Run: 2026-02-20-01KHXQK9KDJNEJW1EQAWVZY3A1

Here’s the dialogue formatted as a **voice sheet** for your cozy mystery scene, capturing the tension, language barrier, and underlying unease between Maria and Hunter. --- ### **VOICE SHEET – CAFÉ SCENE** **Setting:** A quiet café in Alborn, MN. The hum of conversation and clinking cups fills the air. Maria sits alone at a corner table, her camera in hand, scrolling through photos with a furrowed brow. Hunter approaches, his expression serious. --- **HUNTER** *(firm, no-nonsense, leaning slightly over the table)* "Miss? Mind if I ask you a few questions?" *(Maria looks up, startled. She clutches her camera tighter, eyes widening.)* **MARÍA** *(rapid Spanish, shaken, voice trembling)* "¿Yo? ¿Por qué? No he hecho nada… ¿Qué pasa? ¿Es por lo del bosque?" *(Me? Why? I didn’t do anything… What’s going on? Is this about the forest?)* *(Hunter blinks, confused. He straightens up, crossing his arms.)* **HUNTER** *(gruff, impatient)* "Look, I don’t speak—whatever that was. You were at the old mill yesterday, right? Near the river?" **MARÍA** *(more agitated, hands gesturing as she speaks faster in Spanish)* "¡Dios mío! Sí, estuve allí… pero solo para tomar fotos. Vi… vi algo. Algo *malo*." *(Oh my God! Yes, I was there… but only to take pictures. I saw… I saw something *bad*.) She glances around nervously, lowering her voice.* "Un hombre con una chaqueta oscura. Gritó a alguien, pero no vi a quién." *(A man in a dark jacket. He yelled at someone, but I didn’t see who.)* *(Hunter exhales sharply, rubbing his temple. He pulls out a notepad, scribbling something.)* **HUNTER** *(slow, enunciating as if volume will help)* "Dark. Jacket. *Man.* You’re talking about a *man*? Tall? Short? Did he see you?" **MARÍA** *(frustrated, mixing broken English with Spanish)* "¡Sí, sí! *Man!* Alto… como usted. Pero delgado. *Thin.*" *(Yes, yes! Man! Tall… like you. But thin.)* She mimics a tall, lanky figure with her hands. "*Pelo*… *hair*… negro. Black. Like… like night." *(She shudders.)* "Él… me miró. *He looked at me.*" *(Hunter’s jaw tightens. He flips through his notepad, then pulls out a photo—a grainy security still of a lanky figure in dark clothing. He slides it toward her.)* **HUNTER** *(intense, watching her reaction closely)* "This guy?" *(Maria gasps, recoiling as if burned. She knocks over her coffee cup. The liquid spills across the table, soaking the photo’s edge. She doesn’t notice—her eyes are locked on the image, her breath shallow.)* **MARÍA** *(whispering in Spanish, horrified)* "Es él. *Es el mismo.*" *(It’s him. It’s the same one.)* She looks up at Hunter, voice cracking. "*¡Ayúdeme!*" *(Help me!)* *(Hunter’s phone rings—sharp, insistent. He curses under his breath, glancing at the screen. His expression darkens.)* **HUNTER** *(abrupt, already standing)* "I’ve gotta go. *Stay in town.*" He points at her, then at the café. "*Here.* Got it?" *(Maria nods frantically, but Hunter’s already striding away, phone pressed to his ear. She remains frozen, staring at the blurred photo, her fingers trembling around her camera.)* *(Beat. Then, under her breath in Spanish:)* **MARÍA** "*Madre de Dios… ¿qué he visto?*" *(Mother of God… what did I see?)* --- ### **NOTES FOR DELIVERY:** - **Maria:** Starts wary, grows increasingly panicked. Her Spanish should feel urgent, breathless. When she attempts English, it’s halting, mixed with Spanish words (*"alto… thin"*). - **Hunter:** All business, but his frustration at the language barrier should simmer beneath the surface. His tone shifts from authoritative to *almost* protective when he realizes she’s genuinely terrified—before the call pulls him away. - **Subtext:** Maria knows more than she’s saying (or can say). Hunter *suspects* this but lacks the tools (language, time) to dig deeper. The spilled coffee foreshadows chaos—small but unignored. --- Would you like any adjustments to tone or pacing? Or additional context for their body language?