The latte steamed gently in front of Melanie, its creamy surface undimpling with each gust of October wind that swept through the open cafe doors. But Melanie barely noticed. Her gaze was glued to the digital display of her camera, replaying the same photograph again and again. A flicker of movement caught her eye – a man, face obscured by shadow, lurking at the edge of the park. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs. A shadow fell across the table. Melanie looked up into the stern face of a man in plain clothes, a badge glinting at his hip. **Hunter:** "Ma'am, you mind if I ask you a few questions? I'm Detective Hunter with the Alborn PD. We're looking into…" He paused, glancing at the photo in her camera. "That's a mighty fine picture you got there. Local scenery?" Melanie froze. English words, like jumbled stones, tumbled around in her mind, refusing to form coherent sentences. She blinked, panicked. **Melanie:** "Ich… ich verstehe nicht." Hunter frowned. “Uh… ma’am?” **Melanie:** "Nicht Englisch. Deutsch?" She held his gaze pleadingly, her voice trembling slightly. Hunter’s brows knotted further. "Deutsch? No." He realized he was getting nowhere. **Hunter:** "Look, ma'am, we just need to…" He gestured vaguely. "Something happened here a couple nights ago, see. Someone vanished. Just disappeared. You happened to be here, taking pictures. Figured maybe you saw something.” Melanie stared at him, the dread tightening its grip on her chest. **Melanie:** "Ja... ich habe gesehen." Her voice was barely a whisper. She strung together fragmented sentences, her words tumbling over each other in a rush of panicked German. **Melanie:** "Der Mann... im Wald... er war... er war nicht allein." He spoke slowly, enunciating carefully. **Melanie:** "Die Menschen... sie verschwinden." Hunter’s face contorted in frustration. He was missing something, something crucial. Just then, his radio crackled to life, spitting out urgent chatter. He cut it short and barked a reply. **Hunter:** "Excuse me, ma'am. Gotta take this. We'll... we'll talk later. If you remember anything else, just…" He trailed off, frustrated again. He turned to leave, his gaze lingering on the photograph in Melanie's camera. He had a feeling he would need to learn at least a few German phrases very soon. **Dialogue:** **Melanie:** "Ich… ich verstehe nicht. Nicht Englisch. Deutsch?" **Hunter:** "Uh… ma'am?" **Melanie:** "Ja... ich habe gesehen." **Melanie:** "Der Mann... im Wald... er war... er war nicht allein." **Melanie:** "Die Menschen... sie verschwinden." **Hunter:** "Ma'am, you mind if I ask you a few questions? I'm Detective Hunter with the Alborn PD. We're looking into…" **Hunter:** "Uh… ma'am?" **Hunter:** "Look, ma'am, we just need to…" **Hunter:** "Excuse me, ma'am. Gotta take this. We'll... we'll talk later. If you remember anything else, just…"