Run: 2026-09-02-01M1GTVRDHCM0HVQ5ZZ39XFZDG

**Scene: The Blue Spruce Café, Alborn, MN — mid-afternoon** --- **Isabella:** *[murmuring to herself over her camera]* "Non è possibile... l'ho visto. L'ho visto con i miei occhi..." **Hunter:** "Ma'am. Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. Mind if I have a seat? ...You're Isabella, right? The exchange student. Word around town is you had that camera out all week—especially Saturday, at the apple festival. I'm looking into what happened to a man that night. Tall. Red jacket. Big beard. Name of Walter Daley. Ring any bells?" **Isabella:** *[startled, nearly dropping the camera]* "Oh! Mi scusi... mi scusi tanto. Io non capisco. Parla italiano? No? Io... io inglese non parlo. Mi dispiace, mi dispiace davvero..." **Hunter:** "English? Any English at all? ...No. Of course not. Okay." *[points at her camera]* "Saturday. Festival. You—camera—photos. Did you take photos?" **Isabella:** *[trembling]* "Il festival... sì, c'ero anch'io, sabato. E ho visto qualcosa, detective. L'ho visto con i miei occhi! Un uomo, dietro il frutteto... e poi più niente. Sparito. Sparito nel nulla!" **Hunter:** "Festival. Okay, that one I got. And—'foto'? Did you say foto?" *[points at the camera, then at himself]* "Foto. Show. Me?" **Isabella:** "Le foto? Le mie foto? Io... io ho paura. Ho tanta paura. Quell'uomo... ho visto la sua faccia. Era così vicino. E io... io ho scattato. Ho una sua foto, detective!" **Hunter:** "You're shaking. Alright. Look—" *[holds up a hand, slows down]* "Foto." *[points at camera]* "Show. Me. Foto." **Isabella:** *[hesitates, then turns the camera toward him, scrolling with an unsteady thumb]* "Ecco... guardi. La gente, le mele, i bambini... e poi... poi questa. Vede? Vede l'uomo? L'ho fotografato per caso, dietro il frutteto. E dopo... dopo non c'era più. Nessuno mi crede, ma io l'ho visto!" **Hunter:** *[leaning in, voice dropping]* "That's the orchard road. That's—ma'am, that's Daley. Red jacket and all. And who's that with him, right there at the edge of the frame? Do you know—can you tell me—" *[exhales]* "No. No, you can't. Of course you can't." **Isabella:** *[pulling the camera back against her chest]* "Perché mi guarda così? Cosa ho fatto? Ho solo scattato una foto! Una! Per favore... lei è della polizia, vero? Mi aiuti. Non conosco nessuno qui, non parlo la lingua, e quell'uomo... quell'uomo mi ha vista. Mi ha vista con la macchina fotografica in mano!" **Hunter:** "I got 'polizia.' And 'aiuti.'" *[rubs his jaw]* "That's 'help,' isn't it? Sounds like 'aid.' Yeah. Okay, ma'am. You need help. I need that photo. We understand each other just fine." *[Hunter's phone buzzes. He checks the screen.]* **Hunter:** "Hunter. ...When? ...Which trail—the north ridge, by the old orchard? No. Nobody goes in, nobody touches anything. Tape it off. Twenty minutes." *[hangs up]* **Isabella:** *[rising halfway out of her chair]* "Cosa? Cosa è successo? Dove va? Aspetti—non mi lasci qui! E se torna? E se quell'uomo torna? Per favore!" **Hunter:** "Ma'am—Isabella. I have to go." *[mimes running, points at the door, then presses both hands down toward the table]* "You. Stay. Here." *[taps the camera, then mimes turning a key at his lips]* "Photos. Nobody. You show nobody. Capisce? ...That's every word of Italian I've got, and I probably learned it from a movie. Nobody." **Isabella:** *[near tears, nodding]* "Nessuno... nessuno. Va bene, sì. Ma per favore—torni! Torni presto! Torni con qualcuno che parla italiano, la prego!" **Hunter:** *[backing toward the door]* "Presto. That one I actually know." *[the ghost of a smile]* "I'll be back, ma'am. Fast. And I'll bring somebody who speaks Italian. There's gotta be somebody in this town who speaks Italian." **Isabella:** "Vada! Vada, faccia presto! E stia attento... anche lei ha una faccia che non dimenticherò." **Hunter:** *[pausing at the door]* "No idea what you just said. But it sounded important. Stay put." **Isabella:** *[sinking back into her chair, whispering to the camera]* "Resto qui. Resto qui... Madonna santa, dammi la forza." --- **Translation key — Isabella's lines:** 1. "It's not possible... I saw him. I saw him with my own eyes..." 2. "Oh! Excuse me... I'm so sorry. I don't understand. Do you speak Italian? No? I... I don't speak English. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry..." 3. "The festival... yes, I was there too, on Saturday. And I saw something, detective. I saw it with my own eyes! A man, behind the orchard... and then nothing more. Gone. Vanished into thin air!" 4. "The photos? My photos? I... I'm scared. I'm so scared. That man... I saw his face. He was so close. And I... I took the shot. I have a photo of him, detective!" 5. "Here... look. The people, the apples, the children... and then... then this one. See? Do you see the man? I photographed him by accident, behind the orchard. And after... after he was gone. Nobody believes me, but I saw him!" 6. "Why are you looking at me like that? What did I do? I only took a photo! One! Please... you're the police, aren't you? Help me. I don't know anyone here, I don't speak the language, and that man... that man saw me. He saw me with the camera in my hands!" 7. "What? What happened? Where are you going? Wait—don't leave me here! What if he comes back? What if that man comes back? Please!" 8. "Nobody... nobody. All right, yes. But please—come back! Come back soon! Come back with someone who speaks Italian, I beg you!" 9. "Go! Go, hurry! And be careful... you too have a face I won't forget." 10. "I'm staying here. I'm staying here... Holy Mother, give me strength."