Phone box mystery

Overheard as I walked past a phone box in West Footscray. The speaker, a neat man with grey hair and a beard and an American accent. He was holding the phone to his ear and speaking loudly. Declaratively:

He told me in 2003.

He wasn't optimistic.

That was the last time ...

Why a phone box? Why West Footscray? Who was 'He' and what has happened in the last 7 years? It may have been about something as simple as real estate. Or the beginning of a Cold Case episode. Or a Paul Auster novel.

I walked back each day at the same time for a few days. But nothing. I never saw him again.