I heard the fence door swing on its hinges. It had to be Billy, coming to my aid.
I made my voice a hard whisper. “Nobody else come in.”
Shadow let out a growl that sent mice scampering up my spine.
Using the strength of my legs, I rose to my feet with my arms low in a posture of surrender, pacification, call it what you will. “Keep cool, buddy. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Another, louder growl. So much for the fond memories of the quality time we’d spent together in the animal hospital. So much for my fanciful notions that this creature and I had some special rapport.
Slowly, slowly I backed toward the gate.
As I got close, I heard the door turn on its hinges and felt Billy’s big hands on my shoulders, and the next thing I knew I was standing outside on jelly legs while Kathy clicked a padlock.
The wolf trotted off to devour the remains of the dead deer.
“That was needlessly exciting,” Kathy said.
Everyone laughed, but all I could hear was my heart trying to break free of my rib cage. My life would never be the same, I realized. Why do we always come to these recognitions too late?
Author’s Note
While the title of the first part of this book, “A Civil Death,” is explained in the text, the others might require some explanation. “All Stories Are About Wolves” is taken from an often-quoted piece of dialogue by Margaret Atwood from her novel The Blind Assassin:
All stories are about wolves. All worth repeating, that is. Anything else is sentimental drivel.
All of them?
Sure, he says. Think about it. There’s escaping from the wolves, fighting the wolves, capturing the wolves, taming the wolves. Being thrown to the wolves, or throwing others to the wolves so the wolves will eat them instead of you. Running with the wolf pack. Turning into a wolf. Best of all, turning into the head wolf. No other decent stories exist.
Similarly, the title of Part 3 of this book, “The Wild, Cruel Beast,” also comes from a quotation, albeit a lesser-known one, by the Swedish humanist Axel Munthe: “The wild, cruel beast is not behind the bars of the cage. He is in front of it.”
Sharp-eyed readers will recognize another quotation in the book, this one on page 230. As Mike drifts off to sleep, he recalls these words: “I was settled. Nothing could touch me. It was a good place to camp.” The line comes from Ernest Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River,” one of Mike’s favorite stories—and mine.
Among the resources that assisted me in the writing of this novel were the memoir Life Behind Bars: Eight Hours at a Time by former Maine State Prison guard Robert Reilly and the extensive reporting of Lance Tapley on the Maine corrections system. I am also grateful to Sergeant Lance Mitchell, Sheriff Tim Carroll, and Chief Deputy Patrick Polky of the Knox County’s Sheriff’s Department for enduring my many questions about police procedure. That said, the inmates and officers in this book are entirely fictional, as are all the other characters in Almost Midnight.
For insight into wolf behavior and the passions these inscrutable animals evoke, I would recommend American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee and The Wisdom of Wolves: Lessons from the Sawtooth Pack by Jim Dutcher and Jamie Dutcher.
I am grateful to Joshua Lincoln DVM for answering my questions about veterinary surgery and hope he will forgive the poetic license I took in filtering Shadow’s medical treatment through Mike’s emotionally blurred lens.
As always, I appreciate the help and forbearance of the Maine Warden Service and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
I would also like to thank the excellent team at Minotaur Books, including Charles Spicer, David Rotstein, Sarah Melnyk, Joseph Brosnan, Paul Hochman, Kelley Ragland, and Andrew Martin. And I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my insightful agent, Ann Rittenberg, who has made all of my books better.
My family remains a source of strength and support. I can’t imagine doing any of this without your love. Kristen, you give me more than I can ever repay.
ALSO BY PAUL DOIRON
Stay Hidden
Knife Creek
Widowmaker
The Precipice
The Bone Orchard
Massacre Pond
Bad Little Falls
Trespasser
The Poacher’s Son
About the Author
PAUL DOIRON, a native of Maine, is the bestselling author of the Mike Bowditch mysteries. He attended Yale University, where he graduated with a degree in English. The Poacher’s Son, the first book in the Mike Bowditch series, won the Barry award, the Strand award for best first novel, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity awards in the same category. He is a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing and lives on a trout stream in coastal Maine with his wife, Kristen Lindquist. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Part 1. A Civil Death
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Part 2. All Stories Are About Wolves
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Part 3. The Wild, Cruel Beast
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Author’s Note
Also by Paul Doiron
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
ALMOST MIDNIGHT. Copyright © 2019 by Paul Doiron. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadways, New York, N.Y. 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photographs: woods by Erling Sivertsen; cabin
