Al Capone Shines My Shoes

As Moose and his father leave the cellhouse, Moose is amazed that he has just met the world’s most infamous gangster. What’s more, the gangster called him “son.” Cam, noticing how starstruck his son is, cautions Moose about smart cons like Capone, who knows how to trap others into obligations. If you let him shine your shoes, Cam says, he’ll start pressuring you to pay him back in some way; if you refuse, he’ll threaten to tell the warden that you came to him for a favor. Then, if you do pay him back, he can use that as blackmail too, to “up the ante” (74). Moose’s blood runs cold, sensing that his father has, without knowing it, described his situation exactly. Seeing an angry Piper approach, Cam winks at his son and walks off, hinting that Moose should make peace with his “wild” friend.

Piper, furious that Moose got to meet Capone instead of her, shouts that she hates him. To Jimmy, who is approaching, she yells that Moose is clumsy and slow and might have dropped the baby. Jimmy defends his friend, reminding Piper that he did not drop Baby Rocky; but she continues to fume that he hogged the rescue, making her miss her one chance to meet Capone.