Run: 2026-03-03-01KJTZG3SEK62WHSXYDPB1JV5P

### Scene Context: Cozy Maple Street Cafe in Alborn, MN, days before the annual apple festival. Melanie slumps in a corner booth, flipping through landscape photos on her DSLR—shots from the abandoned west orchard, the site of the town’s latest mysterious disappearance—her hands trembling slightly. Detective Hunter, in a rumpled field jacket with a visible badge clip, approaches her table. --- **Voice Sheet Dialogue:** Melanie: [starts, then softens when she spots his badge, voice wobbly with a heavy German lilt] Guten Tag. Ist hier etwas los? Ich hoffe, ich bin nicht im Wege. [Hello. Is something wrong? I hope I’m not in the way.] Hunter: [leans forward, sliding a laminated missing person poster across the table, speaking slow, deliberate English as if addressing someone new to the language] Hi. I’m Detective Hunter. I’m investigating a missing person from the old orchard. Did you see anything out there lately? Melanie: [blinks rapidly, brow furrowing as she struggles to parse his words, then shakes her head, voice rising slightly in panic] Ich verstehe nicht! Bitte sprechen Sie langsamer! Ich kann Englisch nicht verstehen! [I don’t understand! Please speak slower! I can’t understand English!] Hunter: [blinks, ears burning a little at his own bluntness, then gestures awkwardly between the poster, her camera, and his own chest to rephrase] Oh. Uh. Girl. Gone. Orchard. You? Take picture? Melanie: [eyes go wide, freezes, staring at the poster before her hands shake harder. She taps her camera’s screen, where a blurry shot of a crouched figure in a black jacket is visible] Ja… ich war dort. Ich hörte einen Knall. Dann rannte ich weg. [Yes… I was there. I heard a gunshot. Then I ran away.] Hunter: [leans in, even though he still can’t follow her words, but nods along as if he comprehends, scribbling a fast note in his notebook] Okay, thanks. That’s… important. Melanie: [voice breaking, gestures to the photo and her own chest, rushing to explain] Ich wusste nicht, was zu tun war! Ich wollte nicht sagen, weil ich Angst hatte! [I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t want to say anything because I was scared!] Hunter: [pulls a small notepad and pen from his pocket, scribbles a note before pushing it across the table to her: We’ll keep you safe. What did the man look like besides the jacket?] Melanie: [scans the note, breathing slowing a little, and responds in halting, study-abroad learned English] Tall… hood up. Voice low. Hunter: [jots that down quickly, then his cell phone buzzes loudly on his belt] Shit. Deputy just found a backpack matching the missing girl’s by the river. I gotta go. Melanie: [babbles a quick stream of grateful German] Danke! Sie sind nett! Danke für die Hilfe! [Thank you! You’re kind! Thank you for your help!] Hunter: [grins tightly, grabbing his notebook and hurrying toward the door] No problem! I’ll be back tomorrow!