Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Silas Jones is the black constable of Chabot, Mississippi, where he grew up. As a teenager, Silas was a baseball star in the small town, and as an adult he is still referred to by his number: 32. However, Silas’s upbringing in the town was not idyllic; he and his mother, Alice, were poor and lived in a hunting cabin on the Otts’ property without electricity. Though Silas and Larry were friends, Silas resented that Larry had so many things when Silas had nothing. Silas also resented Alice for smothering him, not understanding until after her death how lonely she was.

As an adult, Silas continues to struggle with his relationships, keeping people at an arm’s length. Silas tries to avoid Larry when he returns to town, but after Larry is shot, Silas must come to terms with some hard truths. As both Larry’s half-brother and the man who could have proven Larry’s innocence but didn’t, Silas realizes that he must stop being a coward and connect with the people in his life. Silas begins this journey by clearing Larry’s name and confronting Wallace Stringfellow, nearly losing his life in the process. By the end of the novel, Silas makes further steps by committing to his girlfriend, Angie, and by showing his dedication to help Larry have a better life. 

A local young man who grew up hearing stories about “Scary Larry,” Wallace developed a deep interest in Larry. As a young boy, he would sneak onto Larry’s property; as he grows older, Wallace strikes up a strange friendship with Larry. Like Larry, Wallace is an outcast: Wallace feels abandoned by his mother and resents her string of boyfriends. With no father figure in his life, Wallace latches onto Larry, believing they share a similar interest in violence. Wallace brags to Larry about his bloodthirsty dog, John Wayne Gacy, and confides that he has rape fantasies. When Larry shows he doesn’t share Wallace’s taste for violence, Wallace feels abandoned and lashes out at Larry. Wallace shoots Larry and tries to frame him for Tina Rutherford’s murder. Ultimately Wallace’s actions in killing Tina and M&M and shooting Larry lead to his suicide. Larry continues to feel sorry for Wallace, however, understanding just how lonely Wallace must be, and how that loneliness can motivate people to do terrible things.  

Carl Ott is the father of both Larry and Silas, though he keeps his relationship with Silas hidden. Carl impregnated Alice when she worked for their family as a maid and initially sent her and Silas away to Chicago, though Carl supports them in secret when they return to Chabot, putting up Alice and Silas in his hunting cabin and giving Alice a used car to go to work. A hard man, Carl does not connect with the bookish, introspective Larry and seems to wish Larry were more like the athletic and popular Silas. Rather than owning up to his own mistakes, Carl takes out his frustrations on the two boys, pitting them against each other and severing their friendship. 

Alice Jones is Silas’s hard-working, single mother who is determined to give her son a better life. Alice love Silas but struggles to connect with him at times, never quite understanding his wild ways or why he resents her so much. Alice carries secrets that Silas doesn’t fully understand until after her death, such as her relationship with the Ott family. It is only after her death that Silas comprehends how much Alice loved him and how hard her life must have been.

Ina Ott is Larry’s mother. In the present day, Ina has Alzheimer’s and is mostly disconnected from the events around her, though she does have a few lucid moments. However, Larry’s remembrances of her in the past reveal a complicated woman. Ina seems introspective like her son, and she, too, has a difficult relationship with Carl, who often belittles her. Rather than confronting Carl about this behavior, Ina takes out her resentment on Alice and Silas, choosing to blame them for Carl’s bad behavior rather than holding her husband accountable.

Cindy Walker was Larry’s neighbor growing up—a slightly older girl he had a crush on and would sometimes spy on. Cindy asks Larry out on a date when they are teenagers, but it turns out to be a cover story; Cindy needs her stepfather to believe she is out with Larry so she can meet her real boyfriend, who turns out to be Silas. When Cindy fails to meet up with Larry again at the planned time, Larry becomes a suspect in her murder. Cindy only appears briefly in a few remembrances of Larry and Silas, which show her as an attractive, charming girl who suffered an abusive relationship with her stepfather, Cecil. Cindy continues to haunt Silas, who kept silent about their relationship all these years, as well as Larry, who barely knew her but became inextricably tied up in her story.

Angie is an EMT in Chabot as well as the woman Silas is currently seeing. After Silas asks her to check up on Larry when he doesn’t show up for work, Angie and her team discover Larry with a gunshot wound and rush him to the hospital. Silas keeps Angie at a distance, though he enjoys her companionship, yet Angie seems to have a good grasp of Silas’s character and calls him out when he’s lying. Angie persuades Silas to tell her the truth about his relationship with Cindy and further convinces Silas to confess his part in the night of Cindy’s disappearance so that Larry will no longer be a suspect. Angie guides Silas through his attempts to reconnect with Larry, and by the end of the novel, Angie and Silas solidify their relationship.