Run: 2026-09-23-01M37PC3PD5VM8P9H9FBX2XH98

Marie: "…Je ne comprends pas pourquoi je ne peux pas arrêter de regarder cette photo." *[...I don't understand why I can't stop looking at this photo.]* Hunter: "Excuse me. Marie, right? Mind if I sit down?" Marie: "Oh! Pardon, monsieur… Vous voulez…?" *[Oh! Pardon me, sir… You want…?]* Hunter: "I'm Detective Hunter, Alborn PD. I'm asking folks about Thursday night. Were you near the orchard when it happened?" Marie: "Je… je ne parle pas anglais. Je suis désolée. Détective…?" *[I… I don't speak English. I'm sorry. Detective…?]* Hunter: "Thursday. Night. The orchard." *He points toward the window, toward the north road.* "You were there? Yes or no?" Marie: "Le verger?… Oui. Oui, j'étais là. J'ai vu—" *[The orchard?… Yes. Yes, I was there. I saw—]* *Her hands tremble around the camera.* "Mon Dieu, j'ai vu quelque chose… quelque chose de terrible." Hunter: "Okay, okay — slow down. 'Oui' is yes, I got that much. You were there." Marie: "Je ne comprends rien! Je voudrais aider, vraiment, mais je ne peux pas—" *[I don't understand anything! I'd like to help, truly, but I can't—]* Hunter: "Hold on." *He pulls out a notepad, sketches a stick figure walking into trees, then a question mark.* "Did you see the person? Who left? Which way?" Marie: "Vous dessinez… un homme? Dans les pommiers?" *[You're drawing… a man? In the apple trees?]* *She studies the notepad, then goes pale.* "Oui… j'ai vu un homme. Il portait quelque chose sur l'épaule. Il est entré dans les bois, là-bas." *[Yes… I saw a man. He was carrying something on his shoulder. He went into the woods, over there.]* Hunter: "Woods. That way. That's… 'là-bas,' right? Over there?" Marie: "Là-bas. Oui. Vers le nord." *[Over there. Yes. Toward the north.]* Hunter: "North. Good. That's good, Marie. Was he carrying — did he have a bag? A — " *He mimes hoisting something heavy over his shoulder.* Marie: "Comme ça, oui! Grand. Trop grand pour être un sac… J'ai pris une photo, mais…" *[Like that, yes! Big. Too big to be a bag… I took a photo, but…]* *She scrolls through the camera, hugging it close.* "…la photo est floue. Et j'avais tellement peur. Je me suis cachée derrière le hangar." *[…the photo is blurry. And I was so afraid. I hid behind the shed.]* Hunter: "A photo. You said photo — that much I know. You have a picture of him?" Marie: "Une photo, oui. Regardez." *[A photo, yes. Look.]* *She turns the camera screen toward him; her hand is still shaking.* Hunter: "Blurry as hell, but that's a man, all right. Six feet, dark jacket. Marie, I'm going to need you to come down to the station. Someone there can — hell, do we have anyone who speaks French? Can you — hotel? You stay at the Maple Inn?" Marie: "Je ne comprends pas… Vous voulez la photo? Je peux vous envoyer… e-mail?" *[I don't understand… You want the photo? I can send it to you… email?]* Hunter: "Email. Yeah. Email works." *He slides a card across the table.* "Hunter. That's me. You send it to that address — can you read that?" Marie: "Hunter… détective Hunter. Je m'appelle Marie. Enchantée, même si… ce n'est vraiment pas le moment." *[Hunter… Detective Hunter. My name is Marie. Pleased to meet you, even if… this is really not the moment.]* Hunter: "Marie. Yeah. Look — you've been a big help. More than you know. Stay in town, alright? Don't — " *His phone buzzes. He glances at the screen, and his jaw tightens.* "Damn it. I have to take this." Marie: "Quoi? Qu'est-ce qui se passe?" *[What? What's happening?]* Hunter: "That's my phone. I gotta go. You — here. Stay." *He points at her, then at the chair, then at himself.* "I come back. Tomorrow. Okay? Demain?" Marie: "Demain… 'tomorrow'? D'accord. Demain. Faites attention, détective. Il y a quelque chose de mauvais dans ces bois." *[Tomorrow… 'tomorrow'? Alright. Tomorrow. Be careful, detective. There's something bad in those woods.]* Hunter: "Demain. I'm already using the one French word I know how to say properly. Stay out of those woods till then, you hear me?" Marie: "Je n'y retournerai pas. Ne vous inquiétez pas. Bonne chance… et merci d'essayer de me comprendre." *[I won't go back there. Don't worry. Good luck… and thank you for trying to understand me.]* Hunter: "Yeah. Wish I understood half of what you just said, but 'merci' — that one I know. You're welcome." *He stands, phone already at his ear.* "Hunter. Yeah. Tell me where."