Run: 2026-04-24-01KQ0GEW10D3FRB2XPJCVJ4MZ9

**Voice Sheet — Scene: The Cafe Encounter** *Setting: A small corner cafe in Alborn, MN. Marie sits at a window table, flipping through images on the back of her camera, her coffee long gone cold. Hunter enters, spots her, and approaches.* --- Hunter: "Excuse me, miss. You mind if I sit down for a minute? Name's Hunter — I'm a detective with the county. I just need to ask you a few questions." Marie: *(startled, looking up)* "Oh — pardon, je… je ne sais pas. Vous êtes policier?" Hunter: "Uh… yeah. Detective. I saw you out by the orchard road yesterday evening — with that camera. I was hoping you might've caught something on film. You heard about what happened out there last night?" Marie: *(hands trembling slightly as she sets the camera down)* "Monsieur, je ne comprends pas l'anglais. Je suis française. Je… j'étais là-bas, oui, mais quelque chose ne va pas — j'ai vu quelque chose, quelqu'un dans les arbres, et j'ai eu si peur—" Hunter: *(brow furrowing)* "Ma'am… I'm sorry, I didn't catch any of that. You don't speak English?" Marie: "Non. Non, pas du tout. Français seulement." *(she points at herself)* "France. Étudiante." Hunter: "Right. French. Okay." *(runs a hand over his jaw)* "Of all the days…" Marie: *(urgently, sliding the camera toward him)* "Regardez — regardez les photos. S'il vous plaît. Là, dans le verger — il y avait un homme. Je crois… je crois qu'il portait quelque chose. Ou quelqu'un. Je ne sais pas. J'ai eu tellement peur que je suis partie en courant." Hunter: *(leaning in, studying the camera screen)* "Slow down, slow down. Hey — it's okay." *(he gestures, palms down)* "Breathe. I can't understand you, but I can see you're shook up. That's something, at least." Marie: *(voice cracking)* "Je n'arrive pas à dormir. À chaque fois que je ferme les yeux, je le vois. Cet homme. Et les disparitions dont tout le monde parle… c'est lui, j'en suis sûre. J'en suis sûre, monsieur." Hunter: "Hey. Hey, easy." *(softer now)* "Look — photos. You got photos?" *(mimes clicking a camera)* "Can I…?" Marie: *(nodding quickly, wiping her eye)* "Oui. Oui, tenez." *(she scrolls, hands the camera to him)* "Là. Vous voyez? L'homme, près de la grange rouge. Il regarde l'objectif. Il m'a vue." Hunter: *(his expression shifts — sharper, focused)* "Well I'll be damned. That's… that's Miller's property. And that fella there — I know that face." *(looks up at her)* "You took this yesterday? Yesterday evening? Nod if yes." Marie: *(nodding, tears welling)* "Oui. Hier soir. Juste avant le coucher du soleil." Hunter: "Okay. Okay, good. Miss — you did real good bringing that camera out. Real good." *(he reaches for his notepad)* "We're gonna figure this out. I'll get a translator down here, alright? Someone who speaks French. You just sit tight—" *(His phone buzzes sharply. He pulls it from his jacket, checks the screen, and his posture stiffens.)* Hunter: "Raleigh. Yeah. …When? …You're kiddin' me. No, no — don't move anything, I'm on my way. Ten minutes." *(pockets the phone, rises quickly)* Marie: *(alarmed)* "Qu'est-ce qui se passe? Vous partez?" Hunter: "I gotta go. Something's come up." *(points at her, then at the table)* "You — stay. Here. Cafe. Okay? I'll come back. One hour." *(holds up one finger)* "Un. One hour. You understand?" Marie: *(nodding uncertainly)* "Une heure. D'accord. Je reste ici." Hunter: "Good. And hang on to that camera. Don't show those photos to anybody else, you hear me? Nobody." *(taps the camera, shakes his head firmly)* "No one. Just me." Marie: *(clutching the camera to her chest)* "Oui. Seulement vous. Je comprends." Hunter: "Atta girl. One hour." *(He turns and moves briskly toward the door, already dialing. Marie watches him go, the bell over the door jingling behind him. She looks down at the camera in her lap, and her hands start to tremble again.)* Marie: *(quietly, to herself)* "Dépêchez-vous, monsieur. S'il vous plaît, dépêchez-vous." --- *End scene.*