Run: 2025-11-18-01KACP765K2F9XTZ1547F4FXWB

Hunter: (Approaching the table, voice calm and measured) "Excuse me, ma'am? I'm Detective Hunter. Do you have a minute to talk?" Melanie: (Looks up from her camera, startled) "Wie bitte? Entschuldigung, ich..." Hunter: "I'm with the Alborn Police Department. I'm investigating the disappearance of Mr. Abernathy. We have a report you were taking photographs down by Miller's Creek yesterday evening." Melanie: (Her eyes widen in fear; she clutches her camera to her chest) "Ich verstehe nicht... Englisch? Nein, nein. Aber... der Mann! Im Wald! Es war schrecklich, so schrecklich!" Hunter: (Frowns, holding up a hand) "Whoa, okay. Slow down. I don't understand what you're saying. English? Sprechen Sie English?" Melanie: (Shakes her head frantically, her breathing shallow) "Nein! Kein Englisch. Ich habe etwas gesehen... eine Gestalt im Nebel. Und dann... das Geräusch. Oh Gott, das Geräusch." Hunter: "Alright. Okay. Let's try this a different way." (He pulls out a small notepad and a pen, then points to his own eyes, then gestures toward the window, in the direction of the woods.) "You... see... yesterday?" Melanie: (Watches his gestures, her brow furrowed in concentration. She nods slowly, then taps her camera urgently.) "Ja! Ja! Das Foto!" Hunter: "The photo? You have a picture?" Melanie: (Fumbles with the camera's display screen, her hands shaking. She scrolls through a few images of golden-hour trees and babbling brooks before landing on one. She turns the screen to him. The photo is dark, taken at dusk. It shows a clearing, and in the background, almost lost in the deepening shadows, is the blurry but unmistakable shape of a person dragging a large, lumpy canvas sack toward the creek.) "Sehen Sie? Dort! Ich dachte, es wäre nur... ich weiß nicht. Aber er hat mich nicht gesehen. Ich hatte solche Angst." Hunter: (Leans in, his no-nonsense expression hardening into focused intensity. He squints at the screen.) "My God..." (He points at the blurry figure.) "Who is that?" Melanie: (Shrugs helplessly, tears welling in her eyes) "Ich weiß es nicht! Es war zu dunkel. Ich bin einfach nur weggelaufen." Hunter: (Looks from the camera back to her face, seeing the genuine terror there. He pulls out his phone to take a picture of her camera screen, then stops as the phone begins to ring loudly. He glances at the caller ID, his jaw tightening.) "Damn it." (He answers.) "Hunter... Yeah... Where? Okay, I'm five minutes out. Don't let anyone touch anything." Hunter: (He ends the call and shoves the phone back in his pocket, his attention locked on Melanie. He points at the chair she's sitting in.) "Stay. Right. Here. Don't move. I'll be back. I'll find someone who can... translate. Verstehen? Stay." Melanie: (Looking from his urgent face to the door, she just nods, wrapping her arms around herself.) "Ja... ich bleibe."