Run: 2026-03-11-01KKFNC3M8EAEVAD77WSR4YJ3S

# Scene: The Corner Café, Alborn, MN *Isabella sits at a small window table, camera in hand, scrolling through photos with a furrowed brow. A half-finished cappuccino sits beside her. Hunter enters, scans the room, and spots her. He pulls out the chair across from her and sits down without being invited.* --- **Hunter:** "Afternoon. I'm Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. Mind if I ask you a few questions? You're part of that study group at the college, right?" **Isabella:** "…Scusi? Non capisco. Io… parlo italiano." *She gestures apologetically, touching her chest and shaking her head.* **Hunter:** "…Okay. Great. Uh — you — speak — English?" *He enunciates each word slowly, holding his badge up for her to see.* **Isabella:** "No. No English. Io sono Isabella. Italiana." *She points to herself, then mimes a camera, pointing at the lens.* **Hunter:** *He sighs and pulls out a small notepad, sketching a stick figure and an arrow pointing to the café.* "You — here — yesterday? Yesterday." *He holds up one finger, then points to the floor.* **Isabella:** *Her expression darkens. She nods slowly, then speaks rapidly, her voice trembling.* "Sì, sì, ero qui. Ho visto… ho visto qualcosa alla periferia del paese. Una figura vicino al frutteto. Poi… poi quella donna… è scomparsa. Scomparsa, capisce? Non so chi fosse. Avevo paura." *She grips the camera tightly and shoves it toward Hunter, showing him a grainy photograph of a shadowy silhouette near the orchard.* **Hunter:** *He squints at the screen, confused by the image and her words.* "I don't… I'm not following. Is that a person? You saw someone?" **Isabella:** "Sì! Una persona. Qui —" *She taps the screen insistently, then gestures toward the window, toward the outskirts of town.* "Al frutteto. Il posto delle mele. Capisce?" **Hunter:** "The apple orchard? You're saying you saw someone at the orchard?" *He catches only the one word he recognizes — mele, apples — and puts it together with the festival grounds.* **Isabella:** *She nods vigorously, relieved he understands something.* "Sì! Sì! E poi — la donna — scomparsa. Non c'era più. Come se… come se la terra l'avesse inghiottita." *She makes a sweeping gesture with her hand — something vanishing — and her eyes glisten.* **Hunter:** "Disappeared." *His tone shifts, becoming serious. He jots notes rapidly.* "Can you… show me? On a map?" *He sketches a rough outline of town on his notepad and slides it to her.* **Isabella:** *She takes his pen and marks a spot on the outskirts, drawing a small apple icon beside it. She then draws an X nearby.* "Qui. Qui ho visto. Sera. Era quasi buio." *She holds up all ten fingers, then six of them.* **Hunter:** "Ten-six? Sixteen… four o'clock? Four PM?" *He holds up fingers and points to a clock on the café wall.* **Isabella:** *She shakes her head and mimes the sky darkening, cupping her hands over her eyes.* "No, no. Quasi buio. Buio. La sera." **Hunter:** "Evening. You were there in the evening." *He nods, understanding now.* "That's… that matches the timeline. Were you out there alone?" **Isabella:** "Sì, sola. Fotografavo il paesaggio. Mi piace la luce della sera." *She gestures at her camera, then at the golden light coming through the café window.* "Poi ho sentito un rumore. Un grido. Forse. Non… non sono sicura." *She wraps her arms around herself, visibly unsettled.* **Hunter:** "A scream? You heard a scream?" *He leans forward, pen frozen over the notepad.* **Isabella:** *She hesitates, then nods slowly, her voice barely above a whisper.* "Forse. Non so. Poi silenzio. Solo il silenzio." *She looks at him with wide, earnest eyes, as if willing him to understand every word she cannot say.* **Hunter:** *He exhales heavily and taps his pen against the table.* "I'll need a formal statement. I'll find a translator. Can you stay in town?" *He speaks slowly, miming "stay" by pressing his hands flat on the table.* **Isabella:** *She nods, understanding the gesture.* "Sì. Sto qui. Non vado via." *She pats the table firmly.* **Hunter:** *His phone buzzes in his pocket. He pulls it out, glances at the screen, and his expression hardens.* "I have to take this." *He stands abruptly, already answering the call.* **Hunter:** "Hunter. …When? …Stay on scene, don't let anyone through. I'm five minutes out." *He snaps the phone shut and turns back to Isabella, giving her a curt nod.* **Hunter:** "Stay put. Someone will come to talk to you — with a translator. Don't leave town." *He drops a business card on the table and is already striding toward the door.* **Isabella:** *She picks up the card, staring at it, then looks out the window at the detective's retreating figure.* "…Non vado via." *She clutches her camera to her chest and pulls up the grainy photograph once more, studying the shadow in the orchard.* *End scene.*