Grain Journal - January/February 2008 - (Page 21)

Northern Star II FICTION SERIES – PART 19 Gil Maier and Curly Petersen have visited the site in an alleyway where Detective Sgt. Russ Engle was murdered. While leaving the site, they spot Howie Carr, Northern Star Cooperative’s merchandiser, and Ike Raynor, the sales representative for World Genetix, the supplier of apparently defective GMO test strips to the cooperative. Gil chases Howie down and catches up with him outside of Wrigley Field. “OK, start talking,” Gil said. “Let go of me first,” Howie croaked. “I’m not going anywhere. I thought you were a mugger, or maybe some sort of gay basher like the one that beat up Ike.” “Yeah, right,” Gil said. “You saw Curly and me across the street, and the two of you ran. Not expecting to see me in Chicago?” “Look, I can explain,” Howie said. “Then you’d better start.” Gil slowly let go of the merchandiser, ready to grab him again if it looked like he was going to try to run. Howie didn’t. “What are you doing in Chicago, and what are you doing with a World Genetix salesman?” “What did you think?” Howie said. “Ike and I have been close friends for years. We met at the University of Minnesota. Anyway, why should that be any business of yours? You’re my employer, but it’s Saturday, and I’m off the clock.” “I’m here because a friend of mine in Chicago is dead, murdered, and I think it’s not a coincidence that you’re in Chicago, too. I think you and Ike Raynor know something about this.” “I don’t know anything about any murders,” Howie said. “I’ll tell you something, though. There’s another reason I ran from you. I’ve been in Monrovia for nearly four years now, and I don’t have to tell you what it’s like. People are friendly to you, yeah, but behind all that, there’s a lot of bigotry. You found out about Marcus Grover.” Howie was referring back to the local high school football star, who was black and who was murdered after he started seeing Michelle Lofgren, six years ago now. “Yeah, there was some prejudice, I won’t deny that,” Gil said. “But as we all found out, Marcus wasn’t killed because he was black. He was killed by a jealous classmate who was after Michelle Lofgren for himself. “I also think you need to give the people of your town a little more credit than that. You have a good, responsible job, and as far as I can tell, you have a lot of respect around town and in the farming community.” “That’s because they don’t know about me,” Howie said. “If they found out about me and Ike, it would be all over. At best, no one would speak to me. I’d probably have to move somewhere else.” “Well, I can’t speak for Curly Petersen, but I personally don’t care who you choose to have a relationship with,” Gil said. “What I care about is Northern Star Farmers Cooperative and its financial well-being and the well-being of its members. And what I’m seeing is that you’re carrying on a relationship with a vendor who has delivered a shoddy product to our cooperative. What do you think would happen to us if we sold GMO-free corn to an end user somewhere and it turned out to be some biotech hybrid when it got to its destination? It could make the contents of every bin we own unsellable. We could lose millions, maybe even our warehouse license. Did you ever think about that?” Howie gave Gil a blank stare, and the manager got the feeling that the reaction was genuine. “I’ve been out for several days,” Howie said. “What’s going on with the test strips?” Gil briefly filled in what happened in Monrovia, how the sample test strips Ike had provided had failed to detect GMO material in tests at the elevator. “I wasn’t aware of any of this,” Howie said. “As far as I knew, Ike was on the up and up with the product.” “And you brought him to the elevator because of your relationship with him,” Gil said. “At the very least, that’s pretty questionable from a business ethics standpoint. Do you understand that?” “You do business with friends,” Howie remarked. “Yes, but they have to submit bids like anyone else, and they understand that. World Genetix isn’t the only company out there selling this type of product. Did you ever consider bringing anyone else in?” J/F GJ 21 http://www.grainnet.com/nsblog

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Grain Journal - January/February 2008

Grain Journal - January/February 2008 Contents GEAPS Exchange 2008 Omaha Entertainment 2008 NGFA Convention Great Lakes Regional Conference GEAPS What's New Northern Star II Fiction Series Western Iowa Cooperative, Washta, Mapleton, and Onawa, IA Cooperative Elevator Co., Akron, MI AgVantage FS, Chapin, IA Zeeland Farm Services, Inc., Zeeland, MI Meadowland Farmers Cooperatrive, Avoca, MN W.B. Johnston Grain Co., Enid, OK Pro Cooperative, Plover and Rolfe, IA Old-Time Elevator Old-Time Elevator Book Delux Mfg. Co. Brock Grain Systems Omaha Dining NGFA Interviews - Kendell Keith NGFA Interviews - Jess McCluer Low Linolenic Premiums 2008 Bin Rescue Workshops Bin Operation and Safety Manager Profiles Executive Search Grain Salvage Grain News Wooden Storage: Part Two The IT Crystal Ball Grain News Biotech News Distillers Grains Standards Daily Price Limits Grain Notes Saftey, Adam Schupp Security, Curtis Haugen AgVantage Software Grossman & Associates 2007 Crop Production Safety Insights, Lynn Larsen Stored Grain Management, Linda Mason U.S. Warehousing Agreement Corn/Soybean Merchandising, John Beurskens What Merchandising, Kyle Smith 2007 Annual Exchange Volume Futures Markets The Big Issues Contractors/Engineers/Millwrights Restoration Contractors Elevator Manager Short Course Executive Search Dust Suppression Grain Grading Scales Aeration Manlift Repair/Inspection Grain Temperature Systems NGFA Country Elevator Council Harvest International, Inc. Contractors/Engineers/Millwrights Industrial Scientific Corp. Temputech Incorporated Easy Energy Systems, Inc. Premier Components, Inc. Screw Conveyor Corp. KC Supply Co., Inc. The Aldon Co. Inc. BinMaster Level Controls Douglas Products and Packaging Probes Protectants Johnson System Inc. Van Sickle Allen & Associates Pneumatic Conveyors AgKnowlogy Inc. Restoration Contractors Raven Industries, Inc. NGFA Trade Rules Seminar Elevator Buckets Aeration Trends in Biofuels Automation Systems Belting Bin Cleaning Bin Sweeps Bucket Elevators Cleaners Obituaries O'Connor Named FGIS Director of Compliance Fumigants OSHA News Computer Software Firms Grain Temperature Systems Dust Collection Dirk Maier Named KSU Dept. Head Grain Coolers Grain Dryers Liners Manlifts Edward Schafer Confirmed As Agriculture Secretary Grain Handling Accessories Monitoring Equipment NGFA Officers and Staff Safety/Maintenance Equipment Scales Steel Storage Transportation News Square Bins Transportation Equipment GIPSA News Support Towers OSHA Form 300A Steel Storage Temporary Storage Across the State Line Millbanks Mills - 140 Years Feed News Executive Search AFIA Feed Expo Roundup Power Transmission Hammermill Screens Hammermills Feed News Mixers Ad Index

Grain Journal - January/February 2008

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