## Scene: Whispers in the Coffee Shop **Setting:** A quaint coffee shop on a sunny afternoon in Alborn, MN. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and apple pie fills the air. Melanie sits by a window, her camera resting on the table as she scrolls through photos. Hunter enters, looking weary but determined. He spots Melanie and approaches her table. **(Hunter)** "Excuse me, Ma'am. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Melanie looks up, startled. She eyes him nervously, clutching her camera a bit tighter. **(Melanie)** "(In German) Entschuldigung, verstehen Sie Deutsch? Ich spreche nicht viel Englisch." (Excuse me, do you understand German? I don't speak much English.) Hunter frowns, taken aback. **(Hunter)** "Uh... no, ma'am. Don't speak a lick of it. You speak any Spanish? French?" Melanie shakes her head, her brow furrowed with concern. **(Melanie)** "(In German, slowly and carefully) Ich... war... in der Nähe des Apfelgartens... letzte Nacht. Habe... etwas gesehen." (I... was... near... the apple orchard... last night. Saw... something.) **(Hunter)** "Apple orchard? You saw something at the orchard? Lady, this is important. Can you try and... uh..." Hunter mimes writing on his hand. **(Hunter)** "Draw? Picture?" Melanie seems to understand. She grabs a napkin and a pen, sketching rapidly. She finishes and pushes the napkin towards him. It's a crude drawing of a hooded figure near the orchard fence. **(Melanie)** "(Whispering in German) Dunkel... und schnell." (Dark... and fast.) Hunter stares at the drawing, a knot forming in his stomach. He's heard similar descriptions from other witnesses. This is bad news. **(Hunter)** "Look, uh... Fräulein..." He struggles to remember the German word for "wait." **(Hunter)** "Stay... hier? Important." He points at her, then at the chair, and finally at himself. Melanie nods hesitantly, her eyes wide with apprehension. Before Hunter can decipher her response, his phone rings. He pulls it out, sees "Sheriff" on the screen and curses under his breath. **(Hunter)** "Duty calls. Don't you move, you hear?" He points a finger at her again for emphasis and rushes out of the coffee shop, leaving Melanie alone with her anxieties and a half-eaten apple pie.