Dead of Night

Table of Contents

 

 

 

“Written in a crisp, lean, and muscular style ... White’s ability to evoke the feel of South Florida is second to none.”
—The Miami Herald

 

“Plenty of action and danger ... mov[ing] quickly to a violent climax.”—
The Tampa Tribune

 

“[A] horrific but shockingly realistic thriller plot.”

 

“Deliciously addictive and nail-bitingly suspenseful.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Full of fast-paced action . . . White’s electrifying tale offers superb, scary, high-powered entertainment. It makes episodes of Fear Factor seem like child’s play.”

—
Lansing State Journal

 

“Dead
of Night takes readers on a thrill ride. It’s hard to beat... White for action and suspense.”

 

“Edge-of-the-seat suspense... Dead of Night quickly kicks a terrifying plot into gear.”
—Tallahassee Democrat

 

“Randy Wayne White can write. And his Doc Ford character models what it takes to be a man. The entire series is excellent.”
—Contra Costa Times

 

tampa burn

“More double-crosses than an 1-40 interchange.”

—
The Raleigh News & Observer

 

“I wrote that [White’s] first Doc Ford novel created a character fit to walk beside Travis McGee, and nine books later, I can gloat about how right I was.”—
The Washington Times

 

“Engaging, funky... a thrilling story... Zooms along... at accelerating speed.”—
St. Petersburg Times

 

“The action is unstoppable.”—
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

 

“A spellbinding story-spinner...
[Tampa Burn]
is highly suspenseful, with strong characters and a complex moral dimension.”—
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

“Starts off at the speed of light and only gets faster.”

—
Midwest Book Review

 

“Best sheer storytelling in years.”
—Kirkus Reviews

 

“Compelling action.”—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Keeps the suspense churning.”
—Booklist
(starred review)

 

 

“White’s writing is as muscular as ever.”

—
The Tampa Tribune

 

“Randy Wayne White and his Doc Ford join my list of must-reads. It is no small matter when I assert that White is getting pretty darn close to joining Carl Hiaasen and John D. MacDonald as writers synonymous with serious Florida issues and engaging characters.”
—Chicago Tribune

 

“Enough twists to satisfy any hard-boiled but intelligent detective fan.”
—The Dallas Morning News

 

“One of the hottest new writers on the scene.”

—
Library Journal

 

“Packed with finely drawn characters, relevant social issues, superb plotting, and an effortless writing style.... The best new writer since Carl Hiaasen.”—
The Denver Post

 

“White is the rightful heir to joining John D. MacDonald, Carl Hiaasen, James Hall, Geoffrey Norman.... His precise prose is as fresh and pungent as a salty breeze.”

—
The Tampa Tribune

 

“White’s Doc Ford series... can always be counted on for an entertaining mix of character interplay and straight-ahead action adventure.”
—Booklist
(starred review)

 

“A series to be savored.”—
The San Diego Union-Tribune

Sanibel Flats
The Heat Islands
The Man Who Invented Florida

Captiva
North of Havana
The Mangrove Coast
Ten Thousand Islands

Shark River
Twelve Mile Limit
Everglades
Tampa Burn
Dead of Night
Dark Light
Hunter’s Moon
Black Widow

 

 

Batfishing in the Rainforest
The Sharks of Lake Nicaragua
Last Flight Out
An American Traveler

Tarpon Fishing in Mexico and Florida (An Introduction) Randy Wayne White’s Gulf Coast Cookbook (with Carlene Fredericka Brennen)

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

DEAD OF NIGHT

 

A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY

 

Berkley mass-market edition / March 2006

 

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

 

eISBN : 978-1-101-16070-1

 

BERKLEY
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Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

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On Friday the thirteenth, August, in the year this book was written, the eye of a category 4 hurricane made landfall on Pine Island, west coast of Florida, and the storm’s northeasterly tornado wall savaged the village of Pineland, where I’ve lived for many years.

It was as if a five-hundred-pound bomb exploded overhead. My 1920s Cracker house, built on an Indian mound overlooking the bay, had to be gutted because of water damage. My guesthouse was crushed, the houses of neighbors leveled, and acres of old tropical growth were flattened, including avocados, poinciana, key limes, and also three gumbo-limbo trees that were several hundred years old.

The irony that, five years earlier, I’d written about Marion Ford climbing an Indian mound to escape a category 4 hurricane with the same name (Charles) did not mitigate the difficulties that followed.

It was a month before I got water, six weeks before my power was restored, and, as far as I know, my phone at Pineland still doesn’t work. I don’t know because, three months later, I am still homeless, as are several neighbors.

Here is what I’ve learned: A hurricane is just bad weather, unless you are touched by the eye. But if you are in the path of that tornado phalanx, your life is forever changed.

I am happy to report that a disaster of Charley’s magnitude mobilizes a lot more good people than the few who became profiteers. Many dozens offered me help, even their homes. I will forever be in their debt.

I am especially grateful to Jill Beckstead and Dean Beckstead, and the staff at Palm Island Resort, Cape Haze, Florida, a barrier island hideaway south of Sarasota and north of Fort Myers. Palm Island is a Florida classic: miles of beach, classy Gulf Coast architecture, few automobiles, swimming pools long enough for laps, and a fine restaurant, Rum Bay, where much of this book was written. During many busy lunches, the staff kindly tiptoed around me as I typed away. Chef Khoum, Jennifer Graham, Phyllis. Muller, Walt Mintel, Dave Comello, Campi Campese, Capt. Blackie, Jay Hodges, Liam Crowley, and others were very supportive.

Other places where people went out of their way to provide me a place to write include Doc Ford’s Sanibel Rum Bar and Grille, Sanibel Island, Matt Asen’s Sanibel Grill, the staff of Pine Island Library, the staff of Holmes Beach Library, Sharkey’s Steak on Bradenton Beach, the staff of Sanibel Library, and people associated with the
Queen Mary
2, especially Ms. Mary Thomas, Sara Andersson, Jennifer Schaper, Laura Penfold, and Capt. Ronald War-wick’s brilliant staff.

Others who were generous beyond the expectations of friendship include Sandra McNally, Gary and Donna Terwilliger, Mrs. Iris Tanner, Tom and Sally Petcoff, Capt. Steve Stanley, George and Michelle Riggs, Craig and Re-nee Johnson, Kevin and Nadine Lollar, Moe Mollen, Dr. Brian and Kristan Hummel, Capt. Craig Skaar, Bill Gutek and his Nokomis pals, the Wells family of Cabbage Key and Pineland, Bill Spaceman Lee, Diana, Ginny Amsler, Allan W. Eckert, and Jennifer Holloway. Wendy Webb—a gifted singer and songwriter—provided much-needed musical relief, and Erin Edwards, and the band AMERICA, gave me an emotional lift when it was much needed.

This book demanded extensive research in several fields, and I am grateful to the experts who took the time to advise me. I’d like to thank Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin, a man who is as decent and funny off camera as he is on. Dr. Thaddeus Kostrubala, a brilliant psychopharmacologist, has once again provided behavioral profiles on some truly nasty fictional characters. Dr. James H. Peck, fellow Davenport Central (Iowa) graduate, has compiled exhaustive notes on all the Ford novels, and is due much thanks.

Also providing valuable aid or information were Dr. Kim Hull of Mote Marine and Dr. Bob Vincent and Dr. Alan Rowan, both with the Florida Department of Health.

These people all provided valuable guidance and/or information. All errors, exaggerations, omissions, or fictionalizations are entirely the fault, and the responsibility, of the author.