Run: 2026-04-24-01KQ08C3JS6XSQV4ABKW1SEXVN

**VOICE SHEET** --- **Hunter:** Excuse me, miss. Mind if I sit down for a second? **Marie:** *(startled, looks up from her camera)* Euh… oui, bien sûr. *(gestures to the chair across from her)* **Hunter:** Thanks. *(sits down, pulls out a notepad)* Detective Hunter Wells, Alborn PD. I'm asking folks around town about the festival last weekend. You were there, right? Saw your camera on the display board at the café — you got some real nice shots of the apple orchards. **Marie:** *(blinks, tilts her head slightly)* Je… je suis désolé, je ne parle pas anglais. Vous êtes détective ? **Hunter:** *(pauses, jaw tightens slightly)* I, uh — right. You're the French girl. Marie, is it? **Marie:** Oui, je m'appelle Marie. Mais… je ne comprends pas. Vous êtes policier ? **Hunter:** *(rubs the bridge of his nose)* Detective. I'm a detective. I'm trying to ask you about the night of the festival. Specifically — did you see anything unusual? A man, tall, dark jacket? Maybe hanging around the orchard after dark? **Marie:** *(her expression shifts — troubled, shaken. She clutches her camera strap tightly)* **Marie:** L'homme… oui. Oui, je l'ai vu. Il était près des arbres, derrière le vieux hangar. Et puis il y avait cette… cette femme avec lui. Elle semblait… elle semblait effrayée. Je pensais que c'était peut-être un jeu, une farce pour le festival, mais maintenant… *(she swallows hard, her voice trembling)* …maintenant, je ne suis pas sûre. **Hunter:** *(stares blankly, then glances around the café for help — no one offers any)* Look, I — I really need to know what you're telling me. Are you saying you saw something that night? Something bad? **Marie:** *(frustrated, pressing her palm to her forehead)* Non, je ne peux pas — je ne sais pas comment expliquer. *(she fumbles through her camera bag, pulls out a small French-English pocket dictionary, flips through pages frantically)* Attendez… attendez une seconde… **Hunter:** *(waits, tapping his pen on the table, visibly impatient)* **Marie:** *(finally finds a page, points to it and reads haltingly)* Man… tall… dark jacket… he was — *(she struggles to translate, then gives up and instead mimes pulling something over someone's mouth, then points emphatically toward the orchard behind the café)* **Hunter:** *(eyes narrow)* He grabbed her? Someone was taken? **Marie:** *(nods vigorously, eyes wide)* Oui! Oui, exactement! Il l'a emportée! Je l'ai vu! *(then, quieter, her voice shaking)* Et je pense… je pense qu'il m'a vue, moi aussi. *(she touches her camera with trembling fingers)* C'est pour ça que je suis venue ici. Je ne me sens plus en sécurité. **Hunter:** *(leans forward, his no-nonsense demeanor sharpening)* Wait — he saw you? He knows you were watching? **Marie:** *(nods slowly, pulling her cardigan tighter around herself)* Oui. Et depuis ce jour-là, quelqu'un me suit. Partout. Je le sens. **Hunter:** *(opens his mouth to respond—)* **[PHONE RINGS]** **Hunter:** *(holds up a finger, pulls out his phone)* Wells. *(listens, his expression hardens)* Where? How long ago? *(stands abruptly, nearly knocking his chair back)* I'm on my way. Five minutes. *(He hangs up and looks down at Marie, who is watching him with wide, frightened eyes.)* **Hunter:** I have to go. But don't — *(he struggles for a moment, then grabs a napkin and a pen, writes something quickly)* — don't leave this town. And don't go anywhere alone. Not until I come back and we figure out how to actually talk to each other. Got it? *(He slides the napkin toward her. It reads: "STAY SAFE. CALL THIS NUMBER." with the station's phone number beneath.)* **Marie:** *(looks at the napkin, then back up at him)* Oui… je comprends. Allez-y. Soyez prudent, détective. **Hunter:** *(already halfway to the door, glances back)* …Yeah. You too. *(The bell above the café door jingles shut. Marie sits alone, her fingers wrapped around her camera like a lifeline, staring at the napkin.)* **[END SCENE]**