# Voice Sheet: The Café Encounter --- Hunter: "Excuse me, ma'am. Mind if I sit down for a moment?" Melanie: *(looks up from her camera, startled)* "Oh... hallo?" Hunter: "I'm Detective Hunter Briggs, Alborn PD. I'm investigating some disappearances in the area. Were you by any chance near the fairgrounds last Thursday evening? During the apple festival setup?" Melanie: *(her face goes pale, her hands tightening around her camera)* "Die... die Felder. Ja, ich war dort. Ich habe etwas Schreckliches gesehen. Jemand hat geschrien, und dann war alles still. Ich hatte solche Angst." Hunter: *(blinks, leans back in his chair)* "I'm sorry — what? I didn't catch any of that." Melanie: *(gestures urgently at her camera, scrolling through photos)* "Hier, schauen Sie! Ich habe Fotos gemacht. Es war dunkel, aber sehen Sie — da war jemand. Dort bei den Bäumen!" Hunter: "Are you — is that German? Ma'am, do you speak English?" Melanie: *(shakes her head slowly, frustration creasing her brow)* "Ich spreche kein Englisch. Es tut mir leid. Aber bitte, Sie müssen sich diese Bilder ansehen!" Hunter: "Okay, okay. I can see you're upset. Can you — uh — hold on." *(mimes talking with his hand, then points at her, then at himself, shaking his head)* "We... don't... speak the same language." Melanie: *(nods sadly, understanding the gesture)* "Ja, ich weiß. Verschiedene Sprachen." *(taps the camera screen again, pushing it toward him)* "Aber die Fotos. Bitte. Schauen Sie doch." Hunter: *(squints at the small screen, sees a dark photo of the fairgrounds, a blurry figure near a tree line)* "Wait — is that... When did you take this? Thursday?" *(holds up fingers, counting days backward, pointing at the camera)* Melanie: *(nods vigorously)* "Ja! Donnerstag! Donnerstag Abend! Und diese Person dort — sie hat jemanden... mitgenommen. Jemand wurde weggetragen. Ich habe es gesehen, aber ich war zu weit weg. Ich konnte nichts tun." *(her voice cracks, eyes welling up)* Hunter: "Hey, hey — it's alright. I can see this shook you up. I wish I could understand what you're telling me. This photo, though..." *(pulls out his notebook, scribbles something, then mimes the camera)* "Can I — can I get a copy of this?" Melanie: *(watches him gesture at the camera, understands partially)* "Sie wollen die Fotos? Ja, natürlich. Ich kann sie Ihnen schicken. Haben Sie eine... eine E-Mail?" *(mimes typing on a keyboard)* Hunter: "Email? Yeah — yeah, email I understand." *(writes his email address on a page, tears it off, slides it across the table)* "Send me whatever you've got." Melanie: *(takes the paper, nods, clutches it carefully)* "Gut. Ich schicke Ihnen alles. Aber bitte — seien Sie vorsichtig. Was auch immer dort draußen passiert... es ist nicht normal. Die Leute hier, sie wissen etwas. Sie reden nur nicht darüber." Hunter: *(stares at her, shaking his head slowly)* "I really need to find a translator in this town. You're clearly trying to tell me something important and I'm sitting here like a—" *(His phone rings. He holds up a finger.)* Hunter: "Briggs here. ...Yeah. ...Where? ...I'm on my way." *(stands up abruptly, pockets the phone)* "I'm sorry, I have to go. Something's come up." *(points at the paper in her hand, then at his own chest, miming sending)* "Email. Please." Melanie: *(nods, holding the paper to her chest)* "Ja, ich schicke sie. Bitte, passen Sie auf sich auf, Herr Detektiv." Hunter: *(pauses at the door, turns back, tips his head)* "I don't know what you just said, but... thank you. Stay safe." *(He pushes through the café door and disappears into the gray Alborn afternoon. Melanie watches him go, then looks back down at her camera — at the dark figure frozen between the apple trees — and quietly whispers to herself.)* Melanie: "Bitte finden Sie sie. Bevor es zu spät ist." ---