Run: 2026-10-09-01M4FZ3VG1CM05WMVCT17AN5DA

**Voice Sheet: Scene 4, "The Cafe on Maple Street"** *Setting: An outdoor table at the Crooked Spoon Cafe, Alborn, MN. Late afternoon. Melanie sits alone, turning her camera over in her hands. Hunter approaches with a notepad.* **Hunter:** Excuse me. Are you Melanie Vogel? The barista said you were at the orchard Friday night, during the apple festival. I'm Detective Hunter. I'd like to ask you about the Pruitt boy who disappeared. **Melanie:** *(startled, speaking quickly in German)* "Oh, Entschuldigung, ich habe Sie nicht kommen sehen. Der Junge... Ich habe ihn gesehen. Ich schwöre, ich habe ihn gesehen, und dann war er einfach weg." *[Oh, sorry, I didn't see you coming. The boy... I saw him. I swear I saw him, and then he was just gone.]* **Hunter:** *(pausing, frowning)* Okay. I'm going to need you to slow down. I didn't catch any of that. **Melanie:** *(shaking her head, voice trembling)* "Bitte, ich weiß nicht, wie ich es Ihnen erklären soll. Ich habe die Fotos gemacht, um den Sonnenuntergang einzufangen, und er war im Hintergrund. Zwischen den Bäumen." *[Please, I don't know how to explain it to you. I took the photos to capture the sunset, and he was in the background. Between the trees.]* **Hunter:** Sorry, I don't speak German. Not even "hello" or "thank you." Do you speak any English at all? **Melanie:** *(stares at him blankly, then glances at her camera)* "Englisch... nein. Ich verstehe nur wenig." *[English... no. I understand only a little.]* **Hunter:** *(sighs, sits down across from her and slides a pen across the table)* Alright. Then we do it the hard way. Can you show me the photos? You can point. Anything. **Melanie:** *(hesitates, then turns the camera's screen toward him and taps it with a trembling finger)* "Hier. Sehen Sie? Die Silhouette. Sie steht genau dort, neben dem roten Traktor." *[Here. Do you see? The silhouette. It's standing right there, next to the red tractor.]* **Hunter:** *(leaning in, squinting at the screen)* ...That's a tree stump. Or a scarecrow. Is that what you're pointing at? **Melanie:** *(shakes her head firmly, then taps a second photo)* "Nein. Das ist er. Das ist derselbe Mantel, den er an dem Abend trug. Und hier, im nächsten Bild... ist er nicht mehr da." *[No. That's him. That's the same coat he was wearing that night. And here, in the next picture... he's gone.]* **Hunter:** *(slowly)* So you're telling me the boy was there, and then he wasn't. **Melanie:** *(nods, eyes glistening)* "Ja. Genau das." *[Yes. Exactly that.]* **Hunter:** *(quietly)* Okay. That I understood. *(A phone buzzes on Hunter's belt. He glances at the screen and grimaces.)* **Hunter:** I have to take this. *(stands, holding up one finger)* Don't leave. Stay right here. I'm serious. **Melanie:** *(softly, in German, to herself as he walks away)* "Er wird mir nicht glauben. Niemand glaubt mir." *[He won't believe me. Nobody believes me.]* *(Hunter answers the call halfway across the street, his back to the cafe. Melanie looks down at the camera and gently zooms in on the silhouette beside the red tractor.)* **END OF SCENE**