Run: 2026-02-19-01KHVPPSCFR9B4DF4N9GYR3MR7

Hunter: (approaching the cafe table, authoritative but polite) "Excuse me, miss. I see you've been looking through that camera for the past hour. I'm Detective Hunter. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about the recent disappearances around town?" Maria: (looking up from the camera screen, startled) "¿Perdona? Lo siento mucho, no hablo inglés. Soy estudiante de intercambio... no te entiendo." Hunter: (sighing, rubbing the back of his neck) "Right. You're the college student from Spain the barista mentioned. Look, I don't know a lick of Spanish. But you're a landscape photographer, right? You're out in the woods a lot. Do you recognize these people?" (pulls out a flyer) Maria: (staring at the flyer, her face turning pale as she begins to shake) "¡Dios mío! Esa pareja... ¡Yo los vi! Anoche, cerca del huerto del festival de la manzana. ¡Pasó algo terrible!" Hunter: (leaning in, noticing her distress) "Whoa, take it easy. You're shaking like a leaf. I can tell by your face you know something. Did you see them? At the Alborn Apple Festival yesterday?" Maria: (frantic, eyes wide) "¡Había alguien más con ellos en la oscuridad! Se los llevaron hacia el bosque. Yo estaba tomando fotos de los manzanos al atardecer y lo vi todo. Tengo mucho miedo, creo que esa persona me vio a mí también." Hunter: (holding up his hands in a calming gesture) "Miss, slow down. I'm serious, I don't understand a single word you're saying. Spanish? I don't speak it. Try to just... take a deep breath." Maria: (breathing heavily, clutching her camera to her chest) "No me entiendes... Estoy intentando decirte que el asesino está ahí fuera. ¡Los arrastró por la tierra!" Hunter: (frowning, trying to piece it together) "You keep looking at the camera. Did you get a picture of it? Of the incident? Show me the camera." (points to the device) Maria: (hesitantly lifting the camera) "¿Las fotos? Sí... sí, tomé fotos. Pero las sombras eran muy largas. Mira la pantalla. ¿Ves esta figura detrás de los árboles?" Hunter: (squinting at the small digital screen) "Okay, let's see. Looks like the west ridge of the orchards... Wait. Zoom in on that corner. Can you make it bigger?" (makes a pinching motion with his fingers) Maria: (nodding nervously, pressing a button) "Sí, hacer zoom. Mira las huellas en el barro. Y esa sombra... era un hombre muy alto." Hunter: "Well I'll be damned. That's a size twelve boot print right next to where they vanished. You caught the trail. We might actually be able to track—" (a ringtone interrupts him) Hunter: (pulling out his phone from his coat pocket) "Hold that thought. Hunter speaking. ...What? Another missing person report? Where? ...The old apple-pressing mill on the edge of town. Copy that. I'm on my way." Hunter: (putting the phone away, looking urgently at Maria) "Look, I have to leave. I've got an emergency call. Stay here. Do you understand? Stay." (points firmly to the chair, then to the table) "Drink your coffee. I'll get someone from the station who speaks Spanish and come right back." Maria: (watching him step away, wrapping her arms around herself) "Por favor... ten mucho cuidado, detective. No sabes lo que se esconde en esos bosques."