Hello?
Hello, can I speak to Suzanne Pollard please?
Who’s calling? If you’re trying to sell me something I’m hanging up in two seconds flat.
No, please, I’m not selling anything. My name is Rachel Atler. I’m wondering if you have a brother called Michael.
Yes, I do.
And does he teach English at the University of New South Wales?
That’s right. Has something happened to him? Has Michael been in an accident?
No! It’s nothing like that. I’m sorry, I should have explained straight away. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m a friend of Michael’s and I’m just trying to track him down.
If you’re a friend of his then why don’t you have his phone number?
I do, except he’s not answering my messages and I’m starting to get a little worried.
You think he might be in trouble?
I don’t know…I don’t think so.
Then maybe he’s just avoiding you.
I suppose that could be it, but I…oh how do I explain this?
Just spit it out dear, I’ve got about five minutes before I need to leave for work.
Your brother and I were involved for quite a number of…
Adopted brother.
Really? Michael was adopted?
He never told you?
No. He never mentioned it.
Sounds about right. Michael was always secretive as a kid.
Well perhaps that explains it then.
What?
When we broke up we promised to stay in touch with each other, but I dropped by his flat a few days ago and found that someone else was renting it. So I rang his work and discovered he’d taken a leave of absence.
Sounds to me like he’s left town for a while.
That’s what I thought as well. But he never said a word about it. And I only saw him a few weeks ago.
Well that also sounds a lot like Michael.
Look, I don’t need to speak to him directly. If someone else has heard from him recently, that’s fine. I just want to know he’s all right.
Sorry dear, but I haven’t spoken to Michael in over five years. Every Christmas I send a card care of that university where he works, but I never hear back from him. Last time we spoke was when our parents died. He came up to Brisbane for the funeral, then flew back to Sydney the same day. Felt guilty I suppose. They were driving down to see him. Got tired of waiting for Michael to pay them a visit.
Do you have any other relatives who Michael might be staying with?
None that I know of. We’re a pretty small family. That’s why my parents adopted Michael in the first place. A few cousins scattered about here and there, but none of us are close. Sorry I can’t be more help.
No, no, you’ve been very kind to speak to me. Thank you.
Listen, you seem like a nice girl, so I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but if I were you I’d forget about Michael and find someone else. My brother has always been a little weird. Even as a kid he was always on his own. Never wanted to share his toys or join in on games. And if he did decide to take part, he used to cheat so much that no one ever wanted to play with him. But maybe that was his way of making sure he was left alone. Who knows? I could never figure him out. I think deep down he feels as though he doesn’t belong anywhere, and it makes it hard for him to commit to anyone. That’s just my opinion of course. If you do speak to him tell him that some of his junk is still in my garage, and he can pick it up any time he likes.
I will. And thanks again.
No problem. Hey, just asking. How did you find my number? I don’t imagine Michael gave it to you.
He mentioned you a couple of times, and I knew he grew up in Brisbane, so I just started looking through the phone directory.
You called everyone with the surname Pollard?
I got lucky pretty quickly. It didn’t take too long.
Wow, you sure are…oh Jesus is that the time? Sorry dear, I’ve got to go. I’m late for work.