Run: 2026-09-02-01M1GVPWD1G87027WQANCXETX2

*Setting: A small cafe off Main Street in Alborn, mid-morning. Melanie sits alone by the window, hunched over her camera, scrolling through photos. Hunter crosses the cafe, badge already in hand.* **Melanie:** *[to herself, voice unsteady]* "Das kann nicht sein. Das... das kann einfach nicht sein." *(That can't be. That... that simply can't be.)* **Hunter:** "Ma'am. Excuse me, ma'am. Detective Hunter, county sheriff's department." *[holds up badge]* "Melanie, right? The exchange student staying with the Lindgrens? I need two minutes. You were seen down by the river yesterday morning. Third person to go missing in five weeks, and I don't believe in coincidence." **Melanie:** *[looking up, startled, then shaken]* "Entschuldigung? Ich — ich verstehe Sie nicht. Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Nein. Klar, nein. Natürlich nicht." *(I'm sorry? I — I don't understand you. Do you speak German? No. Of course, no. Naturally not.)* **Hunter:** *[stares blankly for a beat]* "...Okay. That's a no on English. Terrific." *[points at the badge, slowly]* "De-tec-tive. Badge. Police." *[mimes taking a photo]* **Melanie:** *[brightening at the badge, words tumbling out]* "Kriminalpolizei? Ja — gut. Endlich. Hören Sie, gestern früh, am Fluss — da war ein Mann! Der junge Mann von der Tankstelle — der Vermisste! Ich habe ihn gesehen!" *(A detective? Yes — good. Finally. Listen, yesterday morning, at the river — there was a man! The young man from the gas station — the missing one! I saw him!)* **Hunter:** *[catching nothing but the tone; sits down across from her, all business]* "Whoa, hey. Easy. You're upset — good, upset means you saw something. So let's do it this way." *[points at her, then out the window]* "River. Yesterday morning. Yes? No?" **Melanie:** "Ja! Ja, gestern, sechs Uhr, vielleicht kurz danach. Ich fotografiere jeden Morgen den Nebel über dem Wasser — aber gestern habe ich mehr erwischt als nur Nebel." *(Yes! Yes, yesterday, six o'clock, maybe shortly after. I photograph the mist over the water every morning — but yesterday I caught more than just mist.)* **Hunter:** "Yeah, I got 'yesterday.' Great." *[gestures at the camera]* "That yours? You were shooting out there?" *[mimes shutter clicks]* **Melanie:** *[nods hard, flips the camera around, taps the screen, pushes it across the table]* "Sehen Sie? Sehen Sie das? Das ist er. Das ist der Mann von der Tankstelle!" *(See? See that? That's him. That's the man from the gas station!)* **Hunter:** *[leans in; jaw tightens]* "That's Danny Okafor. Last seen Tuesday." *[taps the screen, holds up five fingers, then one]* "Five days ago. This photo — one day?" **Melanie:** "Eins! Gestern! Und hier—" *[swipes to the next shot, hand trembling]* "—ein schwarzer Transporter. Kein Kennzeichen, der Motor lief. Er stand direkt am Waldrand. Ich habe mir nichts dabei gedacht — Jäger, dachte ich. Aber dann war er weg. Und der Mann auch." *(One! Yesterday! And here — a black van. No license plate, engine running. It was parked right at the edge of the woods. I didn't think anything of it — a hunter, I figured. But then it was gone. And so was the man.)* **Hunter:** *[pulls out a notepad, mutters]* "Black van, no plates. First thing anyone's given me in five weeks, and I understood exactly none of it." *[draws a crude box, holds it up]* "Van? Black?" **Melanie:** "Ja, schwarz! Warum verstehen Sie mich nicht?! Das ist wichtig! Da ist noch etwas — auf dem Foto, links, am Baumstamm. Ein Stück Stoff. Orange. Ich habe es die ganze Nacht vergrößert und—" *(Yes, black! Why don't you understand me?! This is important! There's something else — on the photo, left, on the tree trunk. A piece of fabric. Orange. I spent all night enlarging it and—)* **Hunter:** *[phone buzzes; he glances at the display]* "Hold that thought, whoever you are." *[answers]* "Hunter. ...Uh-huh. ...Where? ...Nobody touches anything, hear me? Ten minutes out." *[hangs up, stands, points at her, then at the camera, then plants his palm flat — stay]* "Ma'am. You. Camera. Don't delete a single thing. I'll be back — with a translator. Probably. Stay in town." **Melanie:** *[calling after him]* "Herr Hunter! Warten Sie! Herr Hunter—!" *[the door swings shut behind him; she sinks back, staring after him]* "Na wunderbar." *[beat; she looks down at her camera]* "Ruhiges Städtchen, haben sie gesagt. Apfelfest, haben sie gesagt." *(Mr. Hunter! Wait! Mr. Hunter—! ...Well, wonderful. Quiet little town, they said. Apple festival, they said.)* *[She scrolls back to the photo of the tree trunk, to the sliver of orange fabric, and her thumb stops.]*