Recruitment and Selection Methods in Tesco

Recruitment and Selection Methods in Tesco Introduction: Recruitment and Selection Process is one of the basic HR Processes. Recruitment and Selection is very sensitive as many managers have a need to hire a new employee and this process is always under a strict monitoring from their side. Recruitment and selection are two most important functions of personnel management. Recruitment process can be done in many ways like internal or external, and it involves with many steps of recruitment policies like job advert, job application process, Evaluations, job description and, legislations and training. The primary purpose of recruitment and selection is to achieve ones desire end, appointing the right person to the right job. Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at an organization or firm. Selection refers to Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidates from those who apply for the job. It is a process of offering jobs to desired candidates. This report focuses on recruitment and selection of TESCO plc. The main objective of this report is to critically analyse the recruitment and selection method applied in relation to market environment 1.2 Tescos background: Business of the company Tesco sells daily necessary things like food and also non food items. It carries more than 23,000 items ranging from cloths, stationary, groceries, wine, entertainment digital appliances, finance insurance, books, patrol gas, pharmacy, phone broadband. History of the company Tesco was founded by Jack Cohen, who sold groceries in the markets of the London East End from 1919. The Tesco brand first appeared in 1924. After Jack Cohen bought a large shipment of tea from T.E. Stockwell, he made new labels by using the first three letters of the suppliers name and the first two letters of his surname forming the word TESCO. The Global Oneness Commitment (2009) Business growth of Tesco: The two diagrams shows the growth of Tesco in the last five years Performance over last 5 years ÂÂ   2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Sales 37,070 43,137 46,611 51,773 56,563 Sales in o/s stores 7,559 10,480 11,031 13,824 14,994 No. Of stores 2,365 2,711 3,263 3,989 4811 No. Of o/s stores 586 814 1,275 1,614 2,013 Floor space 51,771 58,720 68,189 75,959 83,459 Floor space-O/S stores 27,580 32,817 40,404 46,410 52,470 Growth rate of the performance ÂÂ   2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Sales 10.47% 16.37% 8.05% 11.07% 12.57% Sales in o/s stores 13.14% 38.64% 5.26% 25.32% 18.42% No. Of stores 2.03% 14.63% 20.36% 14.28% 16.38% No. Of o/s stores 32.88% 38.91% 56.63% 26.59% 36.59% Floor space 14.03% 13.42% 16.13% 11.39% 11.59% Floor space-O/S stores 24.73% 18.99% 23.12% 14.86% 21.66% Source: Tescos Annual report and financial statement 2008 The business locations of the of Tesco Tesco operates in 14 different markets/countries through 4,811 stores all around the world with 468,508 staff work there. In the UK it has 2,282 stores and 286,394stuff work there. The details of UK stores are as follows: Table 1 Tescos store size in UK. UK Extra (average size 71,310 sq feet) 190 (Regular) Tesco (average size 29,984 sq feet) 10 Metro (average size 11,638 sq feet) 181 Express(average size 2,211 sq feet) 1130 Home Plus (average size 40,800 sq feet) 13 One Stop (average size 1,357 sq feet) 513 Table 2: Tescos stores outside the UK are as follows: Country Stores 2 USA 115 3 Czech Republic 113 4 France 1 5 China 79 6 Hungary 7 Japan 144 8 Malaysia 36 9 Poland 319 10 Republic of Ireland 116 11 Slovakia 70 12 South Korea 347 13 Thailand 609 14 Turkey 99 1.3 Objectives 1. To critically evaluate the current recruitment and selection approaches of Tesco plc. 2. To critically examine an alternative recruitment route that other companies are applying. 3. To draw conclusions about the room for improvement in Tesco recruitment and selection approach. 2. Literature review: Recruitment can be defined as a set of activities and practices used for the primary purpose of legally identifying sufficient numbers and quality of people fitting for a given purpose. It is carried out to provide an organisation with a pool of qualified potential individuals from which judicious selection for the most appropriate applicants can be made for filling vacancies in the organisation. A review of the HRM literature indicates that recruitment and selection are regarded as integrated activities and where recruitment stops and selection begins is a questionable point (Beardwell et al., 2004). Nevertheless, for the purpose of this work it is useful to differentiate between the two activities. As defined above, numerous authors (Whitehill, 1991: Roberts, 2008; McCormack and Scholarios, 2009) describe recruitment as a process of building a pool of potentially qualified applicants. Whereas selection is seen as a set of activities concerned with predicting which applicants will make the most appropriate contribution to the organisation in view of the present and future human resource requirements (Beardwell et al., 2004: McCormack and Scholarios, 2009). The recruitment and selection process refers some critical points. These are its very sensible process to change the internal organization of the company and to change on the external job market The recruitment and selection process meet with the some criteria, these are Process should be easy to realize the target people and audience of the recruitment and selection process. This process is not for the HRM organizations staff/employee, This process created only for the organization/companys manager, Manager are the main client for the recruitment and selection process. Despite recruitment and selection being considered as integrated activities unfortunately human resources literature discussions tend to neglect recruitment and place greater emphasis on selection. In view of this (McCormack and Scholarios, 2009) comment that the more effective an organisation is at identifying and attracting a high quality profile of job applicants, the less important the selection stage of hiring becomes. Therefore it can be suggested that an effective and agile recruitment strategy is the most fundamental human resource function and if managed well can have a significant impact on organisational performance and is critical to developing a more agile competitive edge (Pilbeam and Corbridge, 2006: Evans et al, 2007). As the contemporary business environment become increasingly competitive and labour markets continue to grow more diverse, organisations need to be more proactive in their resourcing strategies. Evans et al., (2007) and Richardson, (2008) argue that ineffective recruitment approaches can result in long-term negative effects, among them high training and development costs in efforts to minimise the incidence of poor performance and high turnover which in turn, impact on staff morale, the provision of high quality goods and services and the retention of organisational memory. Richardson, (2008) goes further to argue that at worst, the organisation can fail to achieve its objectives thereby losing its competitive edge and market share. However, it is important to consider that the process of implementing an effective and successful recruitment approach could bring along with it other costs related to the perceptions and attitudes of the people involved in this change. 3.1 Research methodology: 3.1.1. Sources of Information Primary Data: The primary data was collected by questionnaire survey. I prepared a questionnaire and asked the related person to fill it up. Secondary Data: I did browse the companys website to gather information. I also used the internet service to send the questionnaire. This report is the result of the collaboration of the members in the group and both primary and secondary information have been used. 3.1.2. Research Approach The face to face survey of the HR Department of Tesco, Sainsbury etc helped me to collect the data. This survey research approach has helped me to get a better understanding of their situation and problems. A questionnaire was prepared with questions that helped on providing information about their selection and recruitment process. 3.1.3. Research Instrument 3.1.3.1. Questionnaire I prepared a questionnaire with set of 8-10 questions related to the topic and asked the HR Mangers and employees of Tesco Sainsbury etc. Close End and open end: The questionnaire contains the MCQ type questions and also there were some options to write freely. I also used the checklist method of questionnaire (Yes/No). 3.1.3.2. Mechanical Tools Instrument like paper and pen were used for the questionnaire and for noting down notes. Computer, pen-drive, and printer were used for typing and printing the report. Analysis and evaluation: Primary analysis: I have done my primary analysis on 50 Tesco employees using a survey questionnaire (see appendix). From my primary analysis i have found out 60% of the employees think internet and job centre are the medium of advertisement.30 % think internet and store advertisement are the best way of job advertisement. Only 10 % think newspaper and job centre are the most popular medium of advertisement. 80% of the employees are happy about Tesco recruitment and selection process. But 40% of the employees think Sainsburys recruitment and selection process are better than Tescos to some extent. Many of the employees opinion was Sainsburys uses smarter recruitment and selection process than to Tesco. Namely their situation based test, using of video to identify skills and the mathematical test for identify numeric skills. From the survey I have also found out most of the employees think Tesco should make applications form available both online and offline. Those who have access to the internet can apply online and for those who do not, can collect a form from Tescos customer services, complete it and send it off by post or hand it in personally to customer services. This in turn could be given to the department which consists of this job and then be examined. Also Tesco should place more interviewers so that more applicants can be interviewed and so shortlisted applicants can be dealt with in a shorter period of time. Tesco should assess applicants during the interview as it would save time as both can be dealt with straight away/ at the same time. Secondary analysis: I have done my secondary research by reading through books, websites, magazines and newspaper. The findings are discussed below. Recruitment involves attracting the right standard of applicants to apply for vacancies. Tesco advertises jobs in different ways. The process varies depending on the job available. Tesco first looks at its internal Talent Plan to fill a vacancy. This is a process that lists current employees looking for a move, either at the same level or on promotion. If there are no suitable people in this Talent Plan or developing on the internal management development programme, Options, Tesco advertises the post internally on its intranet for two weeks. For external recruitment, Tesco advertises vacancies via the Tesco website www.tesco-careers.com or through vacancy boards in stores. Applications are made online for managerial positions. The chosen applicants have an interview followed by attendance at an assessment centre for the final stage of the selection process. Selection involves choosing the most suitable people from those that apply for a vacancy, whilst keeping to employment laws and regulations. Screening candidates is a very important part of the selection process. This ensures that those selected for interview have the best fit with the job requirements. In the first stages of screening, Tesco selectors will look carefully at each applicants curriculum vitae (CV). The CV summarises the candidates education and job history to date. A well-written and positive CV helps Tesco to assess whether an applicant matches the person specification for the job. The company also provides a job type match tool on its careers web page. People interested in working for Tesco can see where they might fit in before applying. The process Tesco uses to select external management candidates has several stages. A candidate who passes screening attends an assessment centre. The assessment centres take place in store and are run by managers. They help to provide consistency in the selection process. Applicants are given various exercises, including team-working activities or problemsolving exercises. These involve examples of problems they might have to deal with at work. On the other hand, Sainsbury has a bit different recruitment and selection process. After succeeding on online test Sainsbury takes first interview. Here HR manager call the candidates into a room individually to answer a few questions. These are just to make sure that whether the candidates have their passport, are the correct age for the job (as stipulated when they applied) and are being interviewed for the job they actually applied for apparently HR have a habit of messing that bit up. After this, all the interviewees will be sat in a room for the second recruitment test. The second test is split into four sections and given using a video. It usually takes around one hour to complete, and is quite simple. The first sectionÂÂ  is on customer service and is very similar to the other test that the candidates sat online. Again, they are given a situation that is in video format and are asked to identify the best and worst responses out of a selection of four. The second sectio nÂÂ  is on attention to detail. Candidates will be shown video clips, and will be asked to identify two things wrong with these video clips. The third sectionÂÂ  is on mathematics. The final sectionÂÂ  is all about candidates. It is the only part of the test not done by video, and comprises a series of statements with which candidates have to agree or disagree. Finally, 2nd interview comes up where candidates have to sit for face to face interview. Finally I can say that from the research it is clear that in some of cases Sainsbury has better system in recruitment and selection process. Tesco need to apply those systems in compare to other relative supermarket. If they put proper recruitment and selection technique then it will be easier than before. They can apply some techniques like video clips, mathematical terms etc. It will help Tesco to improve their recruitment process. Conclusion: Tesco PLC has an effective Recruitment and Selection however there are advantages and disadvantages which need to be considered. Advertising jobs online has its advantages as its cheaper than having it printed in newspapers for example and can be changed if required. However there are a few disadvantages. Some people may not have access to the Internet making it difficult to view the advertisement for the particular job. Some may have problems in using the Internet or not know how to use it and some may not have a computer in which case they would not even be able to access the Internet.. Tesco should make sure they know what is required of the job before shortlisting is taken place as applicant who may have the requirements may not be part of the applicants who are shortlisted or the opposite. Tesco should place more interviewers so that more applicants can be interviewed and so shortlisted applicants can be dealt with in a shorter period of time. Tesco should assess applicants duri ng the interview as it would save time as both can be dealt with straight away/ at the same time. Thus meaning Tesco should carry. References and bibliography: 1.Richardson, A. M, (2009) Recruitment Strategies: Managing/effecting the recruitment process [Online] available from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/UN/UNPAN021814.pdf [Accessed 4-0ct- 2010] 2. McCormack, A. and Scholarios, D. (2009) Recruitment, chapter 3 in Redman, T and Wilkinson, A, (2009) Contemporary Human Resource Management 3rd Edition, London: Financial Times Prentice Hall 3. UCL, (2008) Human resources-Recruitment and selection policy [Online] Available from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/docs/recruitment.php [Accessed 22 Oct- 2010] 4. Pilbeam, S. and M. Corbridge (2006) People Resourcing. Contemporary HRM in Practice, London: Prentice Hall. Volume 17(4), pp.567-582. 5. TESCO-CARRERS, (2009)The application process-Tesco careers [Online] available from : http://www.tesco-careers.com/home/recruitment [Accessed 25-Oct- 2010] 6. SAINSBURYS, (2010) Careers at Sainsbury.[Online] available from http://www2.sainsburys.co.uk/aboutus/recruitment/careers_new.htm[Accessed 25-Oct- 2010]. 7. COURSEWORK, (2010) Tesco PLC has an effective Recruitment and Selection however the are advantages and disadvantages which need to be considered. .[Online] available from http://www.coursework.info/AS_and_A_Level/Media_Studies/Internet/Tesco_PLC_has_an_effective_Recruitment_a_L126195.html[Accessed 30-Oct- 2010] 8. Iles, P.A. and Robertson, I.T. (1997), The impact of personnel selection procedures on candidates, in Anderson, N. and Herriot, P. (Eds), International Handbook of Selection and Assessment, Wiley, Chichester, pp. 543-66 9. Anderson, N., Born, M. and Cunningham-Snell, N. (2001a), Recruitment and selection: applicant perspectives and outcomes, in Anderson, N., Ones, D., Sinangil, H.K. and Viswesvaran, C. (Eds), Handbook of Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 1, Sage, London and New York, NY, pp. 200-18 10. Beardwell, I. Holden,L. and Claydon (2004) Human resource management; A contemporary approach. 4th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education 11. Gililand,S.W.(1993) The perceived fairness of selection system: an organisational justice perspective, Academy of management review, 18: 694-734.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 19~20

Nineteen All You Need to Know About That Intimacies, what happens between two people in private (or one person and a Sea Beast in a pasture), are not the business of anyone but the parties involved. Still, for the sake of the voyeur in us all, a tidbit or two to satisfy curiosity†¦ Molly tried, made a valiant effort in fact, but even for a woman of such fine physical conditioning, the task was too great. She did, however, manage to locate near the shed a gas-powered weed-whacker (which the late drug chefs used to clear flammables from the area) and with firm but gentle application of that rude machine, and a little coaxing, was able to bring Steve to that state the French inscrutably call â€Å"the little death.† And soon after, what at first seemed an insurmountable obstacle, the size difference, was turned to advantage, allowing Molly to join Steve in that place of peace and pleasure. How? Imagine a slow slide down a long, slippery bannister of a tongue, each taste bud a tease and tingle in just the right place, and you can understand how Molly ended up a satisfied puddle snuggled in that spot between his neck and shoulder that women so love. (Except in Steve's case, it didn't make his arm go to sleep.) Yes, there was a bit of the awkwardness that comes with the unfamiliarity and exploration of new lovers, and Theo's Volvo was soundly smashed before Steve realized that rolling around on the ground was an inappropriate way to display his enthusiasm, but a boxy Swedish automobile is a small price to pay for passion in the great scheme of things. And that is all you need to know about that. Twenty Theo Over the years, Theo had learned to forgive himself for having inappropriate thoughts at inappropriate times (imagining the widow naked at the funeral, rooting for a high death toll in Third World earthquakes, wondering whether white slavers provided in-house financing), but it worried him more than somewhat that, while hand-cuffed to a chair, waiting for his executioner, he was thinking about getting laid instead of escaping or making amends with his creator. Sure, he'd tried to get away, managing to do little more than tip the chair over and give himself a bug's-eye view of the dirt floor, but shortly after that, when the voices outside had stopped, he was overtaken with thoughts of women he'd had and women he hadn't, including an erotic mental montage of the erstwhile actress and resident Crazy Lady, Molly Michon. So it was embarrassment as much as relief that he felt when, after the sound of a weed-whacker and the crashing of metal, Molly popped her head into the shed. â€Å"Hi, Theo,† she said. â€Å"Molly, what are you doing here?† â€Å"Out for a walk.† She didn't come in, just craned her head around the corner. â€Å"You've got to get away from here, Molly. There's some very dangerous guys around here.† â€Å"Not a problem. You don't want any help then?† â€Å"Yes, go get help. But get away from here. There's guys with guns.† â€Å"I mean, you don't want me to uncuff you or anything?† â€Å"There's no time.† â€Å"There's plenty of time. Where are the keys?† â€Å"On my key ring. In the ignition of my car.† â€Å"Okay. Be right back.† And she was gone. Theo heard some pounding and what sounded like safety glass being shattered. In a second Molly was back in the doorway. She tossed the keys on the floor near his head. â€Å"Can you get to those?† â€Å"Can you unlock me?† â€Å"Uh, I'd rather not right now. But you'll be able to get to those eventually, won't you?† â€Å"Molly!† â€Å"Yes or no?† â€Å"Sure, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Okay. See ya, Theo. Sorry about your car.† And again she was gone. As he scrambled in the dirt to get to the keys, he was still troubled about the unwarranted wave of horniness that had overtaken him. Could it have been set off by the handcuffs? Maybe he'd been into bondage all these years and never even knew it. Although when he'd been arrested right before Sheriff Burton had blackmailed him into becoming constable, he'd spent almost two hours in handcuffs and he didn't remember it being an espe-cially erotic experience. Maybe it was the death threat. Was he turned on by the thought of being shot? Man, I am a sick individual, he thought. In ten minutes he was free of both the handcuffs and the dogging thoughts of sex and death. Molly, Joseph Leander, and the house trailer were gone, and he stood before the ruins of his Volvo with an entirely new set of questions nagging him. The roof of the station wagon was now mashed down to level with the hood, three of the four tires were blown, and on the ground, all around the car, were the tracks of what had to be a very, very large animal. There were two trails that had matted down the grass leading away from the shed and over the hill. One, obviously, was the track of a person. The other was wider than the dirt road that led into the ranch. Theo dug into the Volvo for his gun and cell phone, having no idea what to do with either of them. There was no one to call – and certainly no one he wanted to shoot. Except maybe Sheriff John Burton. He searched the area, found Joseph Leander's gun, and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. The keys were still in the red four-wheeler, and after a minute of measuring the ethics of â€Å"borrowing† the truck against having been kid-napped, handcuffed, and almost killed, he climbed into the truck and took off across the pasture, following the double trail. Gabe Gabe and the rancher stood over the pulverized remains of the Holstein, waving flies away from their faces, while Skinner crouched a few yards away, his ears back, growling at the mess. The rancher pushed his Stetson back on his head and shuddered. â€Å"My people have been running dairy and beef cattle on this land for sixty years, and I ain't never heard or seen anything like it, Gabe.† His name was Jim Beer. He was fifty-five, going on seventy, leathery from too much sun and stress, and there was a note of the sad lonely under everything he said. He was tall and thin, but stood with the broken-backed slouch of a beaten man. His wife had left him years ago, driving off in her Mercedes to live in San Francisco and taking with her a note worth half the value of Jim Beer's thousand acres. His only son, who was to have taken the ranch over, was twenty-eight now and was busy getting thrown out of colleges and into rehabs all over the country. He lived alone in a fourteen-room house that rattled with emptiness and seemed to suck up the laughter of the ranch hands, who Jim fed in his enormous kitchen every morning. Jim was the last of his breed, and he would forever trace the beginning of his downfall to an affair he'd had with the witch who once lived in Theo's cabin at the edge of the ranch. Cursed he was, or so he believed. If the witch hadn't run off ten years ago with the owner of the general store, he would have been sure the mutilated cattle was her doing. Gabe shook his head. â€Å"I have no idea, Jim. I can take some samples and have some test run, but I don't even know what we are looking at here.† â€Å"You think it was kids? Vandals?† â€Å"Kids tip cows over, Jim. These look like they've been dropped from thirty thousand feet.† Gabe knew what appeared to have happened, but he wasn't willing to admit it. There wasn't a creature alive that could have done this. There had to be another explanation. â€Å"So you're saying aliens?† â€Å"No, I am definitely not saying aliens. I'm not saying aliens.† â€Å"Something was here. Look at the tracks. Satanic cult?† â€Å"Damn it, Jim, unless you want to be on the cover of Crackpot Weekly, don't talk that way. I can't tell you what did this, but I can tell you what didn't. This was not aliens, or Satanists, or Bigfoot on a binge. I can take some samples and run some tests and then maybe, maybe, I can tell you what did this, but in the meantime, you should call the state ag guys and get them out here.† â€Å"I can't do that, Gabe.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"I can't have strangers running around on my land. I don't want this gettin' out. That's why I called you.† â€Å"What's that?† Gabe held up a finger to hold his place in the conversation, then looked to the hills: the sound of an engine. In a second a red four-wheel-drive pickup appeared on the hill headed toward them. â€Å"You'd better go,† Jim Beer said. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"You'd just better. Nobody's supposed to be on this side of the ranch but me. You need to go.† â€Å"This is your land?† â€Å"Let's jump in your truck, son. We need to go.† Gabe squinted to get a better look at the truck, then waved. â€Å"That's Theo Crowe,† he said. â€Å"What's he doing in that thing?† â€Å"Oh shit,† Jim Beer said. Theo pulled the truck up next to Gabe's, skidded to a stop, and crawled out. To Gabe, the constable looked pissed off, but he couldn't be sure, having never seen the expression on Theo before. â€Å"Afternoon, Gabe, Jim.† Jim Beer looked at his boots. â€Å"Constable.† Gabe noticed that Theo had two pistols stuck in his jeans and was half-covered with dust. â€Å"Hi, Theo. Nice truck. Jim called me out to take a look†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I know what that is,† Theo said, tossing his head toward the mashed cow. â€Å"At least I think I do.† He strode up to Jim Beer, who seemed to be trying to sink into a hole in his own chest. â€Å"Jim, you got a crank lab back there turning out enough product to hype all of Los Angeles. You wanna tell me about it?† The life seemed to drain out of Jim Beer and he fell to the ground in a splay-legged sit. Gabe caught his arm to keep him from cracking his tailbone. Beer didn't look up. â€Å"My wife took a note for half the ranch when she left. She called it in. Where else was I going to get three million dollars?† Gabe looked from Jim to Theo as if to say, â€Å"What the hell?† â€Å"I'll explain later, Gabe. I have something I have to show you anyway.† Theo pushed Jim Beer's Stetson back so he could see the rancher's face. â€Å"So Burton gave you the money so he could use your land for the lab.† â€Å"Sheriff Burton?† Gabe asked, totally confused now. â€Å"Shut up, Gabe,† Theo snapped. â€Å"Not all of the money. Payments. Hell, what could I do? My grandfather started this ranch. I couldn't sell off half of it.† â€Å"So you went into drug dealing?† â€Å"I ain't never even seen this lab you're talking about. Neither have my hands. That part of the ranch is off-limits. Burton said he had you in the cabin to keep anyone from coming in the back gate. I just run my cattle and mind my own business. I never even asked Burton what he was doing out there.† â€Å"There million dollars! What the hell did you think he was doing? Raising rabbits?† Jim Beer didn't answer, he just stared at the ground between his legs. Gabe held his shoulder to steady him and looked to Theo. â€Å"Maybe finish this later, Theo?† Theo turned and walked in a tight circle, waving his hands in the air as if chasing away annoying spirits. â€Å"You okay?† Gabe asked. â€Å"What the fuck do I do now? What do I do? What am I supposed to do?† â€Å"Calm down?† Gabe ventured. â€Å"Fuck that! I got murders, drug manufacturing, some fucking giant animal of some kind, a whole town that's gone nuts, my car is mashed, and I have a crush on a crazy woman – I don't have the training for this! No one has the fucking training for this!† â€Å"So calming down isn't an option right now?† Gabe said. â€Å"I understand.† Theo interrupted his anxiety Tilt-A-Whirl and wheeled on Gabe. â€Å"And I haven't smoked any pot in a week, Gabe.† â€Å"Congratulations.† â€Å"It's made me insane. It's ruined my life.† â€Å"Come on, Theo, you never had a life.† Gabe immediately realized that perhaps he had chosen the wrong tack in consoling his friend. â€Å"Yeah, there's that.† Theo strode to the red truck and punched the fender. â€Å"Ouch! Goddamn it!† He turned to Gabe again. â€Å"And I think I just broke my hand.† â€Å"Mad cow disease worries me,† Jim Beer said from his stupor of defeat. â€Å"Shut up, Jim,† Gabe said. â€Å"Theo has a gun.† â€Å"Guns!† Theo shouted. â€Å"I stand corrected,† said Gabe. â€Å"You mentioned a giant animal?† Theo massaged his temples as if trying to squeeze out a coherent thought. After a few minutes, he walked to where Jim Beer was sitting and kneeled down in front of him. â€Å"Jim, I need you to pull it together for a second.† The rancher looked at Theo. Tears had traced the creases in his cheeks. â€Å"Jim, this never happened, okay? You haven't seen me and you haven't heard anything from this side of the ranch, okay? If Burton calls you, everything is standard operating procedure. You know nothing, you understand?† â€Å"No, I don't understand. Am I going to jail?† â€Å"I don't know that, Jim, but I do know that Burton finding out about this will only make it worse for every one. I need some time to figure some things out. If you help, I'll do my best to protect you, I promise.† â€Å"Okay.† Beer nodded. â€Å"I'll do what you say.† â€Å"Good, take Gabe's truck home. We'll pick it up in an hour or so.† Skinner watched all this with heightened interest, tentatively wagging his tail between Theo's tirades, hoping in his heart of hearts that he would get a ride in that big red truck. Even dogs harbor secret agendas. â€Å"Theo, these can't be real,† Gabe said, running his hand over a footprint nearly three feet across. â€Å"This is some sort of hoax. Although the depth of the claw impressions and the scuffing would indicate that whoever did this really knows something about how animals move.† Theo was fairly calm now, as if he had settled into the whole unreality of the situation. â€Å"And they know something about crushing a Volvo too. They're real, Gabe. I've seen a track like this before.† â€Å"Where?† â€Å"By the creek, the night the fuel truck blew up. I didn't want to believe it then either.† Gabe looked up from the track. â€Å"That's the night I had the mass exodus with my rats.† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"There's no way, Theo. That couldn't be what happened. A creature that could leave tracks like this would dwarf a T. Rex. There hasn't been anything this size on the planet for sixty million years.† â€Å"Not anything we know about. Look, Gabe, I followed the trail through the grass to the mutilated cows. I thought that was where they went, but evidently that's where they just came from.† â€Å"They? You think there's more than one?† â€Å"So you accept that this thing is real?† â€Å"No, Theo. I'm just asking what you think.† â€Å"I think that this thing was with Molly Michon.† Gabe laughed. â€Å"Theo, I think the withdrawal has you addled.† â€Å"I'm not joking. Molly was here right after I heard my car getting crunched. She gave me the keys to the handcuffs. When I came out, she was gone, and so were Joseph Leander and whoever he came here to see.† â€Å"So what do you think happened to them?† â€Å"The same thing that happened to those cows. Or something like it. The same thing that I think happened to the Plotznik kid. The last time anyone saw him was at the Fly Rod Trailer Court. That's where Molly lives.† Gabe stood and looked around at the pattern of tracks. â€Å"You haven't been into town today, have you, Theo?† â€Å"No, I've been busy.† â€Å"Les from the hardware store is missing. They found his truck behind the Head of the Slug, but there's no sign of him.† â€Å"We've got to go to Molly's, Gabe.† â€Å"We? Theo, I'm a biologist, not a cop. I say we try and track whatever this is. Skinner's a pretty good tracker. I'd bet we find an explanation that doesn't involve some sort of giant creature.† â€Å"I'm not a cop anymore either. And what if we track this thing and you're wrong, Gabe? Do you want to meet up with whatever did that to my car? Those cows?† â€Å"Well, yes, I do.† â€Å"We can do that later. It shouldn't be too hard. Whatever it is, it's pulling a house trailer.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"There was a trailer here when Leander took me into the shed. When I came out, it was gone.† Gabe checked his watch. â€Å"Have you eaten today? I'm not questioning you, but maybe you're having a hypoglycemic reaction or something. Let's go get some dinner and when your head clears, we can go by Molly Michon's.† â€Å"Right, I'm hallucinating from a bad case of the munchies.† Gabe grabbed his shoulder. â€Å"Theo, please. I have a date.† Theo nodded. â€Å"Molly's first. Then I'll go to dinner.† â€Å"Deal,† Gabe said, still staring at the tracks. â€Å"I want to come back here with some casting materials. Even if this is a hoax, I want a record of it.† Theo started for the truck and pulled up when he heard the sound of a cell phone ringing inside the shed. He walked into the shed, located the cell phone, and looked at the display for the number that was ringing in. It was Burton's private number. He drew his .357 Magnum and blew the phone into a thousand pieces. He walked out of the shed to find Gabe hiding behind the fender of the red truck and Skinner cowering in the bed. â€Å"What in the hell do you mean, you have a date?†

Mary Surratt Executed in Assassination of Lincoln

Mary Surratt, a boardinghouse operator, and tavern keeper, was the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government, convicted as a co-conspirator with Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, though she asserted her innocence. Biography Mary Surratts early life was hardly notable. Surratt was born on her familys tobacco farm near Waterloo, Maryland, in 1820 or 1823 (sources differ). Raised as an Episcopalian, she was educated for four years at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Virginia. Mary Surratt converted to Roman Catholicism while at the school. Marriage to John Surratt In 1840 she married John Surratt. He built a mill near Oxon Hill in Maryland, then bought land from his adopted father. The family lived for a time with Marys mother-in-law in the District of Columbia. In 1852, John built a home and tavern on a large plot of land hed purchased in Maryland. The tavern was eventually also used as a polling place and post office as well. Mary first refused to live there, staying at her in-laws old farm, but John sold it and the land hed bought from his father, and Mary and the children were forced to live at the tavern. In 1853, John bought a house in the District of Columbia, renting it out. The next year, he added a hotel to the tavern, and the area around the tavern was named Surrattsville. John bought other new businesses and more land and sent their three children to Roman Catholic boarding schools. The family owned a number of slaves, though some were sold to settle debts. Johns drinking worsened, and he accumulated debt. Civil War When the Civil War began in 1861, Maryland stayed in the Union, but the Surratts became known as sympathizers with the Confederacy. Their tavern was a favorite of Confederate spies. Did Mary Surratt know this? The answer is not known for certain. Both of the Surratt sons became part of the Confederacy, Isaac enlisting in the cavalry of the Confederate States Army, and John Jr. working as a courier. In 1862, John Surratt died suddenly of a stroke. John Jr. became postmaster and tried to get a job in the Department of War. In 1863, he was dismissed as postmaster for disloyalty. Newly a widow and saddled with debts her husband left her, Mary Surratt and her son John struggled to run the farm and tavern, while also facing investigation by federal agents for their possible Confederate activities. Mary Surratt rented the tavern to John M. Lloyd and moved in 1864 to the house in Washington, DC, where she ran a boardinghouse. Some authors have suggested that the move was meant to advance the familys Confederate activities. In January 1865, John Jr. transferred his ownership of the familys properties to his mother; some have read this as evidence he knew he was engaged in treasonous activity, as the law would permit the property of a traitor to be seized. Conspiracy In late 1864, John Surratt, Jr., and John Wilkes Booth were introduced by Dr. Samuel Mudd. Booth was seen at the boardinghouse frequently from that time. John Jr. was almost certainly recruited into the plot to kidnap President Lincoln. The conspirators hid ammunition and weapons at the Surratt Tavern in March 1865, and Mary Surratt traveled to the tavern on April 11 by carriage and again on April 14. April 1865 John Wilkes Booth, escaping after shooting the President at Fords Theater on April 14, stopped at Surratts tavern, run by John Lloyd. Three days later, District of Columbia police searched Surratts home and found a photograph of Booth, possibly on a tip associating Booth with John Jr. With that evidence and testimony of a servant overhearing mention of Booth and a theater, Mary Surratt was arrested along with all others in the house. While she was being arrested, Lewis Powell came to the house. He was later linked to the attempt to assassinate William Seward, Secretary of State. John Jr. was in New York, working as a Confederate courier when he heard of the assassination. He escaped to Canada to avoid arrest. Trial and Conviction Mary Surratt was held at the Old Capitol Prisons annex and then at the Washington Arsenal. She was brought before a military commission on May 9, 1865, charged with conspiracy to assassinate the president. Her lawyer was the United States Senator Reverdy Johnson. John Lloyd was also among those charged with conspiracy. Lloyd testified to Mary Surratts prior involvement, saying she had told him to have shooting-irons ready that night on her April 14 trip to the tavern. Lloyd and Louis Weichmann were the main witnesses against Surratt, and the defense challenged their testimony as they were also charged as conspirators. Other testimony showed Mary Surratt loyal to the Union, and the defense challenged the authority of a military tribunal to convict Surratt. Mary Surratt was quite ill during her incarceration and trial and missed the last four days of her trial for illness. At the time, the federal government and most states prevented felony defendants from testifying at their own trials, so Mary Surratt did not have an opportunity to take the stand and defend herself. Conviction and Execution Mary Surratt was found guilty on June 29 and 30 by the military court of most of the counts on which shed been indicted, sentenced to be executed, the first time that the United States federal government had subjected a woman to capital punishment. Many pleas were made for clemency, including by Mary Surratts daughter, Anna, and five of the nine judges of the military tribunal. President Andrew Johnson later claimed he had never seen the clemency request. Mary Surratt was executed by hanging, with three others convicted of being part of the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, in Washington, DC, on July 7, 1865, less than three months after the assassination. That night, the Surratt boardinghouse was attacked by a souvenir-seeking crowd; finally stopped by police. (The boardinghouse and tavern are today run as historical sites by the Surratt Society.) Mary Surratt was not turned over to the Surratt family until February of 1869, when Mary Surratt was reburied in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, DC. Mary Surratts son, John H. Surratt, Jr., was later tried as a conspirator in the assassination when he returned to the United States. The first trial ended with a hung jury and then the charges were dismissed because of the statute of limitations. John Jr. admitted publicly in 1870 to have been part of the kidnap plot which led to the assassination by Booth. More About Mary Surratt Also known as: Mary Elizabeth Jenkins SurrattReligion: raised Episcopalian, converted to Roman Catholicism at school Family Background: Mother: Elizabeth Anne Webster JenkinsFather: Archibald Jenkins, tobacco farmer, Maryland Marriage, Children: husband: John Harrison Surratt (married 1840, died 1862; tavernkeeper)children: three, including two sons involved in the ConfederacyIsaac (b. 1841)Elizabeth Susanna known as Anna (1843)John Jr. (1844)