After login in through multiple website portals on the shitty outdated system and entering the key, the case file was finally lit up on the boxy computer screen.

The file on the computer included the report of the case in little detail, along with the location of the evidence collected. Ludwig printed the report and sent Gilbert to the front desk to collect it.

Knowing his brother, he won't be back for at least twenty minutes. Every time he saw Gilbert in the front office he was talking cheerfully with Natalya, who just sat there politely and listened. Despite usually looking like she'd rather be anywhere else, Ludwig was surprised when she once informed him she enjoyed listening to Gilbert's often egotistical rambling. It was probably because there was no pressure to say anything back, or because it broke up the monotony of her day. They were an odd pair, yet somehow they were friends.

Ludwig noted the evidence was stored in another department in the city, but it wouldn't be difficult for him to be granted authorisation to access it. The listed evidence collected seemed rather dismal. A wine bottle with unknown DNA, the victim's clothes, and the tapes from the police questioning hopefully held all the pieces to fit this unsolved crime together.

He quickly wrote a draft for an authorisation email and sent it to the Chief to review and approve. Within five minutes, the Chief wrote back to inform him that he approved the email and had the request transferred through the departments. All he had to do was wait for an affirmative reply, and the case would finally be reopened.

After waiting for a moment for Gilbert to return, Ludwig turned back to the bright screen of the computer and opened the official police report of the case. Knowing his patience, it was highly probable that Gilbert had already read at the front desk straight from the printer.

The report was only a few pages long and was last updated in the October of 1982. It sadly still looked like an incomplete draft of sorts. It was achingly empty.

In bullet points, it outlined the agreed version of events that occurred that night. A single paragraph about the evidence was mentioned but didn't have any conclusive thoughts. It noted that there was no witnesses or tips, leading to the case becoming unsolved.

It wasn't a high profile police case, even at the time, so Ludwig wasn't too surprised when he realised he had never heard of it before.

He read over the evidence section. 'Unknown DNA found on a bottle'. Hopefully, with the advancements in DNA technology, the sample on the bottle would kickstart the investigation.

Ludwig sat back in his chair and stared at the screen in thought. He could cross-reference the DNA into their police database. If the suspect had been arrested before and had their DNA sampled, then it would take no time to find a match.

He moved his eyes from the screen to the pale folder sitting on his desk and fixed his posture. Somehow he doubted it would be so easy. If there wasn't a match in the police database, then he'll just create a DNA profile and start from there. Eventually, they'll land on the right path.

He was jolted from his thoughts and flickered his eyes to the door as it burst open. Gilbert strode in with the documents in hand, kicking the door shut which likely echoed down the hall. He sagged into his chair, sighing exaggeratedly as he did. He slapped the papers on top of the folder.

"Alrighty," he put his hands behind his head and leaned back, "Natalya wishes us luck and wants to know when we catch the guy." Gilbert raised his legs as if to put them on the desk, then stopped mid-motion, opting to pull them on the chair and sit criss-cross. "So what now?"

"We wait for the approval to reopen the case and collect the evidence," Ludwig responded while putting the computer in sleep mode, "It shouldn't take too long."

Beside him, Gilbert connected his elbows to his knees and hunched over, resting his face between his fists.

"Are there any YouTube videos on this case?"

Ludwig sighed, reached for the mouse and gave it a wiggle, waking the computer. A quick search revealed that there were plenty of videos on unsolved mysteries - Vargas's case included. Considering how they had nothing else to do while they wait, Ludwig pondered if that time was best spent watching a video about it. Then again, he supposed reviewing the case in this format would likely spark the determination needed to solve it.

He clicked on the first video. It was painfully obvious how it was edited to elicit a reaction. The eerie music, the lighting, the sombre tone of the narrator choosing the words with the most impact, all came together to present the tragedy of a life maliciously, cut short. Clearly, the channel was aiming for entertainment.

Either way, Gilbert was watching intently, following along with the narrative of the story being told. Until he pulled out his phone. Ludwig glanced over and wasn't too surprised to see Gilbert searching for theories about the incident. Ludwig leaned over and watched as his brother scrolled.

It didn't seem like there were too many theories considering the incident happened nearly forty years ago. There was one post suggesting the murder had some connection to gang violence. Vargas had somehow known something and the local Italian Mafia had to snuff him out. The police then had been blackmailed to label the murder as a 'robbery'. The claim seemed outlandish and the sole purpose of the post was attention-grabbing, however many of the comments were playing along and amusing the possibility.

When the video ended Ludwig checked his emails again. His eyes darted to the new email sitting at the top, dated only a few minutes ago. Having the Chief handle the permissions meant fast results, any other officer would have to wait days between emails. He instantly moved the mouse to open it and consumed its contents.

Ludwig put his computer back to sleep and stretched as he stood up. He looked to Gilbert, who had taken the cue to put his phone away.

"We can go pick up the evidence now. One of the upstairs labs will be ready for us when we get back."

With a huge smile, Gilbert jumped up and cheered, "Let's officially reopen this case!" He formed a fist and held it up and Ludwig bumped his fist into it. Gilbert clicked and moved his fists into finger guns. Ludwig responded by rolling his eyes with amusement and pushing his brother out of the way.

The department lab holding the evidence was only a few suburbs away, no longer than thirty minutes with reasonable traffic. Gilbert raced ahead enthusiastically to the front desk, grabbing the keys to a police car and waving exaggeratedly at Natalya in an attempt to be embarrassing, only to be ignored as she spoke to a civilian. Ludwig quickly signed the check out form for the car and pulled Gilbert away.

The pair were hit with a chilling breeze as they walked through the precinct parking lot towards the squad car. Gilbert ran up to it and attempted to slide over the hood of the car. Ludwig felt his ears burn as he attempted to not make eye contact with the few watching as his immature brother picked himself off the ground, cackling and brushing his back off.

Ludwig shot him a little glare as he got into the passenger seat and shut the door a little harder than necessary.

"Live a little Luddy!" Gilbert remarked as he opened the driver's door and jumped into the seat. He turned on the ignition and put the window down. "Every day's an adventure!"

Ludwig maintained unwavering eye contact as he turned up the radio volume. Gilbert's lip kept twitching up as he tried to keep his face impassive , retaliating by staring back and pressing mute on the steering wheel. Ludwig held eye contact for a moment before shaking his head.

"Alright, let's go."

Gilbert took out a pair of sunglasses from his jacket, flicking them open violently and slid them onto his face. He gave Ludwig a thumbs up and maneuvered the car out of the lot. He slapped the outside of the car roof before pulling out onto the road, then resting his arm on the window. Ludwig, accustomed to his brother's eccentricity, opted to turning the radio back on.

After a few minutes of driving Ludwig spoke up. "Did you get to read the file?" he inquired, checking to see if they were on the same page.

"Yes, and there was barely anything to read," Gilbert scoffed and slowed down for a traffic light, "that video we watched was way better."

Ludwig hummed in agreement. He didn't point out that the report wasn't designed to be entertaining, but he knew what his brother meant. The report condensed every detail into a single sentence with a boring tone. The amateur YouTube video did the opposite. Ludwig made a mental note to search for more on the case in the archives when they got back. Maybe a different style of the report with more details and speculation would be better suited to connect to the case. He'll have to see what was released to the press at that time.

They didn't speak for the remainder of the trip, the meaningless words of the songs playing on the radio filled the car instead. Gilbert was tapping along to the tunes with his hand resting on the window. Ludwig stared out the window and watched the passing cars.

In no time they were pulling into the department lab car park and stepping out of the car.

The brothers made their way to the front desk and, being the more professional of the two, Ludwig took lead and explained the situation. After a moment of verifying their identity and signing a few things, the young man at the front desk gave him a file of paperwork and promised he would return shortly.

"Well since I'm the awesome taxi, it's up to you to do the paperwork!" Gilbert concluded as he leaned on his brother and laughed. Ludwig shook him off and swatted him with the file.

"Fine," he faked exasperation, as though giving in. He slipped the files into his PD jacket. "I'll look over it during the drive back."

The young man returned with a black suitcase rolling behind him and walked around to where the brothers waited.

"Unfortunately the Lieutenant had to see to something before you arrived," he said apologetically as he pushed the handle back into the suitcase. Ludwig noted he was struggling to maintain eye contact, likely out of shyness or awkwardness. "So I'll just have to try and remember everything he told me."

The man tucked a strand of short, wavy brown hair behind his ear as he pulled a neatly folded notepaper from his pant's pocket. Ludwig tried to look reassuring and hoped that Gilbert's overall posture and crossed arms didn't give off the impression that they were impatient.

"So firstly, this suitcase contains all the evidence from the crime scene," he made a gesture towards the suitcase and his eyes darted back to the note. "It also has all the files and notes that were originally taken when the case was open, and there's a tape with the family being questioned."

Looking at the black suitcase against the white tiles covering the floor, Ludwig hoped that everything they needed to put this case to rest was contained right in front of him. He knew that once they opened that bag, the case would become real. It happened with every job. It was all words on a sheet of paper until it was a real, comprehensible person.

A person with a family, with friends, with hopes, with dreams. A singular sentence - which takes only seconds to read - will never compare or summarise years of a life lived.

Ludwig moved his eyes from the suitcase back to the receptionist holding the paper.

"There was another tape with neighbours and other witnesses but we don't think that was preserved as well. The tapes haven't been digitised yet so maybe if they were the bad tapes might be salvaged?" He didn't seem too hopeful at the chances. He folded the paper up as he spoke again.

"I also have a list of addresses and places," he turned around and leaned over the counter to grab another file, "The Lieutenant thought it would be good for you to have, just in case."

He handed the file to Ludwig, who put it inside his jacket.

"Uh, by addresses I mean the home addresses of any family and the plot of land where, where the grave is and such." He trailed off quietly. Ludwig wondered if he was new to the force. Or maybe he had to deal with the mundane side of the job's nature instead of the depressing.

Ludwig nodded and thanked the man while motioning to Gilbert to take the suitcase.

"Well, I can't really say much else," the young man stuffed his hands into his pockets," besides good luck."

Gilbert snorted at that.

"We don't need luck! We have our awesome brainpower! We will stop at nothing for justice!"

Ludwig could see the receptionist nodding politely, yet feeling awkward about the outburst. "Well, I just meant that, it's a nice thing to say since this case has been, well, not active for decades..."

He was just grateful his brother decided to hold it until the exchange was over. He grabbed Gilbert by the elbow and thanked the young man again for the assistance and for the wishes of good luck. He made sure to stress that the sentiment behind the words had been received.

Then he turned around and walked out with Gilbert in tow.

The pair walked back to the car as Gilbert enlightened Ludwig about the differences between luck and skill. Ludwig rolled his eyes and cut in to say that for many cases, luck had been a decisive factor.

"But Luddy! Lutz!" Gilbert whined as he loaded the case into the backseat of the car, "Do you see us getting lucky? We have everything we need now and that doesn't include luck."

"Yes, in this case, I doubt we'll need luck." He stepped into the passenger seat. "Unless we run into a dead end." This may be likely if they don't have the killer's DNA already. However they had many routes to take from there, and he was determined to not let this case go cold again.

Gilbert shut the car door shut, with not enough force to be considered slamming he'd argue and made his way to the driver's seat. Via the hood of the car. Ludwig watched as Gilbert's body failed to slide smoothly across the metal, wincing at the sound of the friction. He breathed out a sigh and stared at the fibres on the roof of the car.

A moment later Gilbert opened the door.

"But we don't need luck," he insisted as he buckled himself into the driver's seat. "If we get a dead-end we'll use skill instead of luck." He pointed to his white hair and tried to catch his brother's eye as he pointedly stared at the roof. "We'll use our brain skills."

"That's right, we'll use our brain's to move forward," Ludwig responded with a monotone. He decided he didn't see any point in arguing about something so menial. Technically they were both right in different instances.

He gestured to the steering wheel with determination. "Let's get going, it'd be a shame to keep the case waiting any longer."

"Yes, boss" Gilbert readjusted his sunnies and turned on the engine. He revved the car while grinning madly as he pulled out of the car park.

Ludwig pulled the files out from his jacket to examine. He looked over the first one, which was unsurprisingly paperwork. He figured he'd do that when they get back. He quickly made a plan of action in his head.

1) Have DNA extracted from the bottle and examined.

2) Watch the police tapes to see if they need to be digitised.

There was a chance that there wasn't anything helpful on the tapes and having them digitised wouldn't be necessary. However, Ludwig planned on watching them regardless. Watching them would likely get his mind in the right headspace and understand the timeline. Maybe he'd just have them digitised for convenience anyway.

3) Complete the paperwork while waiting for 1 & 2.

He briefly considered if it'd be worth examining the DNA on the clothes, as he doubted any detectives did that forty years ago. But it would be pointless. If the DNA from the bottle isn't enough, then why would the small possibility of finding DNA on the bloodied clothes be able to give them any pointers.

He put the folder with the paperwork back into his jacket and turned over the file with the addresses. Inside was a single sheet of paper with a few rows of information all written in neat handwriting.

The first few rows included the relationships and addresses of the family members in 1982. It was already a small family - two twins and their grandfather who only had each other. The tragedy diminishing its size further.

The pen etched on the paper plainly stated where the grandfather and twins lived at the time. The other rows simply stated where each family member resided at the moment. The short length of the sentences was as depressing as the content.

A home address was listed for the surviving twin, who still resided in the city, but now on the outskirts. As for the other family members, two plots of land were listed in the same cemetery for the other twin and their grandfather. Ludwig felt a pang in his chest as he realised the grandfather would never see the day his grandson got justice. His questions will never be answered.

Ludwig closed the folder and tucked it away in his jacket. Gilbert looked over at him curiously.

"Anything interesting?"

"Paperwork and where the family is now."

Gilbert nodded and scanned the road. "You'll be doing the paperwork right?"