After parking the car and walking back into the precinct building, the pair made their way back to the front desk to sign the car back in. Looking over the desk, the front lobby was unnaturally quiet. Usually, around this time of day, officers and civilians were wandering around. It was a bit weird but easy to overlook with other things on their mind.

Natalya was leaning against the wall staring blankly at her phone when they walked in. Upon seeing them, she placed her phone on the counter beside her and stared at them passively.

Gilbert excitedly held up the suitcase for her to see, and gestured broadly with his arm. "We got the evidence!"

"Cool." Her response was neutral, and possibly only for Gilbert's benefit. Usually, she didn't acknowledge if she heard someone or not, assuming that since she was looking they knew she was listening. Many found her to be intense because of it.

The Beilschmidt brothers are the exception. Ludwig honestly understood and Gilbert wasn't affected at all.

Ludwig picked up the form and signed the car back in. "Slow day?" He asked politely.

"Yep."

He nodded sympathetically and put the form back down.

"Well we're going to be busy," Gilbert proclaimed, "We have a killer to catch!"

"I hope he's still alive," Natalya didn't sound so optimistic.

Gilbert pouted and crossed his arms. "He better still be alive."

Ludwig frowned. "There's a high probability the suspect is still alive." He wanted to sound reassuring but there was no way to be certain. At the time of the incident, it's suspected the killer was young. Even after forty passing... well, he hoped he was still alive to face consequences.

He changed the subject and asked Natalya about the lab they were assigned. She opened one of the desk's drawers and pulled out a key, which she tossed to Ludwig.

"Lab A."

Ludwig thanked her and pulled Gilbert from the room before he could start chatting away. It isn't helpful either when Natalya allows his brother to distract the both of them from their jobs. He'd let Gilbert socialise later when they were waiting on things to develop. But for now, they had to set plans into motion.

Gilbert pretended to protest at being dragged away but followed Ludwig to the second floor anyways.

Only a few moments later, Ludwig was unlocking the lab door and flicking the light switch on. The room was one of the smaller labs the department had available but would suffice for the case.

Chances are it would only be used for storing the materials.

Gilbert placed the suitcase on the counter in the middle of the room. After a moment of stretching, he moved over to the windows at the opposite end and opened the shutters. The sun shone into the room over the buildings surrounding the department.

Fortunately, the department was in a nice part of town, so the view from the second floor was pleasant instead of dull. Cars could be seen driving along the roads between the buildings covered with official art, and in the distance, a park with a skyline of lush trees balanced the urban scene out nicely.

Ludwig shut the lab door and moved to the front desk. The only thing which sat on the wooden surface was a computer, which Ludwig quickly logged into.

When he looked back up, Gilbert was back from the window and already unzipping the suitcase. Ludwig walked around to Gilbert as he opened the case. There were only a few items in the case, and in no time they laid them all out on the counter.

There was a moderately thick folder, two tapes, rusty coloured clothes and a wine bottle in airtight bags. As he and Gilbert curiously looked over the items Ludwig picked up the faded folder. It was labelled to include documents with detailed descriptions and theories about the case and the evidence. He pulled out the folders from his jacket and placed them beside it, deciding to look through them more thoroughly later.

"Alrighty," Gilbert leaned his arms on the counter and turned to Ludwig. "What now?"

Ludwig thought back to his mental list.

"The department is partnered with a DNA phenotyping company. I'll email the Chief about phoning them to organise the processing of the sample on the bottle. We'll find out if the sample is already in the police database."

"And if it isn't?" Gilbert inquired.

"Then they will be able to make a profile and we'll figure things out from there"

"Right, right," Gilbert nodded, "You're writing the email, right?"

Ludwig suppressed a sign. Why was his brother so desperate to dodge the heavy responsibility of writing a damn email. At this point, he wasn't surprised.

"Yes," he replied dryly, "You and Natalya can find something that can digitise these tapes."

Gilbert snapped his fingers into finger guns then reached for the tapes.

"You don't need the tapes!"

Gilbert cackled as he left the room. Ludwig rolled his eyes. His brother wouldn't be back for a while. He just hoped it wouldn't take too long to find.

Ludwig moved back to the computer and promptly typed up an email. Happy with the result, he sent it to the Chief. He didn't know whether to feel happy or guilty that the Chief always allowed him to bypass the waiting times' other officers would have to experience.

He supposed in this instance since there wasn't a more urgent case, he shouldn't feel guilty.

His eyes drifted back to the folders sitting on the counter. Since Gilbert wouldn't be back for a little while yet, he might as well get a headstart on the paperwork.

He brought it back to the desk and pulled a pen from his jacket. It wasn't too interesting, but it was important and the department liked to file things away. Ludwig was used to it by now. Anytime an officer took an action, they'd have to fill out paperwork.

He put the computer to sleep and started on the first page. Then the second. He paused to look out the window and eyed the cars stopped at a red light. He waited for the light to turn green and watched as the cars drove off. He collected his thoughts and forced himself to turn back to the paper.

A few minutes later he had finished all the paperwork. He put it aside and tucked his pen back into his jacket. He woke the computer and checked his emails. Seeing there was none, his eyes drifted to the evidence presented on the counter.

On the counter, he eyed the dark bottle, inside a plastic bag that had no doubt been wrapped around it for decades. He supposed he should find a box to deliver it in. He searched some nearby cupboards and found a grey box suitably sized for the bottle. He put it on the counter with the evidence.

Ludwig picked up the bagged clothes gently and looked them over. Under the rusty stain, they were just regular PJs. Upon closer examination, he could see the tears in the stained part of the fabric. Where the knife had gone through.

He could also see where they had been cut, likely to be removed from the body. His mouth felt dry looking at it. It was hard to comprehend that this had belonged to someone. A living person like himself. Ludwig carefully placed it back into the suitcase. He hoped the sample from the bottle would be enough.

He was about to open the notes folder when Gilbert kicked the door open, carrying a black box in his arms.

"Delivery!" He announced and he dumped it on the desk beside the computer. "Your awesome brother managed to find it!"

"Where was it?"

"In the storage room, right at the back under twenty boxes" he slapped the top of the box, "guess this thing hasn't been used in years."

That was probably true. Ludwig thanked him and brought the tapes over to the desk. He opened the box and took out the contraption inside and it's manual. It seemed pretty self-explanatory. There was a slot for the tape to sit in and a cable to connect it to a computer. The contents of the tape would be burned onto a disk or hard drive. He set it up beside the computer.

Gilbert rested his head on his folded arms. "So, has the Chief got back to you?"

Ludwig checked the computer. There was a new email. He opened it and scanned its contents. He devised the next stage of the plan. "Yes, you should be able to take the evidence there around lunchtime."

Gilbert perked up. "Woo, that was fast. We'll have this done in no time!"

"Seems like it" Ludwig had no clue how long the case could take, but found himself agreeing with Gilbert anyways. He did that a lot.

While Gilbert was lounging around on the desk, Ludwig rummaged through the drawers and found some masking tape. He moved to the evidence and put the bottle in the box, sealing it with tape. Gilbert watched him lazily as he labelled the tape with the case information on it.

"For you," he handed it to Gilbert, who tucked it under his arm.

"Danke," he replied ironically.

Moving on, Ludwig picked up the tapes and put the one labelled 'family' into the machine.

"How long's that going to take?" Gilbert's tone was close to a whine.

"You can go have lunch now," Ludwig replied automatically as he was occupied reading the manual. "It says here that it could take half an hour per tape."

Gilbert checked the time on his phone. "I'll take an hour for lunch then." He put his phone away and glanced outside, "Actually it's too early for lunch, I'll take an hour for brunch."

The machine whirred to life and began digitising as Gilbert cackled. "When you've had your lunch break don't stop back here," Ludwig pointed to the box beside his brother. "Take that straight to be analysed. I'll be doing the paperwork for it."

"Yesss sir," Gilbert said in a mock tone as he grabbed the box. Then on a serious note, he added "you know you're the best brother, right?"

Ludwig raised his eyebrow and smirked. "Because I am doing the paperwork?"

"Ja!" Gilbert had no shame in admitting it. Though Ludwig knew the sentiment extended further than doing the dull part of the job.

He playfully groaned and shook his head. "Go to lunch already!"

Gilbert pushed off the desk and opened the lab door, "I'll bring you some lunch back!" he called back as he slammed the door.

Ludwig smiled fondly and turned back to the computer to see the tape was transferring smoothly. The email from the Chief was still up on the screen and Ludwig checked its attachments. It was just more paperwork, but with nothing else to do at that moment, he went ahead and printed it. He was the type of guy to do things as soon as possible instead of putting things off. With the files sent to the printer at the front desk, he put the computer into sleep mode.

Making his way downstairs, he noted the activity in the lobby was still dismal. Even the movement outside the glass doors of the precinct was quiet. The accustomed noise of cars tires on the asphalt outside was barely audible behind the thick glass doors, and few people walked past the building on the sidewalk.

Ludwig was sure in a couple of weeks the area would be bustling again. This odd phenomenon only happened a few times a year. The unusually dim energy covering the city in fog would soon lift.

Natalya was on her phone at the front desk. Despite the lack of enthusiasm for her job, she always got her share of paperwork done and out of the way. It was a thing they had in common.

She didn't show any sign of acknowledgement to her coworker, and Ludwig didn't take any offence. She was sharp, she knew he was there. He wasn't going to annoy her by announcing his presence and demanding attention. By now they were used to how each other were.

A generic 80's song was playing from a small pocket radio on the back counter, the grainy sound tipping him off to it being tuned to an AM station. After listening for a moment, he recognised the lyrics from 'Gloria'.

Ludwig collected the papers from the printer and took the spare seat at the front desk. The atmosphere here was nicer and he was sure Natalya appreciated the company. He filled out the forms in silence as Natalya scrolled on her phone.

It was pleasant, being able to take things at a leisurely pace. Somehow the ambient sound of the fuzzy radio and the flow of traffic outside created the perfect white noise to get through the paperwork. It didn't take long until he was through it. Without looking up, Natalya slid a folder towards him across the desk, which he promptly labelled and housed the paperwork in. He put the folder in his jacket and leaned back in the chair.

He focused his eyes beyond the glass panel of the door. It wouldn't be long until the tape would be processed. He could watch it while the other tape was being digitised. Outside a group of teens passed the building. Smiling and laughing with each other before disappearing from view.

He should also go over the folder that was from the suitcase too. Construct a timeline in his head. Ignite the burning need to see justice. At the moment he wasn't feeling the case seriously. He was taking it seriously, due to the professional nature of his job, but it was hard to comprehend the case as a tragic event. He knew Gilbert was the same. If this was a more recent and modern case, the effect would be more apparent. There would be no escaping the media covering it, remembering the life of the victim and condemning the villain.

But this case had been sitting on a dusty shelf for almost forty years. Forgotten. It was so easy to be detached from it.

Once he dived into the case and had a face to put to the victim's name, it would all become real. He knew Gilbert would be the same.

He took one last moment to relax in the chair and organise his thoughts. Steeling himself in preparation. They were able to distance themselves from the case as they knew little to nothing about the details. Since childhood both the Beilschmidt brothers had a strong sense of justice, one that often became obsessive. Something they inherited from their parents and grandfather. Once he read those papers describing whatever disgusting act lead to an innocent life taken, and watched the tapes of those left behind to grieve, he knew he wouldn't be able to focus on anything else.

Considering there was no point putting off the inevitable, Ludwig went back to the lab. He took the notes folder and sat by the computer. A quick check revealed the tape would be completely transferred in a couple of minutes. He pushed it to the back of his mind and opened the folder in front of him.

The first thing that caught his eye was a faded photo with thick borders, likely taken by a polaroid camera, held in place by a paperclip. Ludwig didn't need to assume that the boy in the photo was the victim. The slim figure in the photo was dressed in brightly coloured generic 80's clothes and was leaning cheerfully against a tall wooden fence. It was easy to picture that the blinding smile on the boy's face was one of permanence. Despite never meeting, Ludwig was almost certain he knew the boy's personality from the photo alone. At the bottom of the photo, in scribbled handwriting read 'Feliciano Vargas, May 1980.'

In any other scenario, he'd think that was a nice name.

He felt forlorn as he made eye contact with the faded face in the photo. Oblivious bright eyes that likely only saw the best in the world.

Ludwig's thoughts were strangely quiet as he took in every detail of the photograph. He didn't know what to make of it, or how to feel, knowing that the happy boy captured at this moment had been slaughtered.

His eyes snapped from the photo to the computer as the machine stopped whirring and beeped. He gingerly reached out and removed the ejected tape. He put the second tape in its place and began the process again. The digitised file of the first tape was highlighted on the computer screen, which was promptly renamed and emailed to himself.

Somehow, Ludwig was both tempted and reluctant to watch it. Despite being a hardened detective, he was always empathetic to those grieving from losses. He was not hardened enough to lose his humanity. He would be able to watch it, he had taken many statements before in person. But he expected that the combination of the grainy video and audio would be somehow more unsettling. Old things seemed to have that effect on him. It was odd, how he was wistful, for memories he never made and a time he never experienced.

He ran his fingers over the sheets of paper in his hands and brought his thoughts back to the case. He would have to read the documents first, so the tapes would be in context and provide insight.

He was careful not to split the photograph edges further as he separated it from the paperclip, and gently propped it up against the computer. He looked at the memory of the boy one last time, before turning to the papers which would uncover the last moments of Feliciano's life.