When the office phone rang on that late August afternoon, I didn\u2019t think much of it.\u00a0 I took one hand off the keyboard and brought the phone up to my ear, cradling it against between my head and shoulder then tried to resume the email I was typing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, I\u2019m with the <county> police department. Am I speaking to Michael Marchi?\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n I stopped typing.\u00a0 \u201cYes. \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cIs your brother, Steven Marchi?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u00a0 What is this about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo confirm identity, could you tell me his date of birth?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes I can.\u00a0 Who are you again?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy name is Detective <name>.\u00a0 I need to be sure I\u2019m speaking with a relative of Steven Marchi before I can continue.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I told her Steven\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay sir.\u00a0 A Missing Person\u2019s report has been filed by Mr. Marchi\u2019s roommate.\u00a0 Have you seen or heard from your brother in the last few weeks?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t heard from my brother in the last few years.\u00a0 Did you say you\u2019re in Atlanta?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes sir.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI thought he was in L.A.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo sir, according to his roommate he has been in Atlanta for a couple years now.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHave you talked to my parents yet?\u00a0 They might have heard from him more recently.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo sir.\u00a0 We tried, but received no answer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not at home right now, but I can give you a contact number for them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And so it began.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Everything that has happened since that day has been a bizarre journey into half-truths and speculation that have taken things I thought to be true, and turned them on their head.\u00a0 As I got involved, I would have to come to terms with several years of estrangement from my brother.\u00a0 I would hear things that I thought couldn\u2019t be true, and other things I knew were false.<\/p>\n My brother was missing, and his friends were worried.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the office phone rang on that late August afternoon, I didn\u2019t think much of it.\u00a0 I took one hand off the keyboard and brought the phone up to my ear, cradling it against between my head and shoulder then … Continue reading