Blog from California Redwoods, Chapter 13, On Humboldt Bay, pages 247-248
January 1, 2023
He hit Lydia so hard that her head snapped back. She slumped to the ground, but Jesse persevered, grabbing her by the tied hands. The first man who had ventured outside appeared again, a snub-nosed .38 in his right hand. Together, the two roughnecks dragged her by the arms, her limp body leaving foot tracks in the sand. Within seconds they dumped her onto the speedboat, and she toppled to the flooring. The small craft rocked from the weight of two big men stepping aboard.
Turning, the taller man in the sweater glanced at the shore, and he saw Mickey almost to the pier. He said something to his cronies, and all three peered at the intruder. None of them spoke, but one pointed at the black fishing boat cruising toward the pier.
Mickey guessed the man at the helm had been given the job of taking Lydia somewhere, or, worse, disposing of her. For the moment, he and his henchmen were caught off guard.
At the same moment Mickey realized who they were. Two of them were the pair who attacked him in the corridor at the Capitol on his first night in San Francisco, but he didn’t know the one with fiery hair. But the three men in the boat all must be connected to Cisco and Sullivan.
The blue speedboat motored for open water carrying Lydia and the three men. A red light on the top of the windshield was blinking. By the time the speedboat had motored thirty more yards, the fishing boat circled close enough to the pier for Mickey to step aboard. He made the long step, pointing for Wolf to follow. On the boat, Mickey moved his .45 to the back of his belt.
