Triptych

John grew up in the same affluent neighborhood as Mary Alice Finney. John’s father, Richard, was an oncologist, and his mother, Emily, was devoted to her family. The Shelleys’ lives were seemingly perfect until a teenage John started telling lies and smoking marijuana. John’s father gave up on him, but his mother constantly defended him.

When Emily’s brother died in a car accident, John spent time with his cousin Woody Carson. Through Woody’s bad influence, John started using cocaine. When Mary Alice confronted John about his addiction, he ended their friendship. As he continued to succumb to addiction, Emily was the only person who stood by him.

The narrative inserts a newspaper article from July 1985 that states that John will be tried as an adult in Mary Alice’s murder.

After 20 years in prison, John struggles to acclimate to a life of relative freedom. He now works at a car wash with another ex-convict named Ray Ray. While John was incarcerated, Emily visited him every two weeks, and Woody’s mother—John’s Aunt Lydia—would also visit on occasion. John’s father only visited twice. Now, as John wonders who has stolen his identity, Ray-Ray is talking to a sex worker. She yells at him, and when he punches her in the face, John prevents Ray-Ray from abusing her any further. A police officer who is getting his car washed intervenes, and John’s boss, Art, says that John is fired. When the sex worker tells the officer that she confronted Ray-Ray because he did not pay her, Art realizes that John was trying to help, so he immediately restores John’s job. John is then tasked with making sure that the woman gets home safely. John contemplates how much he dislikes his job; it is the only job he was offered because of his status as an ex-con.

The woman, Robin, brings John to a liquor store, where a few other sex workers are waiting. As John talks to Robin, he realizes how much he misses human connection. He says that he just wants to talk and then asks her to tell him about her first kiss. John recalls that when he kissed Mary Alice, she was dead the next morning.

The narrative shifts back in time to John’s childhood. The teenage John reflects that as a young boy, he was an active child who loved being outdoors. On the night that he overdosed on cocaine, his father disowned him. (Richard was furious and humiliated because John was taken to the hospital where Richard worked.)

John contemplates this incident as he encounters Mary Alice on the playground. She tells him that her parents are getting divorced because her dad is having an affair. John feels sorry for her and invites her to Woody’s party. She tells him that she’ll think about it.

The narrative returns to the present. At 6:30 am, John is awakened by his parole officer, Martha Lam. She gives him a specimen cup so that he can provide her with a urine sample. Then, she investigates his room and the surrounding area. He listens as Martha investigates his upstairs neighbor and finds something illegal. John calls the law office of Keener, Rose, and Shelley and asks to speak to his sister, Joyce. He asks her to explain the concept of a credit score and identity theft.

The weather is rainy over the next three days, so John has very little work at the car wash and is not paid. He takes the bus through Atlanta, eventually arriving at the address listed on his credit report. He then goes to the post office where the PO box is located. He waits for a while until he recognizes someone and realizes that this person has stolen his identity.

The narrative shifts to John’s past, in the aftermath of Mary Alice’s death and John’s arrest for her murder. John does not remember being arrested.

On the morning of John’s arrest, Woody had come to his house to give him Valium. John later woke up to find himself handcuffed to a hospital bed. Paul Finney (Mary Alice’s father, a prominent attorney) insisted that John was guilty of Mary Alice’s rape and murder.

Now, Emily urges John not to say anything to anyone except his aunt Lydia.

The narrative returns to the present. John is surprised to find himself willingly returning to the Coastal State Prison to visit a friend. The prison is five hours away by bus, and he can’t believe that his mother made this trek every two weeks. Upon arrival at the facility, he is surveilled and x-rayed. His friend and former cell mate, Ben Carver, is waiting for him. (Ben is in prison because he killed six men and cut off their nipples, becoming known as “The Atlanta Carver.”) John has brought Ben some cigarettes. John wants to tell Ben something, but Ben reminds him that the walls have ears. John asks Ben about the person who stole his identity, and Ben states that his mother, Beulah, will allow John to borrow her car. Ben gives John a tight hug, and John tells him the name of the person he is looking for.