Steve shrugged and then winced at what was probably a torn rotator cuff. “I don’t know. He kind of looked like you and had an Irish accent like you.”
For Christ’s sake. “That’s British, you moron.” Jethro cut a little deeper, stopping when Steve cried out. “How did he find you? How did he know to hire you?”
Steve’s eyes widened. “I don’t know. We were all recently arraigned for a B and E, so maybe our reputationis out there?”
More likely Fletcher just looked at recent crimes and tracked down the morons.
A squad car careened into the parking lot. “Did the guy who hired you say anything specific about the woman who was with me tonight?”
Steve sniffed, his gaze landing on the police car with a look of hope. “No. He just said that if anybody was with you, especially a woman, he wanted to meet her. Like it was no big deal.”
So Fletcher wasn’t aware of Gemma. Good. But what was this lame attack all about? Fletcher had sent three idiots for Jethro to fight. Was he just messing with him? Or had he wanted to make a statement in front of anybody Jethro might be hanging around? Start hurting his reputation at the college? Damn Fletcher and his need to draw things out.
Jethro released Steve and stood as two female officers rushed his way.
“Dr. Hanson?” The closest officer was a tightly packed African American woman who looked at the three prone men impassively. “Detective Bianchi said to tell you he’s on the way andto hold tight.”
“Sure.” Jethro turned away from the men and didn’t miss Steve’s sigh of relief. “I need to make a quick phone call.” He walked to the entrance of the restaurant and leaned against the wall, dialing quickly.
“Force,” Angus answered absently.
Jethro straightened. “Hi. I have an issue and need Millicent Frost. Could you have her meet me in the parking lot of DC University in about thirty minutes?” An unmarked black car skidded into the lot and parked. Detective Bianchi jumped out, took in the scene, and then shot Jethro a look of pure irritation. “Makethat an hour.”
“What’s going on?” It sounded like Angus was already on the move.
“I’m not certain. Tell her to bring all her fancy devices for finding bugs. Thank you.” Jethro clicked off and waited for the detective to reach him. “Good evening, Detective.”
Tate turned and surveyed the prone men. “Is this your doing?”
“I believe they all slipped on the ice,” Jethro said helpfully. “However, I also think they’ve been in contact with your recent killer, and perhaps they haveclues for you.”
Tate turned toward him. “I think I’ll arrest you.”
Jethro smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets. “You don’t have probable cause. These blokes attacked me and I defended myself.”
“How are they connected to the homicides?” Tate asked.
Jethro kept his mild expression in place while all he wanted to do was check on Gemma and ensure she was all right. He must’ve scared the hell out of her. “I don’t believe they’re connected to the homicides, but I think the man who hired them is your killer. That’s all I can tellyou right now.”
Tate stared at the man in the blue mask, who was just starting to awaken.
“Oh.” Jethro drew out the bloke’s gun and handed it over. “He had this.” Then he handed over the bloody knife. “The petty criminal in the purple mask brought this to the evening.”
“A weapon makes it more than petty.” Tate motioned for an officer to hand over evidence bags. “You fought a guy with a knife and one with a gun?”
Jethro shrugged. “They weren’t very good.”
Tate bagged the weapons, looked at the three attackers, and then turned to face Jethro. “Something tells me there’s more to your background than being a philosophy professor.”
Perhaps this had been Fletcher’s intention. So much for Jethro continuing to fly under the radar. “Things are rarely what they seem, Detective.”
* * * *
“You were on a date?” Angus Force asked, holding on to his patience, as Millie ran all her doodads across Jethro’s car.
Jethro lifted the collar of his jacket to shield his neck from the now-billowing snow. “No. I wasn’t on a date. I just grabbed an early supper with a colleague.” He lounged against the stark brick building and watched as Millie worked with Roscoe bouncing around her feet.
Angus scanned the vacant parking area, quiet building, and surrounding trees. “Huh. Too bad. I know Nari thinks you should start living your life instead of busying yourself in pursuit of more knowledge.” Actually Nari said Jethro needed to get a girlfriend and start living, but close enough. She was an excellent shrink and was probably correct about Jet. “Whowas the woman?”
