No Safe Harbor — Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Shane and Jacob were separated, each of them accompanied by a handful of investigators from the FBI, Internal Affairs and the Washington Bureau of Investigation. Also on hand, at the official request of Russ Braden, were James Kazad and Walter Aames. In each interview room was a video camera recording their accounts of the events leading up to yesterday’s incident on 35th Street. The debriefing took nearly three hours, with Shane and Jacob elaborating on every question in as much detail as possible. Along with Mead’s testimony taken earlier that day, a timeline began to form and, by late afternoon, a picture of Lynda Bettington’s final hours came into focus.

The night of her death, Lynda was definitely leaving her husband. The car packed with suitcases, along with Jacob’s testimony that he and his mother were on their way to his grandmother’s in Oregon, supported that. As did the evidence of child abuse recorded by Hollins in the crime lab. The decision to stop at Sharon Reese’s, whether to stay the night or say goodbye, was the turning point.

Lynda was obviously unaware of Reese’s activities, and certainly any connection to Rick Sparlo.

When officers Taylor and Perkins arrived, Lynda found herself hiding with Jacob in the bedroom where, together, they overheard the threats and struggling that prompted Lynda to rush to her sister’s aid — a move that made her a potential threat to Perkins and Taylor.

And ultimately Rick Sparlo.

When Lynda left the condo with Jacob and raced away in their Dodge, she probably wasn’t aware Perkins and Taylor had seen her. Fearing what she could expose, they began pursuit shortly after. It was doubtful murder was their intent at that point. What wasn’t in doubt was their lack of knowledge concerning Jacob; they had no idea he existed, and Lynda managed to keep it that way by letting him out in Lincoln Park. It appeared her plan was to come back for him or, at the very least, draw them away from Jacob. Unfortunately, the crash in the industrial district changed everything.

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