4338.208 · July 27, 2018 AD
A Post-It and a Prayer
A phone rings in Greta Smith's kitchen and shatters the only quiet moment she's had all week. On the other end, Officer Felicity Massey — freshly transferred to Broken Hill and already tangled in something she doesn't fully understand — is trying to find Paul. Greta's hostility masks her terror. Felicity's careful notes mask her doubt. The call drops before either woman gets what she needs, and what follows for Felicity is a chorus of voices all saying the same thing.
Greta's Friday morning begins with a rare sliver of stillness — tea steeping, a scone warming, the house briefly hers. Then the phone rings, and it's Broken Hill Police. The officer on the line wants to know about Paul. Greta's defences go up immediately. She calls Claire a stupid cow, deflects every question with sharpness born of fear, and offers only the barest thread — Paul might be with his brother Luke in Hobart. Jerome crashes through the kitchen mid-call, raiding the biscuit tin, oblivious. The line drops before Greta can give Luke's number. She stands alone in her kitchen, praying.
In Broken Hill, Felicity Massey stares at her notes. She's new here — transferred from Sydney, still learning the town's rhythms and loyalties. She's written "hostile to Claire" and "measured / guarded" and circled the word "worried" twice. "LUKE — HOBART" sits boxed at the bottom of the page. She tries to call back. Nothing. Then Senior Constable Brock Polden arrives and tells her to drop Claire's case entirely. DI Harding says the same. Three people now, all telling her the same thing. Felicity tucks her post-it note into her pocket, follows them to the pub, and whispers "Paul's fine" to herself — without believing a word of it.
