes. In a weird way, lots of these corpse hunters almost think that the local police are protecting the Fisherman! Some of them finger rosaries while they chew him out. One lady waves a crucifix in his face and tells him he has a dirty soul and is bound for hell. At least half of the people he turns away are carrying cameras. What kind of person sets off on a Saturday morning to take pictures of dead children? What gets Danny is this: they all think they're perfectly normal. Who's the creep? He is. The husband of an elderly couple from Maid Marian Way says, â€Å"Young man, apparently you are the only person in this county who does not understand that history is happening all around us. Madge and I feel we have the right to a keepsake.† A keepsake? Sweaty, out of sorts, and completely fed up, Danny loses his cool. â€Å"Buddy, I agree with you right down the line,† he says. â€Å"If it was up to me, you and your lovely wife would be able to drive away with a bloodstained T-shirt, maybe even a severed finger or two, in your trunk. But what can I say? The chief is a very unreasonable guy.† Off zooms Maid Marian Way, too shocked to speak. The next guy in line starts yelling the moment Danny leans down to his window. He looks exactly like Danny's image of George Rathbun, but his voice is raspier and slightly higher in pitch. â€Å"Don't think I can't see what you're doing, buster!† Danny says good, because he's trying to protect a crime scene, and the George Rathbun guy, who is driving an old blue Dodge Caravan minus the front bumper and the right side-view mirror, shouts, â€Å"I been sitting here twenty minutes while you and that dame do doodly-squat! I hope you won't be surprised when you see some VIGILANTE ACTION around here!† It is at this tender moment that Danny hears the unmistakable rumble of the Thunder Five charging toward him down the highway. He has not felt right since he found Tyler Marshall's bicycle in front of the old folks' home, and the thought of wrangling with Beezer St. Pierre fills his brain with dark oily smoke and whirling red sparks. He lowers his head and stares directly into the eyes of the red-faced George Rathbun look-alike. His voice emerges in a low, dead monotone. â€Å"Sir, if you continue on your present course, I will handcuff you, park you in the back of my car until I am free to leave, and then take you to the station and charge you with everything that comes to mind. That is a promise. Now do yourself a favor and get the hell out of here.† The man's mouth opens and closes, goldfishlike. Splotches of brighter red appear on his jowly, already flushed face. Danny keeps staring into his eyes, almost hoping for an excuse to truss him in handcuffs and roast him in the back seat of his car. The guy considers his options, and caution wins. He drops his eyes, moves the shift lever to R, and nearly backs into the Miata behind him. â€Å"I don't believe this is happening,† Pam says. â€Å"What dumb so-and-so spilled the beans?† Like Danny, she is watching Beezer and his friends roar toward them past the row of waiting cars. â€Å"I don't know, but I'd like to ram my nightstick down his throat. And after him, I'm looking for Wendell Green.† â€Å"You won't have to look very far. He's about six cars back in the line.† Pam points to Wendell's traveling sneer. â€Å"Good God,† Danny says. â€Å"Actually, I'm sort of glad to see that miserable blowhard. Now I can tell him exactly what I think of him.† Smiling, he bends down to speak to the teenaged boy at the wheel of the Miata. The boy leaves, and Danny waves off the driver behind him while watching the Thunder Five get closer and closer. He says to Pam, â€Å"At this point, if Beezer climbs up in my face and even looks like he wants to get physical, I'm pulling out my roscoe, honest to God.† â€Å"Paperwork, paperwork,† Pam says. â€Å"I really don't give a damn.† â€Å"Well, here we go,† she says, telling him that if he pulls his gun, she will back him up. Even the drivers trying to argue their way into the lane are taking time out to watch Beezer and the boys. In motion, hair and beards blowing, faces set, they look ready to commit as much mayhem as possible. Danny Tcheda's heart begins to speed, and he feels his sphincter tighten. But the Thunder Five bikers race past without so much as turning their heads, one after another. Beezer, Mouse, Doc, Sonny, and the Kaiser there they go, leaving the scene. â€Å"Well, damn,† Danny says, unable to decide if he feels relieved or disappointed. The abrupt jolt of dismay he registers when the bikers wheel around in a comprehensive, gravel-spraying U-turn thirty yards up ahead tells him that what he had felt was relief. â€Å"Oh, please, no,† Pam says. In the waiting automobiles, every head turns as the motorcycles flash by again, returning the way they came. For a couple of seconds, the only sound to be heard is the receding furor of five Harley-Davidson cycles. Danny Tcheda takes off his uniform hat and wipes his forehead. Pam Stevens arches her back and exhales. Then someone blasts his horn, and two other horns join in, and a guy with a graying walrus mustache and a denim shirt is holding up a three-quarter-sized badge in a leather case and explaining that he is the cousin of a county-circuit judge and an honorary member of the La Riviere police force, which basically means he never gets speeding or parking tickets and can go wherever he likes. The mustache spreads out in a big grin. â€Å"So just let me get by, and you can go back to your business, Officer.† Not letting him get by is his business, Danny says, and he is forced to repeat this message several times before he can get on to the next case. After sending away a few more disgruntled citizens, he checks to see how long he must wait before he can tell off Wendell Green. Surely the reporter cannot be more than two or three cars back. As soon as Danny raises his head, horns blast and people start shouting at him. Let us in! Hey, bud, I pay your salary, remember? I wanna talk to Dale, I wanna talk to Dale! A few men have gotten out of their cars. Their fingers are pointing at Danny, their mouths are working, but he cannot make out what they are yelling. A band of pain runs like a red-hot iron bar from behind his left eye to the middle of his brain. Something is wrong; he cannot see Green's ugly red car. Where the hell is it? Damn damn and double damn, Green must have eased out of the line and driven into the field alongside Ed's. Danny snaps around and inspects the field. Angry voices and car horns boil up at his back. No beat-up red Toyota, no Wendell Green. What do you know, the windbag gave up! A few minutes later the traffic thins out, and Danny and Pam think their job is pretty much over. All four lanes of Highway 35 are empty, their usual condition on a Saturday morning. The one truck that rolls along keeps on rolling, on its way to Centralia. â€Å"Think we ought to go up there?† Pam asks, nodding toward the remains of the store. â€Å"Maybe, in a couple minutes.† Danny is not eager to get within range of that smell. He would be perfectly happy to stay down here until the M.E. and the evidence wagon come along. What gets into people, anyhow? He would happily surrender two days' pay to be spared the sight of Irma Freneau's poor body. Then he and Pam hear two distinct sounds at once, and neither one makes them comfortable. The first is that of a fresh wave of vehicles racing down the highway to their position; the second, the rumble of motorcycles descending upon the scene from somewhere behind the old store. â€Å"Is there a back road to this place?† he asks, incredulous. Pam shrugs. â€Å"Sounds like it. But look Dale'll have to deal with Beezer's goons, because we're gonna have our hands full down here.† â€Å"Aw, cripes,† Danny says. Maybe thirty cars and pickups are converging on the end of the little lane, and both he and Pam can see that these people are angrier and more determined than the first bunch. At the far end of the crowd, some men and women are leaving their vehicles on the shoulder and walking toward the two officers. The drivers at the front of the pack are waving their fists and shouting even before they try to turn in. Incredibly, a woman and two teenage kids are holding up a long banner that reads WE WANT THE FISHERMAN! A man in a dusty old Caddy thrusts his arm through the window and displays a handmade placard: GILBERTSON MUST GO. Danny looks over his shoulder and sees that the Thunder Five must have found a back road, because four of them are standing out in front of Ed's, looking oddly like Secret Service agents, while Beezer St. Pierre is deep in discussion with the chief. And what they look like, it occurs to Danny, is two heads of state working out a trade agreement. This makes no sense at all, and Danny turns back to the cars, the lunatics with signs, and the men and women working their way toward him and Pam. A barrel-chested, seventy-one-year-old man with a white goatee, Hoover Dalrymple, plants himself in front of Pam and starts demanding his inalienable rights. Danny remembers his name because Dalrymple initiated a brawl in the bar of the Nelson Hotel about six months earlier, and now here he is all over again, getting his revenge. â€Å"I will not speak to your partner,† he yells, â€Å"and I will not listen to anything he says, because your partner has no interest in the rights of the people of this community.† Danny sends away an orange Subaru driven by a sullen teenage boy in a Black Sabbath T-shirt, then a black Corvette with La Riviere dealer's plates and a strikingly pretty, strikingly foulmouthed young woman. Where do these people come from? He does not recognize anyone except Hoover Dalrymple. Most of the people in front of him now, Danny supposes, were hailed in from out of town. He has set out to help Pam when a hand closes on his shoulder, and he looks behind him to see Dale Gilbertson side by side with Beezer St. Pierre. The four other bikers hover a few feet away. The one called Mouse, who is of course roughly the size of a haystack, catches Dale's eye and grins. â€Å"What are you doing?† Danny asks. â€Å"Calm down,† Dale says. â€Å"Mr. St. Pierre's friends have volunteered to assist our crowd-control efforts, and I think we can use all the help they can give us.† Out of the side of his eye, Danny glimpses the Neary twins breaking out of the front of the crowd, and he holds up a hand to stop them. â€Å"What do they get out of this?† â€Å"Simple information,† the chief says. â€Å"Okay, boys, get to work.† Beezer's friends move apart and approach the crowd. The chief moves beside Pam, who first looks at him in amazement, then nods. Mouse snarls at Hoover Dalrymple and says, â€Å"By the power invested in me, I order you to get the fuck out of here, Hoover.† The old man vanishes so quickly he seems to have dematerialized. The rest of the bikers have the same effect on the angry sightseers. Danny hopes they can maintain their cool in the face of steady abuse: a three-hundred-pound man who looks like a Hells Angel on a knife edge between self-control and mounting fury works wonders on a rebellious crowd. The biker nearest Danny sends Floyd and Frank Neary away just by raising his fist at them. As they melt back to their car, the biker winks at Danny and introduces himself as Kaiser Bill. Beezer's friend enjoys the process of controlling a crowd, and an immense grin threatens to break through his scowl, yet molten anger bubbles underneath, just the same. â€Å"Who are the other guys?† Danny asks. Kaiser Bill identifies Doc and Sonny, who are dispersing the crowd to Danny's right. â€Å"Why are you guys doing this?† The Kaiser lowers his head so that his face hangs two inches from Danny's. It is like confronting a bull. Heat and rage pour from the broad features and hairy skin. Danny almost expects to see steam puffing from the man's wide nostrils. One of the pupils is smaller than the other; explosive red wires tangle through the whites. â€Å"Why? We're doing it for Amy. Isn't that clear to you, Officer Tcheda?† â€Å"Sorry,† Danny mutters. Of course. He hopes Dale will be able to keep a lid on these monsters. Watching Kaiser Bill rock an ancient Mustang belonging to a fool kid who failed to back up in time, he is extremely happy that the bikers don't have any blunt instruments. Through the vacant space formerly occupied by the kid's Mustang, a police car rolls toward Danny and the Kaiser. As it makes its way through the crowd, a woman wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and Capri pants bangs her hand against the passenger windows. When the car reaches Danny the two part-timers, Bob Holtz and Paul Nestler, jump out, gape at the Kaiser, and ask if he and Pam need help. â€Å"Go up and talk to the chief,† Danny says, though he should not have to. Holtz and Nestler are nice guys, but they have a lot to learn about chain of command, along with everything else. About a minute and a half later, Bobby Dulac and Dit Jesperson show up. Danny and Pam wave them through as the bikers charge into the fray and drag chanting citizens off the sides and hoods of their vehicles. Sounds of struggle reach Danny over angry shouts coming from the mob before him. It seems that he has been out here for hours. Thrusting people out of the way with great backswings of his arms, Sonny emerges to stand beside Pam, who is doing her best. Mouse and Doc wade into the clear. A trail of blood leaking from his nose, a red smear darkening his beard at the corner of his mouth, the Kaiser strides up beside Danny. Just as the crowd begins chanting, â€Å"HELL NO, WE WON'T GO! HELL NO, WE WON'T GO!† Holtz and Nestler return to bolster the line. Hell no, we won't go? Danny wonders. Isn't that supposed to be about Vietnam? Only dimly aware of the sound of a police siren, Danny sees Mouse wade into the crowd and knock out the first three people he can reach. Doc settles his hands on the open window of an all-too-familiar Oldsmobile and asks the small, balding driver what the hell he thinks he is doing. â€Å"Doc, leave him alone,† Danny says, but the siren whoops again and drowns out his words. Although the little man at the wheel of the Olds looks like an ineffectual math teacher or a low-level civic functionary, he possesses the determination of a gladiator. He is the Reverend Lance Hovdahl, Danny's old Sunday school teacher. â€Å"I thought I could help,† the reverend says. â€Å"What with all this racket, I can't really hear you too good. Let me help you get closer,† Doc says. He reaches in through the window as the siren whoops again and a State Police car slides by on the other side. â€Å"Hold it, Doc, STOP!† Danny shouts, seeing the two men in the state car, Brown and Black, craning their necks to stare at the spectacle of a bearded man built like a grizzly bear dragging a Lutheran minister out through the window of his car. Creeping along behind them, another surprise, is Arnold Hrabowski, the Mad Hungarian, goggling through the windshield of his DAREmobile as if terrified by the chaos around him. The end of the lane is like a war zone now. Danny strides into the screaming mob and shoves a few people aside on his way to Doc and his old Sunday school teacher, who looks shaken but not at all injured. â€Å"Well, Danny, my goodness,† the minister says. â€Å"I'm certainly glad to see you here.† Doc glares at the two of them. â€Å"You know each other?† â€Å"Reverend Hovdahl, this is Doc,† Danny says. â€Å"Doc, this is Reverend Hovdahl, the pastor at Mount Hebron Lutheran.† â€Å"Holy moly,† says Doc, and immediately begins to pat the little man's lapels and tug at the hem of his jacket, as if to pull him into shape. â€Å"Sorry, Reverend, I hope I didn't hurt you none.† The state cops and the Mad Hungarian manage at last to squeeze out of the crowd. The sound level decreases to a mild hubbub one way or another, Doc's friends have silenced the loudest members of the opposition. â€Å"Fortunately, the window is wider than I am,† the reverend says. â€Å"Say, maybe I could come over and talk to you someday,† says Doc. â€Å"I've been doing a lot of reading about first-century Christianity lately. You know, G? ¦za Verms, John Dominic Crossan, Paula Fredriksen, stuff like that. I'd like to bounce some ideas off you.† Whatever Reverend Hovdahl intends to say is obliterated by the sudden explosion of noise from the other end of the lane. A woman's voice rises like a banshee's, in an inhuman screeching that shivers the hairs on the nape of Danny's neck. It sounds to him as though escaped lunatics a thousand times more dangerous than the Thunder Five are raving through the landscape. What the devil could have happened up there? † ‘Hello boys'?† Unable to contain his indignation, Bobby Dulac turns to stare first at Dale, then at Jack. His voice rises, hardens. â€Å"Is this shit for real? ‘Hello boys'?† Dale coughs into his fist and shrugs. â€Å"He wanted us to find her.† â€Å"Well, of course,† Jack says. â€Å"He told us to come here.† â€Å"Why would he do that, though?† Bobby asks. â€Å"He's proud of his work.† From some dim crossroads in Jack's memory, an ugly voice says, Stay out of it. You mess with me and I'll strew your guts from Racine to La Riviere. Whose voice had that been? With no more evidence than his conviction, Jack understands that if he could place that voice, he would put a name to the Fisherman. He cannot; all Jack Sawyer can do at this moment is remember a stink worse than the foul cloud that fills this crumbling building a hideous smell that came from the southwest of another world. That was the Fisherman, too, or whatever the Fisherman was in that world. A thought worthy of the former rising star of the LAPD's Homicide Division awakens in his mind, and he says, â€Å"Dale, I think you should let Henry hear that 911 tape.† â€Å"I don't get it. What for?† â€Å"Henry's tuned in to stuff even bats can't hear. Even if he doesn't recognize the voice, he'll learn a hundred times more than what we know now.† â€Å"Well, Uncle Henry never forgets a voice, that's true. Okay, let's get out of here. The M.E. and the evidence wagon should show up in a couple of minutes.† Trailing behind the other two men, Jack thinks of Tyler Marshall's Brewers cap and where he found it that world he has spent more than half his life denying, and his return to which this morning continues to send shocks through his system. The Fisherman left the cap for him in the Territories, the land he had first heard of when Jacky was six when Jacky was six, and Daddy played the horn. It is all coming back to him, that immense adventure, not because he wishes it, but because it has to come back: forces outside himself are picking him up by the scruff of his neck and carrying him forward. Forward into his own past! The Fisherman is proud of his handiwork, yes, the Fisherman is deliberately taunting them a truth so obvious none of the three men had to speak it aloud but really the Fisherman is baiting only Jack Sawyer, who alone has seen the Territories. And if that's true, as it has to be, then then the Territories and all they contain are involved somehow in these wretched crimes, and he has been thrust into a drama of enormous consequence he cannot possibly grasp right now. The Tower. The Beam. He had seen this in his mother's handwriting, something about the Tower falling and the Beams breaking: these things are parts of the puzzle, whatever they mean, as is Jack's gut conviction that Tyler Marshall is still alive, tucked away in some pocket of the other world. The recognition that he can never speak of all this to anyone else, not even Henry Leyden, makes him feel intensely alone. Jack's thoughts blow away in the noisy chaos that erupts alongside and in front of the shack. It sounds like an Indian attack in a cowboy movie, whooping and yelling and the sound of running feet. A woman sends up a shrill scream eerily like the blip-blips of the police siren he had half-noted a few moments ago. Dale mutters â€Å"Jeez,† and breaks into a run, followed by Bobby and Jack. Outside, what appears to be a half dozen crazy people are racing around in the weedy gravel in front of Ed's. Dit Jesperson and Beezer, still too stunned to react, watch them caper back and forth. The crazy people make an amazing amount of noise. One man yells, â€Å"KILL THE FISHERMAN! KILL THE DIRTY BASTARD!† Another is shouting â€Å"LAW ‘N' ORDER ‘N' FREE BEER!† A scrawny character in bib overalls picks up â€Å"FREE BEER! WE WANT FREE BEER!† A harpy too old for her tank top and blue jeans skitters around waving her arms and screeching at the top of her lungs. The grins on their faces indicate that these people are engaged in some dimwitted prank. They are having the time of their lives. Up from the end of the lane comes a State Police car, with the Mad Hungarian's DARE Pontiac right behind it. In the middle of the chaos, Henry Leyden tilts his head and smiles to himself. When he sees his chief take off after one of the men, fat Dit Jesperson lurches into action and spots Doodles Sanger, against whom he has borne a grudge ever since she turned him down late one night in the Nelson Hotel. Dit recognizes Teddy Runkleman, the tall galoot with the broken nose Dale is chasing; and he knows Freddy Saknessum, but Freddy is undoubtedly too fast for him and, besides, Dit has the feeling that if he put his hands on Freddy Saknessum, about eight hours later he would probably come down with something really nasty. Bobby Dulac is on the skinny guy's case, so Doodles is Dit's target, and he looks forward to pulling her down into the weeds and making her pay for calling him what she did, six years ago in the Nelson's filthy bar. (In front of maybe a dozen of French Landing's most raffish characters, Doodles had compared him to the then chief's smelly, waddling old mongrel, Tubby.) Dit looks her in the eye, and for a second she stops jumping around to stand flat-footed on the ground and give him a little come-hither gesture with the fingers of both hands. He launches himself at her, but when he gets to where she was, she is six feet off to the right, shifting on her feet like a basketball player. â€Å"Tubby-Tubby,† she says. â€Å"Come and get it, Tub-Tub.† Furious, Dit reaches, misses, and nearly loses his balance. Doodles prances away laughing and mouths the hateful expression. Dit doesn't get it why doesn't Doodles just break away and take off ? It's like she almost wants to get caught, but first she has to run out the clock. After another serious lunge that misses the target by only an inch or two, Dit Jesperson wipes the sweat off his face and checks out the scene. Bobby Dulac is snapping cuffs on the skinny guy, but Dale and Hollywood Sawyer are faring only a little better than he is. Teddy Runkleman and Freddy Saknessum dodge and bob away from their pursuers, both of them cackling like idiots and shouting their halfwit slogans. Why is low-life scum always so agile? Dit supposes that rodents like Runkleman and Saknessum get more practice in being light on their feet than regular people. He charges Doodles, who slips past him and goes into a chuckling, high-stepping diddley-bop. Over her shoulder, Dit sees Hollywood finally fake out Saknessum, wrap an arm around his waist, and throw him to the ground. â€Å"You didn't have to get all physical on my ass,† Saknessum says. His eyes shift, and he gives a brief nod. â€Å"Hey, Runks.† Teddy Runkleman glances at him, and his eyes shift, too. He stops moving. The chief says, â€Å"What, you run out of gas?† â€Å"Party's over,† Runkleman says. â€Å"Hey, we were just funnin', you know?† â€Å"Aw, Runksie, I wanna play some more,† Doodles says, throwing a few hip wiggles into the diddley-bop. In a flash, Beezer St. Pierre thrusts his mountainous self between her and Dit. He steps forward, rumbling like a semi going up a steep grade. Doodles tries to dance backward, but Beezer envelops her and carries her toward the chief. â€Å"Beezie, don'cha love me no more?† Doodles asks. Beezer grunts in disgust and deposits her in front of the chief. The two state cops, Perry Brown and Jeff Black, are hanging back, looking even more disgusted than the biker. If Dit's mental processes were to be transcribed from their shorthand into standard English, the result would be, He's gotta have something on the ball if he brews that Kingsland Ale, because that is some fine, fine beer. And look at the chief! He's so ready to bust a gut, he can't even see that we're about to lose this case. â€Å"You were FUNNIN'?† the chief roars. â€Å"What's the MATTER with you idiots? Don't you have any respect for that poor girl in there?† As the state cops step forward to take charge, Dit sees Beezer go rigid with shock for a moment, then move as inconspicuously as possible away from the group. No one but Dit Jesperson pays any attention to him the enormous biker has done his bit, and now his part is over. Arnold Hrabowski, who had been more or less concealed behind Brown and Black, shoves his hands in his pockets, hunches his shoulders, and gives Dit a glance of shamefaced apology. Dit doesn't get it: What does the Mad Hungarian have to feel so guilty about? Hell, he just got here. Dit looks back at Beezer, who is advancing ponderously toward the side of the shack and surprise, surprise! everybody's best pal and favorite reporter, Mr. Wendell Green, now appearing a little alarmed. Guess more than one kind of scum just rose to the surface, Dit thinks. Beezer likes women who are smart and levelheaded, like Bear Girl; brainless skanks like Doodles drive him crazy. He reaches out, grabs two handfuls of pasty, rayon-covered flesh, and scoops wriggling Doodles under his arm. Doodles says, â€Å"Beezie, don'cha love me no more?† He lowers the dumb mutt to the ground in front of Dale Gilbertson. When Dale finally explodes at these four grown-up juvenile delinquents, Beezer remembers the signal Freddy had given Runksie, and looks over the chief's shoulder at the front of the old store. To the left of the rotting gray entrance, Wendell Green is aiming his camera at the group before him, getting fancy, bending and leaning, stepping to one side and another as he snaps pictures. When he sees Beezer looking at him through his lens, Wendell straightens up and lowers his camera. He has an awkward little smile on his face. Green must have slithered in through the back way, Beezer imagines, because there's no way the cops down front would give him a pass. Come to think of it, Doodles and the Dodos must have come the same way. He hopes all of them did not learn of the back road by following him, but that's a possibility. The reporter lets his camera hang from its strap and, keeping his eyes on Beezer, sidles away from the old shanty. The guilty, frightened way he moves reminds Beezer of a hyena's slink toward its carrion. Wendell Green does fear Beezer, and Beezer cannot blame him. Green is lucky that Beezer did not actually rip off his head, instead of merely talking about it. Yet . . . Green's hyenalike crawl strikes Beezer as pretty strange, under the circumstances. He can't be afraid of getting beaten up in front of all these cops, can he? Green's uneasiness forms a link in Beezer's mind to the communication he had seen pass between Runkleman and Freddy. When their eyes shifted, when they looked away, they were looking at the reporter! He had set the whole thing up in advance. Green was using the Dodos as a distraction from whatever he was doing with his camera, of course. Such total sleaziness, such moral ugliness, infuriates Beezer. Galvanized by loathing, he moves quietly away from Dale and the other policemen and walks toward Wendell Green, keeping his eyes locked on the reporter's. He sees Wendell consider making a break for it, then reject the idea, most likely because he knows he doesn't have a chance of getting away. When Beezer comes to within ten feet of him, Green says, â€Å"We don't need any trouble here, Mr. St. Pierre. I'm just doing my job. Surely you can understand that.† â€Å"I understand a lot of things,† Beezer says. â€Å"How much did you pay those clowns?† â€Å"Who? What clowns?† Wendell pretends to notice Doodles and the others for the first time. â€Å"Oh, them? Are they the ones who were making all that ruckus?† â€Å"And why would they go do a thing like that?† â€Å"Because they're animals, I guess.† The expression on Wendell's face communicates a great desire to align himself with Beezer on the side of human beings, as opposed to animals like Runkleman and Saknessum. Taking care to fix Green's eyes, instead of his camera, with his own, Beezer moves in closer and says, â€Å"Wendy, you're a real piece of work, you know that?† Wendell holds up his hands to ward off Beezer. â€Å"Hey, we may have had our differences in the past, but â€Å" Still looking him in the eye, Beezer folds his right hand around the camera and plants his left on Wendell Green's chest. He jerks the right hand back and gives Green a massive shove with the left. One of two things is going to break, Green's neck or the camera strap, and he does not much care which it is to be. To a sound like the crack of a whip, the reporter flails backward, barely managing to remain upright. Beezer is pulling the camera out of the case, from which dangle two strips of severed leather. He drops the case and rotates the camera in his big hands. â€Å"Hey, don't do that!† Wendell says, his voice louder than speech but softer than a shout. â€Å"What is it, an old F2A?† â€Å"If you know that, you know it's a classic. Give it back to me.† â€Å"I'm not going to hurt it, I'm going to clean it out.† Beezer snaps open the back of the camera, gets one thick finger under the exposed length of film, and rips out the entire roll. He smiles at the reporter and tosses the film into the weeds. â€Å"See how much better it feels without all that crap in there? This is a nice little machine you shouldn't fill it with garbage.† Wendell does not dare show how furious he is. Rubbing the sore spot on the back of his neck, he growls, â€Å"That so-called garbage is my livelihood, you oaf, you moron. Now give me back my camera.† Beezer casually holds it out before him. â€Å"I didn't quite catch all of that. What did you say?† His only response a bleak glance, Wendell snatches the camera from Beezer's hand. When the two state cops finally step forward, Jack feels a mixture of disappointment and relief. What they are going to do is obvious, so let them do it. Perry Brown and Jeff Black will take the Fisherman case away from Dale and run their own investigation. From now on, Dale will be lucky to get random scraps from the state's table. Jack's greatest regret is that Brown and Black should have walked into this madhouse, this circus. They have been waiting for their moment all along in a sense, waiting for the local guy to prove his incompetence but what is going on now is a public humiliation for Dale, and Jack wishes it weren't happening. He could not have imagined feeling grateful for the arrival of a biker gang at a crime scene, but that's how bad it is. Beezer St. Pierre and his companions kept the crowd away more efficiently than Dale's officers. The question is, how did all those people find out? Apart from the damage to Dale's reputation and self-esteem, however, Jack has few regrets about the case passing to another jurisdiction. Let Brown and Black scour every basement in French County: Jack has the feeling they won't get any further than the Fisherman permits. To go further, he thinks, you'd have to travel in directions Brown and Black could never understand, visit places they are certain do not exist. Going further means making friends with opopanax, and men like Brown and Black distrust anything that even smells like opopanax. Which means that, in spite of everything Jack has said to himself since the murder of Amy St. Pierre, he will have to catch the Fisherman by himself. Or maybe not entirely by himself. Dale is going to have a lot more time on his hands, after all, and no matter what the State Police do to him, Dale is too wrapped up in this case to walk away from it. â€Å"Chief Gilbertson,† says Perry Brown, â€Å"I believe we have seen enough here. Is this what you call securing an area?† Dale gives up on Teddy Runkleman and turns in frustration to the state cops, who stand side by side, like storm troopers. In his expression, Jack can see that he knows exactly what is going to happen, and that he hopes it will not be humiliatingly brutal. â€Å"I did everything in my power to make this area secure,† Dale says. â€Å"After the 911 call came in, I talked to my men face to face and ordered them to come out in pairs at reasonable intervals, to keep from arousing any curiosity.† â€Å"Chief, you must have used your radio,† says Jeff Black. â€Å"Because for sure somebody was tuned in.† â€Å"I did not use the radio,† Dale says. â€Å"And my people knew better than to spread the news. But you know what, Officer Black? If the Fisherman called us on 911, maybe he also made a couple of anonymous calls to the citizens.† Teddy Runkleman has been attending to this discussion like a spectator at a tennis final. Perry Brown says, â€Å"Let's handle first things first. What do you intend to do with this man and his friends? Are you going to charge them? The sight of his face is getting on my nerves.† Dale thinks for a moment, then says, â€Å"I'm not going to charge them. Get out of here, Runkleman.† Teddy moves backward, and Dale says, â€Å"Hold it for a second. How did you get here?† â€Å"The back road,† Teddy says. â€Å"Comes straight down from behind Goltz's. Thunder Five came the same way. So did that big-shot reporter, Mr. Green.† â€Å"Wendell Green is here?† Teddy points to the side of the ruin. Dale glances over his shoulder, and Jack looks in the same direction and witnesses Beezer St. Pierre ripping film from the back of a camera while Wendell Green watches in dismay. â€Å"One more question,† Dale says. â€Å"How did you learn that the Fre-neau girl's body was out here?† â€Å"They was five or six bodies up at Ed's, is what I heard. My brother Erland called up and told me. He heard it from his girlfriend.† â€Å"Go on, get out of here,† Dale says, and Teddy Runkleman ambles away as if he has been awarded a medal for good citizenship. â€Å"All right,† Perry Brown says. â€Å"Chief Gilbertson, you have reached the end of your leash. As of now, this investigation is to be conducted by Lieutenant Black and myself. I'll want a copy of the 911 tape and copies of all notes and statements taken by you and your officers. Your role is to be entirely subordinate to the state's investigation, and to cooperate fully when called upon. You will be given updates at the discretion of Lieutenant Black and myself. â€Å"If you ask me, Chief Gilbertson, you are getting far more than you deserve. I have never seen a more disorganized crime scene. You violated the security of this site to an unbelievable degree. How many of you walked into the . . . the structure?† â€Å"Three,† Dale says. â€Å"Myself, Officer Dulac, and Lieutenant Sawyer.† â€Å"Lieutenant Sawyer,† Brown says. â€Å"Excuse me, has Lieutenant Sawyer rejoined the LAPD? Has he become an official member of your department? And if not, why did you give him access to that structure? In fact, what is Mr. Sawyer doing here in the first place?† â€Å"He's cleared more homicide cases than you and me ever will, no matter how long we live.† Brown gives Jack an evil glance, and Jeff Black stares straight ahead. Beyond the two state cops, Arnold Hrabowski also glances at Jack Sawyer, though not at all the way Perry Brown did. Arnold's expression is that of a man who deeply wishes to be invisible, and when he finds Jack's eye on him, he quickly glances sideways and shifts on his feet. Oh, Jack thinks. Of course, the Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Hungarian, there you go. Perry Brown asks Dale what Mr. St. Pierre and his friends are doing on the scene, and Dale replies that they are assisting with crowd control. Did Dale advise Mr. St. Pierre that in exchange for this service he would be kept up-to-date on the investigation? It was something like that, yes. Jack steps back and begins to move sideways along a gentle arc that will bring him to Arnold Hrabowski. â€Å"Incredible,† says Brown. â€Å"Tell me, Chief Gilbertson, did you decide to delay a little bit before passing the news on to Lieutenant Black and myself ?† â€Å"I did everything according to procedure,† Dale says. In answer to the next question he says that yes, he has called for the medical examiner and the evidence wagon, which, by the way, he can see coming up the lane right now. The Mad Hungarian's efforts at self-control succeed only in making him look as though he urgently needs to urinate. When Jack places a hand on his shoulder, he stiffens like a cigar-store Indian. â€Å"Calm down, Arnold,† Jack says, then raises his voice. â€Å"Lieutenant Black, if you're taking over this case, there's some information you should have.† Brown and Black turn their attention to him. â€Å"The man who made the 911 call used the pay phone at the 7-Eleven store on Highway 35 in French Landing. Dale had the phone taped off, and the owner knows to keep people from handling it. You might get some useful prints from that phone.† Black scribbles something in his notebook, and Brown says, â€Å"Gentlemen, I think your role is finished here. Chief, use your people to disperse those individuals at the bottom of the lane. By the time the M.E. and I come out of that structure, I don't want to see a single person down there, including you and your officers. You'll get a call later in the week, if I have any new information.† Wordlessly, Dale turns away and points Bobby Dulac down the path, where the crowd has dwindled to a few stubborn souls leaning against their cars. Brown and Black shake hands with the medical examiner and confer with the specialists in charge of the evidence wagon. â€Å"Now, Arnold,† Jack says, â€Å"you like being a cop, don't you?† â€Å"Me? I love being a cop.† Arnold cannot quite force himself to meet Jack's eyes. â€Å"And I could be a good one, I know I could, but the chief doesn't have enough faith in me.† He thrusts his trembling hands into his pants pockets. Jack is torn between feeling pity for this pathetic wanna-be and the impulse to kick him all the way down to the end of the lane. A good cop? Arnold couldn't even be a good scoutmaster. Thanks to him, Dale Gilbertson got a public dressing-down that probably made him feel as though he'd been put in the stocks. â€Å"But you didn't follow orders, did you, Arnold?† Arnold quivers like a tree struck by lightning. â€Å"What? I didn't do anything.† â€Å"You told someone. Maybe you told a couple of people.† â€Å"No!† Arnold shakes his head violently. â€Å"I just called my wife, that's all.† He looks imploringly at Jack. â€Å"The Fisherman talked to me, he told me where he put the girl's body, and I wanted Paula to know. Honest, Holl Lieutenant Sawyer, I didn't think she'd call anybody, I just wanted to tell her.† â€Å"Bad move, Arnold,† Jack says. â€Å"You are going to tell the chief what you did, and you're going to do it right now. Because Dale deserves to know what went wrong, and he shouldn't have to blame himself. You like Dale, don't you?† â€Å"The chief ?† Arnold's voice wobbles with respect for his chief. â€Å"Sure I do. He's, he's . . . he's great. But isn't he going to fire me?† â€Å"That's up to him, Arnold,† Jack says. â€Å"If you ask me, you deserve it, but maybe you'll get lucky.† The Mad Hungarian shuffles off toward Dale. Jack watches their conversation for a second, then walks past them to the side of the old store, where Beezer St. Pierre and Wendell Green face each other in unhappy silence. â€Å"Hello, Mr. St. Pierre,† he says. â€Å"And hello to you, Wendell.† â€Å"I'm lodging a complaint,† Green says. â€Å"I'm covering the biggest story of my life, and this lout spoils a whole roll of film. You can't treat the press that way; we have a right to photograph whatever the hell we like.† â€Å"I guess you woulda said you had a right to photograph my daughter's dead body, too.† Beezer glares at Jack. â€Å"This piece of shit paid Teddy and the other lunkheads to go nuts so nobody would notice him sneaking inside there. He took pictures of the girl.† Wendell jabs a finger at Jack's chest. â€Å"He has no proof of that. But I'll tell you something, Sawyer. I did get pictures of you. You were concealing evidence in the back of your truck, and I got you dead to rights. So think twice before you try to mess with me, because I'll hang you out to dry.† A dangerous red mist seems to fill Jack's head. â€Å"Were you going to sell photographs of that girl's body?† â€Å"What's it to you?† An ugly smirk widens Wendell Green's mouth. â€Å"You're not exactly lily-white either, are you? Maybe we can do each other some good, huh?† The red mist darkens and fills Jack's eyes. â€Å"We can do each other some good?† Standing beside Jack, Beezer St. Pierre clenches and unclenches his enormous fists. Beezer, Jack knows, catches his tone perfectly, but the vision of dollar signs has so gripped Wendell Green that he hears Jack's threat as a straightforward question. â€Å"You let me reload my camera and get the pictures I need, and I keep quiet about you.† Beezer lowers his head and balls his hands again. â€Å"Tell you what. I'm a generous guy maybe I could even cut you in, say ten percent of my total.† Jack would prefer to break his nose, but he contents himself with a hard punch to the reporter's stomach. Green clutches his gut and folds in half, then falls to the ground. His face has turned a hectic pink, and he struggles for breath. His eyes register shock and disbelief. â€Å"See, I'm a generous guy, too, Wendell. I probably saved you thousands of dollars in dental work, plus a broken jaw.† â€Å"Don't forget the plastic surgery,† says Beezer, grinding a fist into the palm of the other hand. He looks as if someone just stole his favorite dessert off the dinner table. Wendell's face has become a reddish shade of purple. â€Å"For your information, Wendell, no matter what you think you saw, I am not concealing evidence. If anything I am revealing it, though I hardly expect you to understand.† Green manages to wheeze in something like a cubic inch of air. â€Å"When your wind starts to come back, get out of here. Crawl, if you have to. Go back to your car and drive away. And for God's sake, make it snappy, or our friend here is likely to put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life.† Slowly, Wendell Green gets to his knees, takes another noisy sip of oxygen, and levers himself semi-upright. He waggles one open hand at them, but his meaning is unclear. He could be telling Beezer and Jack to stay away from him, or that he will trouble them no further, or both. His trunk tilted over his belt, his hands pressed to his stomach, Green stumbles around the side of the building. â€Å"I guess I oughta thank you,† Beezer says. â€Å"You let me keep my promise to my old lady. But I have to say, Wendell Green is one guy I'd really like to deconstruct.† â€Å"Man,† Jack says, â€Å"I wasn't sure if I could get in before you did.† â€Å"It's true, my restraint was crumbling.† Both men smile. â€Å"Beezer St. Pierre,† Beezer says, and sticks out a hand. â€Å"Jack Sawyer.† Jack takes his hand and experiences no more than a second of pain. â€Å"Are you gonna let the state guys do all the work, or will you keep going on your own?† â€Å"What do you think?† Jack says. â€Å"If you ever need any help, or you want reinforcements, all you have to do is ask. Because I do want to get this son of a bitch, and I figure you have a better chance of finding him than anyone else.† On the drive back to Norway Valley, Henry says, â€Å"Oh, Wendell took a picture of the body, all right. When you came out of the building and went to your truck, I heard someone take a couple of pictures, but I thought it might have been Dale. Then I heard it again when you and Dale were inside with Bobby Dulac, and I realized someone was taking a picture of me! Well, now, I say to myself, this must be Mr. Wendell Green, and I told him to come out from behind the wall. That's when those people charged out, yelling and screaming. As soon as that happened, I heard Mr. Green trot around from the side, go into the building, and shoot a few pictures. Then he sneaked out and stood by the side of the building, which is where your friend Beezer caught up with him and took care of things. Beezer is a remarkable fellow, isn't he?† â€Å"Henry, were you going to tell me about this?† â€Å"Of course, but you were running around all over the place, and I knew Wendell Green wasn't going to leave until he was thrown out. I'll never read another word he writes. Never.† â€Å"Same here,† Jack says. â€Å"But you're not giving up on the Fisherman, are you? In spite of what that pompous state cop said.† â€Å"I can't give up now. To tell you the truth, I think those waking dreams I mentioned yesterday were connected to this case.† â€Å"Ivey-divey. Now, let's get back to Beezer. Didn't I hear him say he wanted to ‘deconstruct' Wendell?† â€Å"Yeah, I think so.† â€Å"He must be a fascinating man. I gather from my nephew that the Thunder Five spends Saturday afternoons and evenings in the Sand Bar. Next week, maybe I'll start up Rhoda's old car and drive to Centralia, have a few beers and a nice gab with Mr. St. Pierre. I'm sure he has interesting taste in music.† â€Å"You want to drive to Centralia?† Jack stares at Henry, whose only concession to the absurdity of this suggestion is a little smile. â€Å"Blind people can drive perfectly well,† Henry says. â€Å"Probably, they can drive better than most sighted people. Ray Charles can, anyhow.† â€Å"Come on, Henry. Why would you think Ray Charles can drive a car?† â€Å"Why, you ask? Because one night in Seattle, this was, oh, forty years ago, back when I had a gig at KIRO, Ray took me out for a spin. Smooth as Lady Godiva's backside. No trouble at all. We stuck to the side roads, of course, but Ray got up to fifty-five, I'm pretty sure.† â€Å"Assuming this really happened, weren't you scared?† â€Å"Scared? Of course not. I was his navigator. I certainly don't think I'd have a problem navigating to Centralia along this sleepy stretch of back-country highway. The only reason blind people don't drive is that other people won't let them. It's a power issue. They want us to stay marginalized. Beezer St. Pierre would understand perfectly.† â€Å"And here I was, thinking I was going to visit the madhouse this afternoon,† Jack says.