The security footage came from a camera mounted above the freight depot's eastern loading entrance.
The original recording had been retained by a company that once maintained the depot's surveillance equipment. Investigators located it after reviewing archived service contracts found among David's documents.
The camera showed the warehouse on the night of the fire.
At 9:14 p.m., David entered through the maintenance door carrying a flashlight and a clipboard.
Three minutes later, another man appeared.
He wore a dark jacket and used an employee access card to enter a restricted equipment room.
The image was grainy, but investigators identified the man as Frank Dalton, the company's former operations supervisor.
His name did not appear anywhere in the original incident report.
According to that report, David had been the only employee in the maintenance area before the fire.
Now the video showed otherwise.
Rebecca arranged a meeting with Angela and Nathan Harris to discuss the implications.
"Do we know what Dalton was doing?" Angela asked.
"Not yet," Rebecca answered. "The footage establishes that he entered the area. It doesn't show what he did inside."
Angela looked disappointed.
She wanted answers immediately.
After twelve years, every delay felt like another injustice.
Harris understood.
He had spent those years feeling guilty about accepting the official explanation when David's family needed someone to challenge it.
He now recognized that guilt couldn't replace evidence.
"I've contacted an investigator who handled industrial safety cases before retiring," he said. "He can help explain how the equipment records fit together, working through the appropriate legal channels."
Rebecca nodded.
"That may be useful."
Marcus sat quietly at the end of the table.
He wasn't supposed to be involved in every conversation, and his mother made sure he still attended school, finished homework, and spent time with friends.
But she also refused to hide every development from him.
He deserved an age-appropriate understanding of what happened to his father.
"Was Frank Dalton bad?" Marcus asked.
Angela looked toward Rebecca.
"We don't know what he did yet," the attorney answered.
Marcus frowned.
"But he was there."
"Yes. And that's why the investigators need to speak with him."
The boy considered that.
Then he looked toward Harris.
"Did my dad know Frank?"
"They worked together."
"Were they friends?"
Harris hesitated.
"Not really. David disagreed with some of the decisions Frank made."
Marcus looked at his father's photograph.
He was learning that people could work together for years without trusting one another.
Two days later, investigators located Frank Dalton living in a small town near Cincinnati.
He initially declined to speak.
Then, after receiving a formal request through his attorney, he agreed to an interview.
Before that interview occurred, however, Dalton contacted Rebecca.
His voice shook.
"I heard you found the camera recording."
"Yes."
There was a long silence.
Then he said, "I never wanted David to go inside that warehouse."