Run: 2026-04-24-01KQ04HFBTEE785B6W88K1DRHP

[SCENE START] **Location:** A small-town cafe in Alborn, MN. Rain streaks the windowpanes. The scent of coffee and damp wool hangs in the air. MARIE, early 30s, sits at a small table by the window. Her camera is in her hands, and she's scrolling through the images on its screen with a troubled, distant expression. The cafe door opens with a jingle. DETECTIVE HUNTER, mid-30s, built like a former Marine, scans the room before his gaze lands on her. He walks over, his movements efficient. He pulls out the chair opposite her without waiting for an invitation. **Hunter:** "Marie? I'm Detective Hunter. I'm looking into the disappearance of Ethan Miller. People at the festival booth said you were talking to him yesterday afternoon." **Marie:** (Looks up, startled. Her eyes are wide and slightly reddened. She clutches her camera tighter.) "Je... je ne comprends pas." **Hunter:** (Leans forward slightly.) "Ethan Miller. Young guy, worked at the cider stand. You talked to him. Any chance you saw where he went after?" **Marie:** (Shakes her head, a single tear escaping. Her voice is a rapid, distressed murmur.) "Non, non... il était si gentil. Il m'a donné de la pomme... et puis il a disparu. J'ai entendu des bruits derrière la vieille grange... des cris... Oh mon Dieu, il ne fallait pas que je reste là." **Hunter:** (Blinks. He glances at his notepad, then back at her.) "I'm... gonna need you to slow down, ma'am. And in English, if you can. Did you say something about a barn? A noise?" **Marie:** (Looks at him, frustration and fear warring in her expression. She speaks slowly, punctuating with gestures.) "Je parle... français. Français! Pas Anglais! C'était effrayant. Je suis allée pour prendre des photos du coucher de soleil... j'ai vu... des ombres." She points a trembling finger vaguely toward the window. "Là-bas." **Hunter:** (Lets out a slow breath through his nose. He mutters to himself.) "Great. Witnesses who don't speak the language." He tries a simpler approach. "Barn?" (He makes a shape with his hands.) "Sunset?" (He gestures toward the window and a fading light.) **Marie:** (Nods vigorously, relieved.) "Oui! Soleil. Mais après... ombres. Et silence. Je suis rentrée ici. Je suis... je suis malade." She shudders and looks back at her camera, as if seeking comfort in its familiar weight. **Hunter:** "Okay. Ombres... shadows. You saw shadows by the old Miller barn after sunset." He scribbles in his notepad. "Where is this barn, exactly? Can you point it out on a map?" **Marie:** (Stares at his notepad, bewildered.) "Une carte?" **Hunter:** "A map. Drawing." He grabs a napkin and quickly sketches the main roads of Alborn. He points to a few key spots. "Apple festival?" He points to the town square. "Your hotel?" Marie studies the crude drawing, her brow furrowed in concentration. She hesitantly taps a point on the outskirts of town, near a squiggly line he’d drawn for the river. **Marie:** "Là. Près de l'eau. Les arbres sont grands." She traces a line with her finger. "J'ai marché par ce chemin." **Hunter:** (His eyes sharpen. The Miller property *is* out by the river.) "You walked this path. You saw shadows by the barn." He taps the napkin. "This barn?" **Marie:** (Nods firmly.) "Oui." **Hunter:** "Did you see a vehicle? A car? A truck?" He mimes driving. **Marie:** (Thinks, then shakes her head.) "Non. Juste... des gens. Deux personnes. Je ne voyais pas bien." She shrinks in on herself. "C'était mauvais." **Hunter:** "Okay. Two people. That's something." He pulls out a business card. "I need you to come to the station tomorrow. We'll get a translator. Can you do that? Point on a real map?" Before Marie can respond, Hunter’s phone buzzes violently on the table. He snatches it up. **Hunter:** "Hunter." He listens, his entire demeanor shifting from inquisitive to hard and focused. "When? ... Understood. I'm on my way." He pockets the phone and stands abruptly, the chair scraping loudly. The brief, awkward connection is shattered. **Hunter:** (His voice is clipped, all business.) "Something just came in. We'll talk tomorrow. Stay in town." He nods once, a curt gesture that’s almost an apology for the sudden departure, and is out the door in two strides, leaving it swinging behind him. Marie is left alone at the table, clutching her camera like a shield. She stares at the door he vanished through, then down at her own hands, still trembling. [SCENE END]