The boundary was painful, but it allowed them to work toward the same factual goal without pretending their personal lives had returned to normal.
Theo Marquez agreed to a video interview from a quiet room in Albuquerque.
He was thirty-one, with a close-cropped beard and a thoughtful habit of repeating questions before answering.
Mara introduced everyone and explained that the conversation was voluntary.
Theo asked that Jessica join without video for the first ten minutes because he was afraid seeing Peter’s sister would make him lose his nerve.
Jessica agreed.
Daniel sat beside Mara, silent except when asked to identify himself.
Theo remembered the fire as a confusion of noise, not a single dramatic moment.
He had been in the lower recreation room with four younger residents, waiting for a supervisor who promised to bring their belongings.
The room was used for quiet time when children became disruptive, although Theo insisted he had done nothing wrong that evening.
He had been sent there after refusing to surrender a letter from his mother.
At some point the hallway lights flickered and the ventilation system began pushing hot air through the grilles.
“There was a bell cord near the door,” Theo said.
“One of the older kids pulled it.
It made a sound twice, then stopped.”
Mara asked whether the bell stopped because someone released the cord.
Theo shook his head.
“The handle came away from the wall.
We pulled the loose rope until our hands hurt, but it wasn’t connected to anything anymore.”
Daniel thought of the sign Ernest had shown him.
Ring twice if door will not release.
Someone had designed a procedure that depended on a bell remaining connected during an emergency.
Theo said they began banging on the door.
He remembered a voice calling from the other side and the scrape of metal against metal.
Then an older boy entered from the maintenance passage, coughing and holding a ring of keys.
“Was it Peter?”
Jessica asked from her muted screen, unable to remain silent.
Theo swallowed.
“I think so.
I know it was someone wearing a yellow patch.
He told us to hold hands and follow him.”
The passage was dark and partly blocked by storage crates.
Theo remembered a van engine running near the far end, although he could not see the vehicle.
The older boy led them toward a service exit but turned back when they heard another child crying.
Theo had begged him not to go.
