Run: 2026-09-03-01M1KB31WX9P95ZM65FFY1C6RZ

# Scene: The Café on Maple Street *The Bell & Bean Café hums with the soft clatter of porcelain and murmuring voices. Marie sits alone at a corner table, her camera cradled in her hands like a precious artifact. She scrolls through her photographs, her brow furrowed. The morning light catches the dust motes above her.* Hunter *enters, pausing at the door. He spots her, straightens his coat, and walks over.* --- **Marie:** *(hesitant, not looking up)* "Bonjour... est-ce que je peux vous aider?" **Hunter:** *(pulling out the chair opposite her, sitting down slowly)* "Uh, yeah. Marie, right? I'm Detective Hunter. I was hoping you could tell me about—" *(he motions vaguely)* "—the night of the festival. The fire at the old granary." **Marie:** *(her hands tighten around her camera; she looks up, a flicker of alarm crossing her face)* "La nuit du festival?" *(shaking her head, voice trembling)* "Je ne sais pas ce que vous voulez dire... Je n'ai rien vu. Rien du tout." **Hunter:** *(frowning, leaning forward)* "I'm sorry, what? I don't speak—" *(he lets out a short breath)* "Look, there were lights seen out by the granary that night. Two people, maybe. One of them was carrying a camera." **Marie:** *(her knuckles go white against the black leather of her camera strap)* "Non, non, non..." *(she swallows hard)* "Je n'étais pas là-bas. J'étais ici. Je photographiais les décorations, les citrouilles, les enfants qui dansaient." *(her voice cracks)* "C'était une jolie nuit. Avant que... avant que tout ne disparaisse." **Hunter:** *(pulling out a small notebook, flipping it open)* "Okay, I'm gonna be honest. I took French in high school, and I remember about three words, none of which are helping me right now." *(he gestures at her camera)* "That's what I'm asking about. Your camera. Did you take any pictures that night? Anything you didn't expect to see?" **Marie:** *(following his gesture, her eyes widen)* "Mon appareil?" *(she clutches it to her chest)* "Vous voulez voir mes photos? Pourquoi? Qu'est-ce qu'elles ont à voir avec—" *(she stops, her voice dropping to a whisper)* "La fille qui a disparu. Vous pensez que j'ai vu quelque chose, n'est-ce pas?" **Hunter:** *(seeming to understand the general panic, he raises both hands, palm out)* "Hey, hey. No one's accusing you of anything. But people have gone missing, Marie. Three in the last two weeks. And you were at the festival. So was the last woman who disappeared." **Marie:** *(tears well in her eyes, but she blinks them back)* "Trois personnes? Vous dites trois? Je ne savais pas..." *(she looks down at her camera, then back at him, her voice small)* "Je pensais que c'était juste un accident. Une coïncidence." **Hunter:** *(pausing, his brow furrowing with frustration and sympathy)* "Coïnn— coincidence. Yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out. If it's a coincidence or something else." **Marie:** *(a long pause. She looks at him, really looks at him now)* "Je ne comprends pas la plupart de ce que vous dites." *(she taps her chest, then her camera)* "Mais je comprends votre visage. Vous êtes... inquiet. Vous cherchez des réponses." *(she offers a small, fragile smile)* "Moi aussi, je cherche. Mais d'une manière différente." **Hunter:** *(a rare, half-smile breaks through his hard exterior)* "I got the gist of that one. You're looking too, huh?" *(he lets out a soft laugh, shaking his head)* "We're a real pair. Me with my notebook and you with your camera." **Marie:** *(a gentle laugh escapes her, despite everything)* "Oui. Une sacrée paire." *There is a moment of shared understanding, broken only by the chime of Hunter's phone.* He *glances at it, his expression hardening instantly.* **Hunter:** *(answering, all business)* "Hunter here." *(a pause)* "What? When?" *(he stands abruptly, eyes sweeping the café)* "Okay. I'm on my way." **Marie:** *(leaning forward, concern creasing her features)* "Qu'est-ce qui se passe? Quelqu'un d'autre a disparu?" **Hunter:** *(pocketing his phone, he looks at her with an expression caught between urgency and apology)* "I have to go. But Marie—" *(he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a card, placing it on the table)* "This is my number. If you remember anything, anything at all about that night, you call me. Even if you have to use a translator app, or draw a picture, or whatever it takes." **Marie:** *(she takes the card, reads it, then looks up)* "Je vais le faire." *(she repeats more clearly, pointing at him, then at the card)* "I will. Je vous le promets." **Hunter:** *(nodding, already moving toward the door)* "Good. Stay safe, okay?" *He exits, leaving Marie alone with her camera and a detective's card.* Through the window, she *watches him disappear down the street, and she slowly lowers her gaze to the photographs on her screen.* She scrolls past pumpkins and laughing children, until she lands on a single image: a shadow against the old granary wall, blurred and wrong. Her finger hovers over it. The café's bell chimes as the door swings shut, and she quickly locks the screen, looking up with a startled breath. --- **End of Scene.**