Run: 2026-03-11-01KKFH0DX3NY7PQCB367R02GCH

# Voice Sheet: "The Language of Worry" **Maria:** *(looking down at her camera, scrolling through photos with trembling fingers, her eyes glassy)* "...esto no puede estar bien... la última foto... hay algo ahí, en el fondo del bosque. ¿Qué era eso? No me lo noté cuando tomé la foto..." **Hunter:** *(approaching the table, badge visible on his belt, notepad in hand)* "Excuse me, ma'am? I'm Detective Hunter with the Alborn Police Department. Mind if I ask you a few questions? I understand you were near the old cider mill last Saturday — around the time Emily Marsh disappeared." **Maria:** *(looking up, startled, blinking rapidly)* "¿Desapareció? ¿Quién...? Lo siento, no... no hablo inglés. No entiendo." **Hunter:** *(frowning, leaning slightly closer)* "Emily Marsh. Missing person. Saturday. You were — were you at the cider mill?" *(miming walking, then pointing at her, then pointing outward to suggest the mill)* **Maria:** *(clutching her camera against her chest like a shield, her voice shaking)* "Sí... sí, estuve allí. Estaba tomando fotos del paisaje, del bosque... es hermoso en otoño..." *(she pauses, swallowing hard)* "...pero algo estaba mal. Sentía que alguien me observaba. Alguien me seguía, creo. No lo vi bien, pero... estaba allí. Lo sentí." **Hunter:** *(writing quickly, then pausing, looking at her with visible frustration)* "Okay, you said — yes? You were at the mill? Taking photos?" *(miming camera)* "Did you see anyone? A man, a woman — anyone unusual?" **Maria:** *(her eyes filling with tears, pointing emphatically at her camera, then at the window toward the tree line beyond the parking lot)* "¡Sí, sí! ¡En la foto! Mire — no, espera, usted no... mira." *(she turns the camera screen toward him, zooming in on a blurry dark shape between the trees)* "¿Qué es eso? ¿Lo ve? Algo... o alguien. Estaba allí, en las sombras. Cuando me di la vuelta, no había nadie. Pero en la foto... mire. MIRE." **Hunter:** *(squinting at the small screen, tilting it in the light, then handing it back with an apologetic shake of his head)* "Ma'am, I — I appreciate you showing me, but I don't understand a word you're saying. Is there anyone here who speaks Spanish? A friend, a coworker — someone who can translate?" **Maria:** *(shaking her head rapidly, pressing her palm flat on the table to stop her hand from trembling)* "No. No tengo amigos aquí. Soy estudiante de intercambio. Solo llegué hace tres semanas. Tres semanas y ya... ya algo terrible ha ocurrido." *(her voice cracks)* "¿Emily? ¿Cómo se llama? Emily... ¿está bien? ¿La han encontrado?" **Hunter:** *(his expression hardening at the name, jaw tightening)* "No, ma'am. We haven't found Emily yet. That's why I'm here." *(beat)* "Listen — ¿la photo — the photo. Can I take your camera? Just to look at the image more closely, back at the station." **Maria:** *(pulling the camera closer to her body instinctively, then hesitating, then slowly extending it toward him with both hands, her fingers reluctant to let go)* "...tómela. Pero... por favor, búsquela. Búsquela a ella. Hay algo en ese bosque y yo no sé qué es." **Hunter:** *(taking the camera carefully, examining the photo again, then looking back at her with something almost resembling sympathy — almost)* "I'll do my best, ma'am. Can I get your name for my report?" **Maria:** "María. María Delgado." **Hunter:** *(writing, then his radio crackles on his belt. He raises a finger, listening intently. His face goes pale.)* "Copy that. I'm on my way." *(he clips the radio back, looks at Maria with new urgency)* "Miss Delgado — María — I have to go. We just got another call. Another missing person." *(he sets a card on the table)* "My number. If you remember anything — anything at all. Even if you just take a photo of the thing you remember and text it to me. Okay?" **Maria:** *(staring at him, horrified, her hands now pressed flat against the table)* "¿Otro? ¿Otra persona?" **Hunter:** *(already half-turning to leave, stopping only briefly)* "I'm sorry I can't understand you better, María. I really am. Lock your doors tonight." *(He leaves quickly. Maria sits alone, staring at the dark tree line beyond the window, her hands still shaking, her camera no longer in her arms.)*