Run: 2026-02-24-01KJ8TZQGYCGP8PAWN04KG9849

# Scene: The Corner Booth at Birch Street Café, Alborn, MN --- Hunter: "Afternoon, ma'am. Mind if I sit down? I'm Detective Hunter Brannick, with the county sheriff's office." Marie: *[glancing up from her camera, startled]* "Pardon? Je… je ne comprends pas. Vous êtes qui?" Hunter: "Right. I'm a detective. *Detective.* I'm looking into some things happening around town. You've been here a few days, haven't you? Staying at the inn on Maple?" Marie: *[shaking her head slowly]* "Je suis désolée, monsieur, je ne parle pas anglais. Pas du tout." Hunter: "I— okay. Huh. You don't speak English." Marie: "Anglais… non. *Non.* Française." *[She touches her chest.]* "Marie." Hunter: "Marie. All right, Marie. I'm Hunter. *Hunter.*" *[He taps his chest, then pulls a small notepad from his jacket and slides it across the table.]* "Look — last night, around ten o'clock — did you see anything? *Last night?*" *[He points out the window toward the town square and mimics a clock with his hands, holding up ten fingers.]* Marie: *[Her face goes pale. She sets down her camera with trembling hands.]* "Mon Dieu… Oui. Oui, la nuit dernière. J'étais dehors, près du verger, pour photographier la lune." *[She lifts her camera briefly, then mimes taking a photo and points toward the east end of town.]* "Et j'ai vu… j'ai vu quelqu'un. Quelqu'un qui traînait une chose — une grande chose — dans l'obscurité. C'était horrible. J'ai eu tellement peur que je me suis cachée derrière les arbres." Hunter: *[Leaning forward, studying her expression.]* "Okay. You saw something. That much I'm getting. You look shaken up pretty good." *[He taps the notepad and hands her a pen.]* "Can you draw it? *Draw?*" *[He mimes sketching on the paper.]* Marie: *[Nodding quickly, she takes the pen and begins to sketch — a rough outline of the old orchard, a figure dragging something large along the tree line.]* "Là. C'était là. Cette personne… elle portait quelque chose de lourd. Peut-être un sac? Je ne sais pas. Mais c'était gros. De la taille d'une… d'une personne." Hunter: *[Staring at the drawing, jaw tightening.]* "That's the Halvorsen orchard. And that — that shape sure looks like a body." *[He looks up at her.]* "Did you see a face? A *face?*" *[He circles his own face with a finger.]* Marie: *[She shakes her head vigorously.]* "Non, non. Il faisait trop noir. J'ai essayé de prendre une photo mais mes mains tremblaient trop." *[She picks up her camera, scrolls through the photos, and turns the screen toward him. The image is dark, blurred — but there's an unmistakable silhouette near the tree line.]* "Regardez. C'est tout ce que j'ai. Je suis désolée." Hunter: *[Taking the camera gently, squinting at the screen.]* "Well, I'll be damned. That's blurry, but that's *something.* That's more than anyone else has given me in two weeks." *[He pulls out a business card and sets it on the table.]* "Marie — *Marie* — if you see anything else, you call this number. *Call.*" *[He mimes holding a phone to his ear.]* Marie: *[Taking the card, nodding.]* "D'accord. Oui. Téléphone." *[She pauses, then speaks quickly, urgently.]* "Monsieur, s'il vous plaît, faites attention. Cette personne… elle m'a vue. Je crois qu'elle m'a vue. Elle s'est arrêtée et elle a regardé dans ma direction. J'ai couru. J'ai couru aussi vite que j'ai pu." Hunter: *[Reading her fear even without the words.]* "Hey. Whatever happened out there — you're safe right now, all right? *Safe.*" *[He places a steady hand briefly on the table near hers.]* "I'm going to figure out what—" *[His phone buzzes sharply. He glances at the screen, and his expression hardens.]* Hunter: "Brannick here." *[A pause. His eyes widen slightly.]* "Where? … How long ago? … Don't touch anything. I'm on my way." *[He stands abruptly, tucking the notepad into his jacket.]* "Marie — I have to go. *Go.*" *[He points toward the door, then back at her.]* "Stay here. *Stay.* Lock your door tonight." *[He mimes turning a lock.]* Marie: *[Standing halfway, clutching her camera to her chest.]* "Attendez — qu'est-ce qui se passe? Est-ce que quelqu'un d'autre a disparu?" Hunter: *[Already moving toward the door, he turns back one last time.]* "I don't know what you just said, Marie. But I have a feeling we're running out of time." *[He tips his head in a short nod.]* "I'll be back. *Back.*" *[He holds up one finger, then points to his watch, then to the café floor.]* Marie: *[Sinking slowly back into the booth, whispering to herself as the bell above the door chimes behind him.]* "Mon Dieu… qu'est-ce qui se passe dans cette ville?" --- *She turns her camera back on and scrolls to the blurred photograph. In the dark smear of the orchard, the silhouette stares back at her — and for just a moment, she swears it's closer than it was before.*