Run: 2026-02-24-01KJ8VG321PQV22PKYDFR0S6M0

# The Café on Main Street --- Hunter: "Excuse me, ma'am. Mind if I sit down for a moment?" Isabella: *glances up from her camera, startled* "Oh— mi scusi, non l'avevo vista. Prego, si sieda pure." Hunter: "I'll take that as a yes. I'm Detective Hunter Brandt, with the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office. I'm looking into some things happening here in town. You been around Alborn long?" Isabella: *blinks, tilting her head* "Mi dispiace, non... non parlo inglese. Parla italiano?" Hunter: "I— sorry, I don't... Is that Italian? I don't speak Italian, ma'am." Isabella: *sets down her camera, pressing a hand to her chest* "Italiano, sì. Solo italiano." Hunter: *sighs, pulls out a small notepad and flips it open* "Okay. Let me try this differently. I'm a detective." *taps his badge slowly* "Detective. I'm asking folks about the disappearances. You know about that? People going missing?" Isabella: *her eyes widen at the word "missing"* "Missing... scomparsi? Lei sta parlando delle persone scomparse?" Hunter: "You recognize that word. Missing. Yeah. Three people in the last two months. Nobody can tell me a damn thing." Isabella: *visibly shaken, gripping the edges of her camera* "Dio mio. Io... io ho visto qualcosa. L'altra notte, vicino al vecchio frutteto di mele. C'era un uomo— portava qualcosa di pesante. Era buio, ma l'ho fotografato. Ho le foto, guardi—" Hunter: "Whoa, whoa. Slow down. I can't understand a word of that. You're upset, though. I can see that much." Isabella: *fumbles with her camera, turning the display screen toward him* "Guardi! Guardi qui! L'ho visto con i miei occhi. Quest'uomo, vicino al frutteto, trascinava qualcosa. Qualcosa di grande. Ero troppo spaventata per avvicinarmi, ma ho scattato delle foto da lontano." Hunter: *leans forward, squinting at the camera screen* "Hold on— is that the old Magnusson orchard? Off County Road 27? When did you take this?" Isabella: "Due notti fa. Erano circa le undici. Stavo fotografando il cielo stellato quando l'ho visto. Era grande, con un cappotto scuro. Si è fermato e ha guardato verso di me, e io sono corsa via. Ho avuto così tanta paura." Hunter: *rubs his jaw* "I can see something in that photo, but it's dark as hell. There's definitely a figure there. And that's— yeah, that's the tree line behind the Magnusson property." *points at the screen* "This. Can you send me this? Email?" *mimes typing on a phone* Isabella: *nods eagerly* "Sì, sì! Email! Posso mandargliela. Mi dia il suo indirizzo email." Hunter: *scribbles his email on a page, tears it off, and slides it across the table* "Send whatever you've got to that address. Every photo from that night." Isabella: *takes the paper, nodding* "Va bene. Gliele mando tutte. Ma, detective— stia attento. Quell'uomo... c'era qualcosa di sbagliato in lui. Nel modo in cui si muoveva. Come se sapesse di non essere visto. Come se fosse abituato a fare quella cosa." Hunter: "I wish to God I knew what you were saying. You look like you've got a whole story to tell me." Isabella: *places a hand over his notepad, her voice dropping low* "Non era un animale quello che trascinava. Era troppo grande. Troppo pesante. Era una persona, detective. Ne sono sicura." Hunter: *studies her face* "Whatever you saw out there really rattled you. I'm going to need to find someone who can transl—" *His phone rings sharply. He glances at the screen.* Hunter: "Brandt. ...Yeah. ...Where? ...How long ago? ...Don't let anyone touch anything. I'm on my way." *stands abruptly, tucking the notepad into his jacket* "I've gotta go. Something just came up." Isabella: *stands halfway, alarmed* "Che succede? È successo qualcosa di brutto?" Hunter: *pauses, looks back at her* "Send me those photos, okay? Photos." *mimes holding a camera and pointing at his email on the paper* "And ma'am— stay away from that orchard at night. Orchard." *gestures vaguely east* "No more nighttime walks out there. You understand?" Isabella: *clutches her camera to her chest* "Il frutteto... sì. Ho capito. Starò attenta." Hunter: *nods once, turns to leave, then stops* "I'm going to find a translator. I'll be back. I *will* be back." Isabella: *watches him push through the café door, then whispers to herself* "Spero che mi creda. Spero che non sia troppo tardi." --- *She looks down at her camera again, scrolling back to the dark photograph. The figure in the frame stands motionless among the apple trees, and even in the tiny screen's glow, something about its posture makes her hands tremble. She slips the detective's email into her coat pocket and signals the barista for another espresso.*