Dr. Foster explained carefully.
The night of the crash, two women had been in Melissa’s car.
I had never known that.
Melissa had been driving a coworker home.
A storm had started shortly before the accident. Their vehicle left the highway, crossed a drainage area and struck an embankment.
The passenger remained near the vehicle.
Melissa did not.
She was found later, farther down the slope than rescue crews initially searched.
Alive.
Unconscious.
Without identification.
Her injuries had affected memory, language and coordination.
For weeks, she apparently could not even say her own name.
“But the police told us—”
“I know,” Dr. Foster said.
“Calvin identified her.”
“No,” Melissa said softly.
I looked at her.
She struggled for a moment.
“He identified my things.”
The wallet.
Her coat.
The bracelet Calvin had given her for their anniversary.
All found with the woman recovered from the vehicle.
I remembered Calvin telling me identification had been made through personal belongings and dental information because of the condition of the remains.
