Run: 2026-02-17-01KHNF7C4QC9H3WH8J1EM8WK0G

**Scene: The Beanery Cafe, Alborn, MN - Late Afternoon** Melanie sits alone at a corner table, turning her camera over in her hands. She stares at the small screen, scrolling through photos of the autumn woods outside town. Her expression is troubled. Hunter approaches, his jacket still bearing the faint smell of cigarette smoke from outside. He stops at her table. **Hunter:** "Excuse me. I'm Detective Hunter with the Alborn Police Department. I was hoping to ask you a few questions about what happened near the apple orchard last Tuesday." Melanie looks up, her blue eyes wide. She shakes her head slightly, not understanding. **Melanie:** *(speaking rapidly in German, her voice shaking)* "Es tut mir leid, ich verstehe Sie nicht. Ich spreche nur Deutsch. Bitte, ich möchte nicht darüber sprechen. Es war furchtbar. Ich habe so viel Angst." **Hunter:** *(confused, brow furrowing)* "I'm sorry... what? I don't... are you speaking Spanish? French?" Melanie shakes her head more urgently. She points to herself and says slowly. **Melanie:** "Deutsch. Ich spreche nur Deutsch." **Hunter:** *(running a hand through his hair)* "German. Right. Okay." *(pauses, tries hand gestures)* "Apple orchard. Last Tuesday. You were there?" Melanie's face pales. She clutches her camera tighter. She speaks in German again, faster, her voice cracking. **Melanie:** "Ich habe sie gesehen. Ich habe gesehen, was passiert ist. Die Tasche... die Tasche am Boden... und dann... dann war sie weg. Einfach weg." **Hunter:** *(more confused, but noting her distress)* "Whoa, okay, slow down. I don't understand a word you're saying. But... you were there? You saw something?" Melanie takes a breath, trying to calm herself. She holds up her camera and points to it, then mimicks taking a photo. She gestures toward the window, toward the direction of the orchards outside of town. **Melanie:** "Foto. Ich... Fotografie. Landschaft. Then... *(she clutches her chest)* ...sehr schlimm. Sehr, sehr schlimm." **Hunter:** "Photos. You take photos. Of the landscape." *(he sighs, frustrated)* "Look, I really need to find out what people saw that night. Someone disappeared. A woman named Sarah Chen. Have you heard anything about that?" Melanie's eyes widen further at the word "disappeared." She nods frantically, then covers her mouth with her hand. She whispers in German. **Melanie:** "Eine Frau? Verschwunden? Oh Gott..." Hunter's phone rings. He glances at the screen, his expression shifting to professional urgency. **Hunter:** *(into phone)* "Hunter here. What? Okay. I'm on my way." He pockets the phone and looks back at Melanie. **Hunter:** "I have to go. But don't leave town, alright? We need to talk again. With a translator or something." Melanie nods, though she doesn't fully understand. She watches him rush out of the cafe, her hand still pressed to her chest. She looks down at her camera, at the last photo she took before running away that night—the empty bench by the orchard path, and something glinting in the grass that she当时 didn't notice. Her hands tremble as she holds the camera closer. **Melanie:** *(quietly, to herself)* "Ich hätte besser hingucken sollen..." *End of scene.*