AI **INT. ALBORN CAFE - DAY**
*MARIE (30) sits at a corner table, camera in lap, reviewing photos on the digital screen. Her knuckles are white. HUNTER (35) approaches, badge clipped to his belt, posture rigid.*
**Hunter:** "Ma'am? Detective Hunter. I need to ask you about Tuesday evening. Were you near the Miller's Apple Orchard around dusk? Before the festival preparations started?"
**Marie:** *(setting her camera down slowly, voice trembling)*
"Je ne comprends pas... vous parlez trop vite. C'est arrivé, monsieur. Près des pommiers. J'ai pris une photo de... de quelque chose dans les arbres. Quelque chose qui bougeait."
*(I don't understand... you're speaking too fast. It happened, sir. Near the apple trees. I took a photo of... of something in the trees. Something that was moving.)*
**Hunter:** *(frowning, leaning in)*
"I'm sorry, I don't speak French. Do you speak English? Even a little?"
**Marie:** *(shaking her head violently, eyes wide and frightened)*
"Non! Pas un mot! Mais écoutez-moi! S'il vous plaît! La fille... la fille aux cheveux blonds, elle a disparu. Et maintenant... maintenant il y a des ombres. Partout. Même ici, dans le café."
*(No! Not a word! But listen to me! Please! The girl... the blonde girl, she disappeared. And now... now there are shadows. Everywhere. Even here, in the café.)*
**Hunter:** *(reaching for his notepad, jaw tight)*
"Okay, okay. Let me get this down. You saw something at the orchard. A girl went missing. Can you show me on a map? Or write it down—"
**Marie:** *(grabbing his wrist, thrusting the camera toward him)*
"Non! Regardez! Regardez cette photo! C'est dans les branches! C'est... ce n'est pas un oiseau, monsieur. Ce n'est pas un oiseau."
*(No! Look! Look at this photo! It's in the branches! It's... it's not a bird, sir. It's not a bird.)*
**Hunter:** *(staring at the image—a dark, indistinct shape among the white apple blossoms, then looking at her with concern)*
"I... I see something in the trees. But I need your statement. Can you come to the station? There's a translator we can call—"
**Marie:** *(pulling back, clutching the camera to her chest like a shield)*
"Non! Je ne peux pas! Ils savent que je parle! Ils me suivent depuis trois jours! Depuis la fête des pommes!"
*(No! I can't! They know I talk! They've been following me for three days! Since the apple festival!)*
**Hunter:** *(checking his watch, voice hardening with urgency)*
"I hear you, lady, but I can't do anything if I don't know what you're saying. I need to—" *(his phone BUZZES sharply against the table)* "—take this. Sheriff's office."
**Marie:** *(standing up, desperate, reaching toward him)*
"Attendez! Non! Ne me laissez pas seule! Ce n'est pas sûr ici! Ils sont déjà dans la ville!"
*(Wait! No! Don't leave me alone! It's not safe here! They're already in town!)*
**Hunter:** *(already turning, holding up the phone to his ear, shouting over his shoulder)*
"I'll send someone back! Someone who speaks French! Stay here! Don't go anywhere! Do you understand? Stay!"
**Marie:** *(sinking back into her chair as he exits, whispering to the empty air, camera trembling in her hands)*
"Trop tard... ils savent déjà..."
*(Too late... they already know...)*
*She looks down at her camera screen. The photo of the apple orchard flickers. In the background, a shadow moves between the trees.*
**FADE OUT.**