Chapter 3

The next day, when Jaxson went to work, he saw the body Caleb had asked him to reconstruct. Caleb's junior forensic pathologist was looking completely overwhelmed by the corpse. Jaxson walked past, pausing at the doorway for a moment. His gaze lingered on the corpse. It was the most severely damaged body he'd ever seen. Almost every part of it was mangled, making reconstruction incredibly difficult. But there hadn't been any news of such a severe murder case recently…

After a moment of thought, he patted the man's shoulder. "Tell your captain I'll take his case."

I lay in his studio, watching him put on his gear and gloves, all the naivety of his youth long gone. As I watched, a smile couldn't help but curve on my lips—this was him. But the more he worked, the graver his expression became. I didn't know if he'd realized it. The height, arm length, and all other physical data were identical to mine. My hand had already been roughly restored, and he hesitated, then took hold of my wrist. The hand he'd held countless times. With just a gentle grasp, he could find that familiar sensation.

His brow furrowed even deeper. But what could that mean? He smiled, shaking his head. "How could it be..." There wasn't just one person in the world with my hand circumference. Besides, this was a corpse; the measurements surely weren't the original ones... Just as he was about to let go, his finger brushed against something hard. He looked down. His wedding ring was still on my finger.