Run: 2026-02-20-01KHY9JTT464KSFQ1JMZWZ03BH

**Marie:** (head down, fingers brushing the camera strap, voice tight with French) *"Ils... ils disparaissent. Depuis huit semaines. Trois personnes. Et hier... je... je ne sais pas..."* (pauses, eyes darting to a nearby table where a few locals linger, then back to Hunter, voice trembling) *"Je suis terrifiée."* **Hunter:** (leaning in, brow furrowed, not catching the words but sensing her distress) *"Whoa, easy there. You okay? What’s bothering you?"* (when she doesn’t answer, he repeats, slower) *"Recent event in town—you heard about the disappearances? The ones the papers are talking about? That affect you?"* **Marie:** (startled, maybe even angry he doesn’t understand) *"Oui! C’est ça! Je vous ai dit! Est-ce que vous ne parlez pas français? Je ne peux pas parler anglais! J’ai vu quelque chose. Un homme. Dernière nuit. À l’ouest du village. Il avait un manteau noir... et un sac..."* (she rambles, hands gesturing wildly, voice cracking) *"Je ne sais pas ce qu’il faisait. Mais il regardait... comme s’il avait froid. Et maintenant... il est parti. Et l’autre... elle est sortie... et elle n’est pas revenue."* **Hunter:** (blinking, hands raised in a half-panicked gesture) *"Hey, hey, slow down. I—uh—don’t speak French. At all. Not a word. Must’ve been a misunderstanding. Look, maybe we can write this down? Or my partner speaks a little. But first—"* (his phone buzzes; he checks the screen, jaw tightening) *"Crap. I gotta take this. Listen, you said you saw a man by the woods? What’d he look like? Age? Height?"* (he tries, rapid-fire, in English, but Marie just shakes her head, tears welling, and points to her camera, which still shows a photo she took: a shadowy figure near the apple orchard, late at night) **Hunter:** (glancing at the photo, frowning) *"Okay, that’s… helpful. Thanks. I’ll be back later. Maybe bring a translator? Or—"* (the phone rings again, louder) *"Dammit."* (he answers, voice hardening) *"Hunter here.… Right. The mill pond? I’m five minutes out."* (he hangs up, shooting Marie a apologetic look) *"Sorry. Gotta go. But hey—if you remember more, holler. At this cafe. The owner, Mabel, she’s got a tablet. Maybe we can use that. Okay?"* **Marie:** (watching him go, still clutching her camera, voice soft, almost to herself, in French) *"S’il vous plaît. Faites tout. Veuillez."* (she doesn’t look up as he hurries out, the locals still watching her, whispering. She stares at her camera, then at the photo, fingers shaking.) This voice sheet balances their characters—Marie’s limited English, Hunter’s confusion and focus on the case—while tracing the tension of their miscommunication and the urgency of the moment.