Run: 2026-07-07-01KWZ4J7N6Y5J9Y32626YR6SYX

Melanie: "..." Hunter: "Excuse me, miss? I'm Detective Hunter with the Alborn Police Department. I'm looking into some recent... occurrences in town. Mind if I ask you a few questions?" Melanie: *looks up from her camera, startled* "Oh... Entschuldigung, ich... ich spreche kein Englisch." Hunter: *frowns* "I'm sorry, I don't understand. Do you speak any English at all?" Melanie: *shakes her head slowly, her hands trembling slightly as she clutches her camera* "Nein, es tut mir leid. Ich... ich bin hier für ein Auslandssemester. Ich verstehe nicht." Hunter: *sighs, rubbing the back of his neck* "Great. Okay, um..." *pulls out his phone, tries a translation app* "Let me try this. You were at the apple festival yesterday, right? I saw you taking pictures." Melanie: *eyes widen, and she looks away, her face pale* "Ja... ja, ich war dort. Ich... ich habe etwas gesehen." *her voice drops to a whisper* "Es war furchtbar." Hunter: *phone translates roughly, he reads it and leans forward* "You saw something? Something terrible? What did you see? Did you take a photo of it?" Melanie: *clutches her camera closer to her chest, visibly shaking* "Ich... ich habe Fotos. Aber... aber ich kann nicht. Ich habe Angst. Die Person, sie... sie war da, und dann war sie weg. Einfach weg." Hunter: *reading the translation, his expression sharpens* "A person was there, then gone? Just... gone? Which person? Did you recognize them?" Melanie: *wipes at her eyes, switching to simpler words and gesturing, hoping some might translate* "Frau. Eine Frau. Sie..." *points to her camera, then mimes someone walking and disappearing* "Weg. Nur weg. Wie... wie Geister." Hunter: "A woman. Gone like a ghost?" *exhales* "This matches what others have said. Did you get a photo of who took her? Or what happened?" Melanie: *shakes her head frantically* "Nein! Ich... ich weiß nicht. Es war dunkel. Und ich... ich habe mich versteckt. Ich war so Angst." *she starts flipping through photos on her camera, hands still trembling* "Hier. Diese Fotos. Von... von dem Festival. Vielleicht... vielleicht ist etwas darauf zu sehen." Hunter: *looks at the camera screen, though he can't read the German menu* "Can you send me these? I need to see them. All of them." Melanie: *hesitates, then nods slowly* "Ja. Okay. Ich... ich schicke sie. Aber bitte..." *looks at him with wide, frightened eyes* "...finden Sie diese Frau. Bitte." Hunter: "I'll do my best. I promise you that." *his phone buzzes, he glances at it* "I have to take this. Stay in town, okay? Don't leave Alborn. I might need to talk to you again. I'll find someone who speaks German." Melanie: *nods, clutching her camera like a lifeline* "Okay. Ich... ich warte hier. Bitte... seien Sie vorsichtig." Hunter: *pauses at the cafe door, catching the tone if not the words* "Yeah. You too, kid. You too."