Ludwig sat with his hands clasped and pushed against his face. Beside him, the documents and notes were discarded in a neat pile. His eyes were unfocused and unseeing. Behind his foggy gaze, his mind was sifting through this new information.

He supposed he should watch the tapes while the scene was fresh in his mind, but he was slightly reluctant. Sure, he could read all the papers he could find on the case and rest well at night. He'd still have compassion for the victim and a desire to see justice through. Yet he knew once he watched the tapes of those left behind, suffering the heartache of the tragedy, there would be no turning back.

Though he knew there was no turning back after seeing that photo. That beautiful and tragic photo.

Still internally debating, Ludwig checked his phone. Gilbert should be off his lunch break now and taking the bottle to be analysed. Ludwig slid his phone back into his pocket and leaned back into the chair. Turning his head to the window, he took a brief moment to appreciate the urban scene as he prepared himself.

After the length of one red light, he willed himself to turn back to the computer. He took the pen from his pocket and spread the documents out in front of him. He doubted he could take any new notes from the recordings. At least he could fiddle with the pen if the tapes got intense.

In the silent confines of the room, the clicking of the mouse somehow seemed to echo around the walls forebodingly.

A static sound emitted from the computer and a grainy image became increasingly brighter on the screen as the reel began to play.

He quickly recognised the setting as a department office, not unlike his own. In the middle of the frame, seated tensely on a fabric couch was a young boy whose face distinctly held every negative emotion possible in the human experience. Ludwig's heart tightened as the boy fought to restrain his emotions from overwhelming him. Ludwig didn't need to look back at the photo to know that this was the twin. The twin who's eyes were burning and swelling with desperation and anguish. His trembling form only exhibited a fraction of the war engulfing his insides as he sat there, processing the knowledge that his world had been decimated by some cowardly lowlife who had snuffed the life of an innocent boy. His twin, and now a piece of him was missing.

Ludwig took a deep breath in and untensed his jaw. He held his eyes to the screen as the reel kept rolling.

The voice of an officer from outside the frame cut through the static silence as he asked Lovino to walk them through the events of that night, encouraging him to include every detail.

Lovino stared at the ground and channel his face into a scowl. For a moment the silence was deafening and slowly becoming unbearable. Then a strained voice cut through.

"He called at 5, I got there about 5:30, we made pasta for dinner, I left about 10:30 and went home."

There was some shuffling from behind the camera. "It's okay," the detective consoled understandingly, "take as much time as you need."

Lovino showed no sign of hearing those words as he took in a deep breath while glaring at the table in front of him. For a couple of moments, the only sound from the tape was the static of the aged reel.

"I was home alone because grandpa had gone out and he rang on the landline," he swallowed and continued to stare at the table. "He invited me for dinner 'cause he-" he broke off as he suddenly trembled, tightening his fists to prevent the tears swimming in his eyes from falling.

"He was lonely. He missed us," Lovino whimpered as he scrunched up his face and folded in on himself as if he were in physical pain.

No one spoke for a few minutes as his sharp breaths slowly became more even and Lovino returned to staring at the table. There were no tear tracks down his face, though his eyes were red and sunken in. This time, when he focused on the wooden surface, his face was blank.

"I drove over, I bought some wine on the way there, he was making pasta, we cooked it together" he licked his cracked lips and gave a weak smile. "He loved pasta. He loved all of grandpa's recipes." His face sagged again.

"We just hung out and had dinner. He had a slight headache the whole night, but then it got worse and I put him to bed 'cause he wanted to sleep it off. I told him to just take some pills but he was stubborn." Lovino's eyes glanced up at the rest of the room for a moment before flicking straight back down.

"He's a big baby," he remarked with a sombre tone, "he always needed to be looked after when he was sick..." his eyes slowly became more glossy as he stared rigidly at the same groove in the wood.

"And then I left," he whispered, as though his volume would cause him to break. "I turned off all the lights and locked the door. And I left."

His hands were shaking. He bawled his hands into a tighter fist, no doubt digging his nails into his palm.

"I-" he took a deep breath and continued in a hushed tone, "I went home. Grandpa was there and I said goodnight and went to bed. And now-"

Gasping, he pressed his lips together and didn't move his eyes up. After a few moments, the detective realised he wasn't going to say anything else.

"Thank you, I understand this must be quite difficult," the detective ignored Lovino as he scoffed, "we just have a few questions we were hoping you could clear up? It shouldn't take too long."

Lovino nodded silently, his hunched form made him look smaller and timid. There was the sound of paper rustling from behind the camera.

"Could you tell us where the wine was when you left? Had you or your brother drunk much of it?"

Lovino looked up, eyebrows furrowing. "We didn't drink any of it. He already had some of his own out so... I put it on the counter by the fridge and left it there. For him." He faltered and glanced past the camera suspiciously. "Why are you asking me that?"

There was a moment of shuffling from the detective before a sigh. "Because it's an ongoing investigation, you can't repeat anything that happens in this room, alright?" The detective's tone was hushed, but the urgency was still present. Lovino bit back his anger and nodded.

"We found the wine bottle at the scene," the detective said cautiously in a sympathetic tone, "We just needed to eliminate the possibility that either of you had touched it. Someone had opened it and probably drank some of the wine. We found it dropped on the floor."

Lovino's eyes burned as he made the insinuated connection.

"That bastard!" Lovino spat and punched the table, "That fucking bastard! That was for Feli! I'll kill that bastard!"

The detective said nothing as Lovino entered a delirious rage in fast Italian. As fast as the tirade came on, it faded out. Lovino sat stiffly on the couch, his eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears, shaking as he fought to regain his breath.

"Would you like some tissues?"

"No," Lovino growled and glared at the ceiling to stop the tears from falling.

There was a pause and the sound of paper as the detective chose that moment to check through his notes.

"Okay, I've got two more questions and then you can leave," the detective replied patiently, "You visit him frequently, right? You would know the neighbourhood he lived in?"

Lovino gave a minute nod but kept his face to the ceiling.

"Do you know if there's anyone with a motive? Anyone with a grudge or resentment? A reason to target Vargas or the house?"

"No one could want to hurt him," Lovino snarled as he scowled at the detective. "Everyone liked him! He was a friendly idiot. How could anyone hate him! He's too dimwitted to have enemies. No one should want to hurt him! Only a monst-"

"Okay, so it's unlikely the suspect knew him," The detective cut him off before he could get worked up again. "Last question, did you notice anything during the night or when you left? Did you sense anything or see anything unusual? Something that didn't add up?"

Lovino shook his head, but his eyes remained in place, unfocussed beyond the camera. He opened his mouth to answer before snapping it shut and burying his face in his hands.

"I don't- I don't know," he grumbled, "I just felt worried when I left 'cause he was sick. I don't think I noticed or sensed anything..."

"Okay, well, thank you for your time and cooperation. I'm sorry for your loss."

Lovino nodded mournfully as he pushed himself off the couch.

Ludwig abruptly paused the video and willed himself to come back to the present. He leaned back in his chair and tried to blink the grainy images from his mind.

Sitting alone in the quiet and vacant room, processing the video, Ludwig felt hollow. That video would live in his mind for the rest of his life.

He couldn't help but empathise with the grieving boy. He was so lost and hurt from losing his brother, his twin who he was born with and will now live without. Has been living without for forty years.

Ludwig's mouth was dry. He couldn't imagine the extent of pain Lovino had felt, and likely still feels. His chest tightened at the thought of living without Gilbert.

God forbid, if something horrible happened to Gilbert, Ludwig could only hope he could hold himself together and work towards justice. Though he was sure that in reality, his world would crumble just like the image of the boy captured in the video.

It was reassuring to know that Lovino was still alive and in the area. For him and Feliciano, Ludwig was determined to solve this case and deliver the long-awaited justice and answers.

Turning back to the computer, he pressed play on the video before suddenly pausing it again. The video cut from Lovino leaving the room to a man with a forlorn expression sitting on the couch soberly. The likeness between the two was apparent, and Ludwig knew this was the grandfather.

Who was now, unfortunately, deceased.

The man sitting on the couch looked as if he aged more rapidly in a few hours than he did in a few years. Ludwig felt for him too. His child and grandchild both passed before him, leaving him to pick up the pieces.

Ludwig rubbed his hands over his eyes. He should finish the reel after a break. He'd go get something to drink, then he'd come back to the case. Standing up, he looked at the discarded investigation papers and sighed. At some point, Gilbert would have to read those and watch the videos. He'd have to put the videos on a USB and give Gilbert the folder with it when he comes back.

He didn't like it though. Even before their profession, the brothers were always looking out for and trying to protect the other. Both wanted to be the one who shouldered it all, though they got past that years ago. That didn't stop him from feeling the urge now more than ever after watching the tape.

Gilbert would want to know the details for himself, and he'd be able to handle it. Ludwig wouldn't like it if Gilbert kept information from him while saying he didn't need to concern himself.

Walking out of the lab and down the stairs, Ludwig could see the lobby was more active than before. A young woman was at the front desk talking to Natalya and discreetly showing her something on her phone while Natalya typed up something.

Sensing the serious nature of the stressed tone the woman was using, Ludwig tried to ignore their conversation and give them a wide girth as he passed.

He walked behind the front desk and into the empty staff room. He filled up a cup with the bland water from the tap and forced himself to drink it all as he leaned against the counter. He caught himself staring at the opposite wall blankly and blinked himself out of it.

Ludwig pushed off the counter and washed the cup up before putting it back. He could feel himself becoming lethargic as he stared at the cup on the shelf. Scowling, he turned the tap back on and splashed his face with the water. Not bothering to dry off, he walked straight out of the room and down the hall to the offices.

He entered Gilbert's office and marched over to his desk drawers. He pulled them open one by one as he searched for a USB. There was no way Ludwig was going to give him one of his own.

Unsurprisingly, each drawer was as messy as the rest of the room. In the second drawer, he found an opened pack of USBs with one still wedged in the original wrapping. Guaranteed to have nothing important on it, Ludwig pried it out. He shoved it into his jacket and marched directly back to the lab.

He stuck the USB into the computer and copied the videos onto the drive. The green bar loaded at a steady pace before completing. His eyes caught the faded photo leaning by the computer. His fingers brushed against it cautiously as he carefully picked it up and, with a pang of guilt, clipped it to the damming documents again. The boy just smiled. He spared the boy in the photo one last glance, before closing the folder.

Ludwig ejected the USB and grabbed the investigation documents. He held them between his hands, promising to himself Feliciano's photo wouldn't be concealed away for so long again.

With a sigh, he placed them inside his jacket.

It was probably his imagination, but he could feel their unassuming weight through the fabric. No doubt only a fraction of the weight the family had to carry.

He would give it to Gilbert the next time he saw him. Ludwig avoided eye contact with the computer screen as he took out his phone to check up on him.

[Lutz] Have you dropped off the evidence yet?

Gilbert replied almost instantly. Ludwig considered the possibility that he was already on his phone.

[Gilly] yep just going through some stuff for it

[Lutz] How long?

[Gilly] uhh

[Gilly] 30mins

[Lutz] Okay

[Gilly] its mostly waiting ?

[Gilly] ughhh

[Lutz] Stick it out

[Gilly] I am!

[Lutz] Good, I'm going back to work

[Lutz] You're on your own

[Gilly] nooo brooo ? you love me more than work right?

[Gilly] Im your awesome big brother ?

[Lutz] Maybe. Go look at some memes while you wait

[Lutz] Bye

He locked his phone and shoved it back into his pocket before he could see Gilbert's response. He couldn't help but smirk fondly as he heard the notifications from his pocket.

The smile faded from his face when he thought back to the case. He ran a hand through his slicked-back hair and sighed. Irrational feelings of guilt bubbled up and he forced them back down. He didn't love work more than his brother. He should've replied yes with no hesitation. But he knew that was stupid, it was only because the case was reminding him how fragile human life was that he was fretting about it.

They were joking around. Isn't that a form of love? Gilbert didn't need a text to know he was more important than work.

He was sure Gilbert was going to feel similar emotions and insecurity when he started digging into the case. The face of the emotionally shattered boy desperately trying to hold himself together will definitely be in his dreams tonight. He blocked his brain from thinking about it further.

Looking up at the ceiling, he pushed the feelings aside and focussed his thoughts back on the case. The timeline was forming in his mind, becoming more and more fleshed out with every new piece of information he learned.

He turned back to the illuminated computer screen and stared at the lone figure seated on the couch. He knew it would be hard, but he felt obligated to hear his account.

Taking a deep breath in, Ludwig pressed play.