Run: 2026-07-25-01KYCPM8WKTPCSC7XASE34FHZM

Maria: *(scrolling back through her photos, thumb hovering, not pressing)* Hunter: "Ma'am? Sorry to interrupt. Hunter Reyes, county investigator. You mind if I ask you a couple questions?" Maria: "¿Perdón? Ay, no… lo siento, no hablo inglés." Hunter: "...Right. Okay. Uh — English? No English?" Maria: "No, no inglés. Español. Soy de España, estoy aquí de intercambio." Hunter: "Español. Got it. That's — that's about the end of my vocabulary, honestly." *(pulls out a notebook anyway, sits down across from her)* "Thursday night. Orchard road, out past the cider barn. You were out there taking pictures?" Maria: "Sí, sí, la carretera del huerto, sí. Yo estaba allí, con la cámara —" *(she taps the camera, then her own chest, breathing shallow)* "— pero, señor, yo vi algo. Vi a un hombre. Había un hombre entre los árboles y él no… no se movía como una persona normal, ¿entiende? Se quedó mirándome. Mucho tiempo. Y luego ya no estaba." Hunter: "Okay. Slow down. I'm getting maybe one word in twenty here." *(holds up a hand)* "Hombre. That's man, right? Man?" Maria: "Sí. Hombre. Un hombre." *(she holds up one finger, then points into the middle distance, past his shoulder)* "Allí. Entre los árboles." Hunter: "A man. Out in the trees." *(writes)* "You see his face?" Maria: "No sé, no sé qué me pregunta. Lo siento." *(her hands are shaking; she presses them flat on the table)* "Yo no quería volver a mirar las fotos. Llevo dos días sin dormir. Hay algo en las fotos, señor, algo que yo no vi cuando estaba allí, y eso es lo que me da miedo." Hunter: "Hey. Hey — it's alright." *(quieter)* "I don't know what you just said, but I know what it sounds like. I've heard that tone plenty." *(a beat)* "Fotos. Photos. You got photos?" Maria: "Fotos, sí." *(she turns the camera around, screen toward him, and covers her mouth with her other hand)* "Ahí. Mire ahí, en la esquina. ¿Lo ve? Yo no lo vi. Yo no lo vi cuando disparé." Hunter: *(leans in, squints, and goes very still)* "...Huh." Maria: "¿Lo ve? ¿Lo ve o estoy loca?" Hunter: "No. No, you're not crazy." *(he doesn't know if she understood; he taps the screen edge, then taps his own eye)* "I see it. Yo — I see it." *(he pulls out his phone, thumbs at it)* "I'm gonna get somebody down here who speaks Spanish, okay? Somebody who can actually — okay. Ah, hell. Hold on." Maria: "¿Qué? ¿Qué pasa?" Hunter: *(phone at his ear)* "Reyes. — Yeah. — Where? — When did the call come in?" *(long pause; his jaw sets)* "Don't let anybody walk the ditch line before I get there. Nobody. I mean it." *(he lowers the phone, stands, and puts a card on the table between them)* "I have to go. I'm sorry. This is me — Reyes." *(he taps the card, then taps the camera)* "Don't delete anything. Nada. Okay? Nada." Maria: "Nada, sí. No borro nada. ¿Pero adónde va? ¿Ha pasado otra vez? Señor —" Hunter: "I'll come back. Tonight, tomorrow — I'll come back with somebody who can talk to you." *(already turning, then stopping)* "Stay where there's people. Yeah? People." *(he gestures at the busy café, the window, the street)* "Here. Good." Maria: "…Vale. Aquí. Aquí me quedo." *(as the door chimes shut behind him, to herself, to no one)* "Y usted tenga cuidado, por favor. Porque yo no creo que ese hombre estuviera solo."