## Scene: Alborn Cafe **Setting:** A quaint cafe in the heart of Alborn, Minnesota. Sunlight streams through the window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and apple pie fills the room. MELANIE sits alone at a small table, her brow furrowed in concentration as she reviews photographs on her camera. **Enter HUNTER,** a tall, imposing figure in a rumpled suit. He scans the cafe until his eyes land on Melanie. **(Hunter approaches Melanie's table and clears his throat.)** **Hunter:** Excuse me, ma'am. **(Melanie looks up, startled. She closes her camera and stares at Hunter with wide, worried eyes.)** **Melanie:** ...Ich...ich bin mir nicht sicher, was ich sagen soll. **Hunter:** (Confused) Uh...sorry, ma'am, I don't... **(Melanie gestures to the camera in her hand.)** **Melanie:** ...die Bilder...sie sind... **Hunter:** (Slowly) Pictures? You took pictures? **(Melanie nods, her voice trembling.)** **Melanie:** ...von gestern...die Party...die Polizei... **Hunter:** (Leaning in) You were at the party last night? The one at the orchard? **(Melanie nods again, her eyes welling up.)** **Melanie:** Ja...es war...schrecklich... **Hunter:** (Grimacing) Something bad happened? **(Melanie looks around nervously, then leans in conspiratorially.)** **Melanie:** ...es war...nicht...normal... **Hunter:** (Intrigued) Not normal? What do you mean? **(Melanie struggles to articulate her thoughts, her German laced with fear.)** **Melanie:** ...ein Mann...er...er war...anders... **Hunter:** (Frustrated) I don't understand. **(Hunter's phone rings, breaking the tension. He pulls it out with a sigh.)** **Hunter:** (Into the phone) Yeah, this is Detective Miller... what's up? **(Hunter glances back at Melanie, his face a mixture of regret and curiosity.)** **Hunter:** (To Melanie) Look, I...I gotta go right now. Can I get your name? **(Melanie hesitates, then whispers her name. Hunter scribbles it down on a napkin.)** **Hunter:** Thanks. If you remember anything else...anything at all...please call me. **(Hunter gives her a reassuring nod and walks away, leaving Melanie with her camera and a growing sense of unease.)**