Run: 2026-03-11-01KKFE318XXQESK7XW2EQS1CJT

(Scene context: A sun-faded main street cafe in Alborn, MN, mid-way through the town’s annual apple festival. Melanie, a German study abroad student, sits in a booth scrolling through photos on her DSLR. Hunter, lead detective on the case of a missing 17-year-old local girl, spots her as one of the few out-of-town visitors he hasn’t yet interviewed, and approaches.) Melanie: (looks up, startled, fumbling her camera’s strap) Hunter: "Ma’am, sorry to bother you. I’m Detective Hunter with the Alborn Sheriff’s Department. I’m interviewing everyone who was at the festival bonfire last night—you were there, right? Did you see anything unusual? Anyone leave with Lila Marlow, the teen who’s been reported missing?" Melanie: (voice shaking, words tumbling out in rapid, panicked German) "Ich—ich habe ihn gesehen. Der Mann, der Lila mitgenommen hat. Ich habe Fotos von ihm auf meiner Kamera, ich versteckte mich hinter den Apfelkisten am Rand des Geländes, als er sie in seinen schwarzen Pickup geworfen hat. Er hat mich gesehen, ich weiß es. Er hat mich angeguckt, bevor er losgefahren ist. Ich hatte so viel Angst, dass ich weggelaufen bin, ich konnte die Polizei nicht früher anrufen, ich dachte er würde mich finden." Hunter: (blinks, brow furrowing deeply, confused, leaning against the booth edge) "Wait, hold on. What language is that? German? I don’t speak a word of that. Can you understand me? Do you know any English at all? I’m a cop, I’m here to help, but I can’t if you can’t make me understand what you’re saying." Melanie: (more frantic now, shoving her DSLR across the table, jabbing at a blurry photo of a man in a blue festival wristband standing by a truck) "Schau! Schau dir das an! Das ist er. Das Armbändchen, das alle Festivalmitarbeiter bekommen haben. Er arbeitet hier, er lebt in dieser Stadt. Ich habe das Nummernschild gesehen, es war mit Apfelaufklebern bedeckt, ich kann es auf dem Foto vergrößern. Wir müssen die Polizei rufen, bevor er noch jemand anderem etwas antut!" Hunter: (fumbles for his phone, scrolling through apps, jaw tight with frustration, his no-nonsense former marine edge creeping in as cell service sputters) "Damn it, the German translation app I downloaded last week won’t load—out here in the county the service is garbage. Slow down, point to what you’re showing me. That blurry guy? That’s the man who took the girl? Can you write anything down? Draw it? Anything to make this make sense?" Melanie: (still rambling, tears welling, glancing repeatedly at the cafe window like she expects the man to appear) "Ich habe Angst, dass er mir folgt. Er wusste, dass ich ihn gesehen habe. Ich wollte gestern Abend schon aus meiner Gastfamilie verschwinden, aber ich wusste nicht wohin. Bitte, Sie müssen mir helfen, ich will nicht, dass er mich auch nimmt." Hunter: (his work phone blares loudly from his pocket, he yanks it out, sees his partner’s name on the screen, sighs sharply and grabs his jacket to leave) "Shit, that’s my team. They just found Lila’s bike dumped up by the state forest, I have to get out there right now. Wait—stay right here, don’t leave this booth. The cafe owner Maria speaks German, I’ll send her over to sit with you, and I’ll be back as soon as I can to sort this out. Don’t go anywhere, you hear me? I won’t be long."