Run: 2026-07-07-01KWZ3CJ347WR8NJJBVETQQ5VJ

--- **SCENE: Corner Café, Alborn, MN - Mid-afternoon** *Maria sits alone at a window table, her camera cradled in her hands. She scrolls through photos on the display screen, her expression distant. The café smells of cinnamon and fresh apple cider—a nod to the town's famous festival. Hunter approaches, badge clipped to his belt, his posture rigid and authoritative.* --- Hunter: "Excuse me, ma'am. Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Maria: *(startles, looks up)* "¿Perdón? ¿Usted... quiere algo?" Hunter: *(slows his speech, gestures to the empty chair)* "I'm investigating... the disappearances. Here. In town. Have you seen anything unusual?" Maria: *(her face drains of color, hands tightening on the camera)* "Desapariciones... sí. Sí, yo... yo vi algo. El bosque. Cerca del festival de manzanas. Había un hombre... alguien que no era de aquí. Estaba observando a una mujer. La seguía. Yo tomé fotos, pero..." Hunter: *(frowning, shakes his head)* "Ma'am, I don't—I don't speak Spanish. Do you have any English? Even a little?" Maria: *(frustrated, trembling slightly)* "No inglés. Lo siento. Es importante—por favor, las fotos. Mira. *(she turns the camera toward him, pointing at the screen)* Aquí. Este hombre. Él estaba... oculto. Escondido detrás de los árboles. Y ella... ella desapareció después. No la he visto desde ese día." Hunter: *(leaning in, trying to follow her gestures more than her words)* "Photos? You took photos? Of what—of who?" Maria: *(nodding rapidly, scrolling through images)* "Sí, sí, fotos. Un hombre. Alto. Chaqueta oscura. Él... *(mimes someone watching, hiding)* watching. Observando. Y después—*(snaps fingers)* gone. Desaparecida. La mujer. Por favor, usted tiene que entender. Esto me da miedo. No puedo dormir. Creí que era paranoia, pero entonces leí en el periódico que alguien más..." Hunter: *(pulling out his phone, opening a translation app, typing clumsily)* "Hold on. Just—hold on. Let me... *(reads the translation, eyes widening)* 'A man. Tall. Dark jacket. Watching a woman near the apple festival. She disappeared after.' You saw this?" Maria: *(relief flooding her face)* "¡Sí! ¡Sí, eso! Usted entiende. Por favor, es la verdad. Yo no mentiría sobre algo así. Hay algo malo en este pueblo. Algo... oscuro." Hunter: *(studying her, then the camera)* "Can I see the photos? The ones you took that day?" Maria: *(hesitates, then turns the camera fully toward him, scrolling through a series of images—trees, festival booths, a figure barely visible in the shadows between the apple grove and the main road)* "Mira. Mira aquí. Su cara—no puedo verla bien. Pero él estaba allí toda la tarde. Y ella... *(points to a woman in a red coat in one frame, then the woman absent in later frames)* se fue. Nunca volvió." Hunter: *(exhaling slowly)* "That's... that's more than we've had in weeks. Ma'am—Maria, right? I need these photos. This could be—" *(His phone buzzes. He glances at the screen, his jaw tightening.)* Hunter: "I have to take this. *(answers)* Detective Hunter. ...When? ...How long ago? ...I'm on my way." Maria: *(alarmed)* "¿Qué pasó? ¿Otro? ¿Otra persona desaparecida?" Hunter: *(standing, tucking his phone away, voice heavy)* "I don't understand you, but I think you just said what I'm afraid of. *(meets her eyes)* Don't leave town, Maria. I'm coming back for those photos. Don't delete anything. Don't talk to anyone about this. ¿Comprende?" Maria: *(quietly)* "Comprendo. Tenga cuidado, detective. Este pueblo... no es lo que parece." Hunter: *(pausing at the door, looking back)* "I don't know what you just said, but I've got a bad feeling you're right." *He exits, the café bell chiming behind him. Maria watches through the window, pulling her camera close to her chest, whispering a prayer in Spanish under her breath.* --- **END SCENE**