Run: 2026-09-23-01M37PX322Q04AKV6K6QG7XH6Z

**Scene: The Rusty Kettle Café, Alborn, MN — mid-morning. Isabella sits by the window, scrolling through photos on her camera. Hunter approaches, badge in hand.** --- Hunter: "Excuse me, ma'am. Detective Hunter Cole, Alborn PD. Mind if I take a minute of your time?" Isabella: "Oh— mi scusi, io non parlo inglese. Mi dispiace, davvero..." *(Oh— I'm sorry, I don't speak English. I'm sorry, really...)* Hunter: "I'm investigating a disappearance. Margaret Hale, sixty-two, went missing three nights ago near the Hollis Orchard. You were at the festival that evening, is that right?" Isabella: *(troubled, hands trembling slightly around her camera)* "Scomparso...? Margaret...? Io... io l'ho vista. Alla festa. Mi ha dato una frittella di mele, era così gentile con me..." *(Disappeared...? Margaret...? I... I saw her. At the festival. She gave me an apple fritter, she was so kind to me...)* Hunter: "Ma'am, I'm sorry — I don't understand a word of Italian. Do you speak any English at all? Any?" Isabella: *(shaking her head, eyes glistening)* "No inglese. Solo italiano. Mi dispiace tanto... è terribile, vero? È successa una cosa terribile..." *(No English. Only Italian. I'm so sorry... it's terrible, isn't it? Something terrible has happened...)* Hunter: "Okay. Okay, easy now. You're shaking. Can I get you some water? Water?" Isabella: "Acqua? Sì... sì, grazie." *(Water? Yes... yes, thank you.)* Hunter: "Water. Good. That we can do." *(He signals to the waitress, then pulls out a photo of Margaret Hale and slides it across the table.)* "This woman. Have you seen this woman?" Isabella: *(gasps, pressing a hand to her chest)* "Margaret! Sì, la conosco! L'ho vista quella sera... ho delle foto! Guardi, guardi qui—" *(Margaret! Yes, I know her! I saw her that evening... I have photos! Look, look here—)* *(she turns her camera toward him, flipping through images of the festival)* Hunter: "Is that the festival? Wednesday night? Can you show me— slow down, slow. Wednesday." Isabella: *(counting on her fingers, then holding up three)* "Tre notti fa. Ho fotografato tutto il parco. E poi... poi c'era qualcuno nel frutteto. Con una lanterna. Non era lei. Era... era troppo alto, e camminava in modo strano, come se non volesse essere visto." *(Three nights ago. I photographed the whole park. And then... then there was someone in the orchard. With a lantern. It wasn't her. He was... he was too tall, and he walked strangely, as if he didn't want to be seen.)* Hunter: "The orchard. You keep pointing at the orchard. Was Margaret there?" Isabella: *(scrolling to a grainy photo: a dark figure with a lantern between the apple rows, timestamp 9:47 PM)* "Ecco. Guardi. Una persona. Alle nove e quarantasette. Ho pensato fosse uno degli organizzatori, ma... non so, qualcosa non andava. L'ho rivista anche dopo, vicino al capanno. Ho avuto paura e sono tornata in albergo." *(There. Look. A person. At nine forty-seven. I thought it was one of the organizers, but... I don't know, something was wrong. I saw them again later, near the shed. I got scared and went back to my hotel.)* Hunter: "Nine forty-seven. I can read the timestamp. A lantern in the orchard at nine forty-seven — that's twenty minutes after Margaret was seen leaving the pie tent. Ma'am, this photo — I'm going to need this photo." Isabella: *(nodding slowly, understanding his gesture toward the camera)* "La foto? Sì... sì, può averla. Voglio aiutare. Margaret era gentile con me quando nessun altro lo era. Ero così sola, e lei mi ha parlato, anche se non ci capivamo." *(The photo? Yes... yes, you can have it. I want to help. Margaret was kind to me when no one else was. I was so lonely, and she talked to me, even though we couldn't understand each other.)* Hunter: "I wish I knew what you were saying. You look like you're telling me something important." *(His phone buzzes. He glances at the screen, then holds up a finger.* "One moment." Isabella: *(quietly, watching him)* "Prego..." *(Go ahead...)* Hunter: *(into the phone)* "Cole. ...What? When? ...No, secure the perimeter, don't let anyone near the shed until I get there. Twenty minutes." *(He hangs up, stands, and taps the photo on her camera screen, then points to himself, then to the café door.)* "This. Stay. I'll come back with someone who speaks Italian. Stay in town. Can you do that? Stay." Isabella: *(pointing at herself, then at the chair)* "Io... resto qui? Aspetto qui?" *(I... stay here? I wait here?)* Hunter: "Yes. Stay. Here." *(He presses a card into her hand with the station's address.)* "If you remember anything else — anything — you come here. Or find anyone in uniform." Isabella: *(clutching the card and her camera to her chest, voice trembling)* "La prego... la trovi. La trovi viva." *(Please... find her. Find her alive.)* Hunter: *(pausing at the door, meeting her eyes — some things don't need translating)* "I intend to, ma'am. I intend to." *(He pushes through the café door and jogs toward his truck. Isabella stares down at the photo of the lantern in the orchard, her thumb hovering over the timestamp.)* **— End of scene —**