Al Capone Does My Homework

Four days later, on Wednesday, Moose watches Natalie while his mother goes into the city to teach a piano lesson. He tries out his idea of taping math problems to his forehead to coax his sister into looking people in the face, but Natalie solves the problems too quickly, hardly glancing at them. Meanwhile, arguing that she is older than him, she insists on going outside to feed the birds, a favorite hobby of hers. As always, he gives in and takes her down to the dock with a handful of bread. While Natalie methodically feeds the birds, Moose wanders a short distance to the Caconis’ apartment, brooding about how Donny beat him in the throwing game, which he suspects was fixed in some way. Noticing the Caconis’ laundry bag by their front door, he decides to “borrow” it to look for evidence of cheating: Donny may have left some bottle caps in his pockets. Seeing him pick up the laundry bag, Natalie, who dislikes any changes in the island’s routines, protests that he has the wrong bag; luckily, the Caconis seem to be out. Moose ducks into #2E and rifles through the bag while Natalie amuses herself by flicking the light on and off. He finds nothing in Donny’s clothes, but Mrs. Caconi’s apron pocket contains something very unexpected: $40, rolled up into a thick wad.

Knowing that he can’t risk telling others of his discovery without revealing his own theft of the laundry bag, Moose puts the money back and returns the bag to the Caconis’ doorstep. Meanwhile, he notices convicts on the dock, including Count Lustig, Lizard, and Indiana, who are unloading building supplies from a boat to carry up to #2E. He sees Indiana gesture to Lizard, who then approaches Darby with a question; this seems intended to distract Darby from the Count, who darts his hand into the downspout. When the cons have gone up the switchback with the lumber, Moose reaches into the downspout and finds a tightly folded slip of paper. On it are numbers: 213 35-2-75, with 213 circled. Mystified, Moose shows it to Natalie, but she has no ideas. Moose decides that the message must be intended for someone who is not a prisoner, since it was left outside the cell block.

Moose excitedly shows the message to Annie, suggesting they put it back in the downspout and watch for who picks it up. Annie has her doubts about the safety or practicality of this plan but fills him in with what she knows about the Count; as a hobby, she and Theresa make “convict cards” about the more interesting prisoners. The Count, she says, has a long and varied history of fraud and forgery, including “selling” the Eiffel Tower several times as scrap metal, one or two bigtime heists, and numerous con-jobs. Finally, giving Moose a “beautiful” smile, she agrees to help him watch the waterspout the following day. As they leave Annie’s, Natalie insists on playing on the swings for “two hours,” which frustrates Moose since he wants to put the message back soon before the recipient comes looking for it. After an unpleasant encounter with Bea Trixle, who argues that Natalie is too old to ride the swings, Moose and Natalie are caught in a rainstorm. Natalie, swinging happily, hardly notices, but Moose realizes that no one will come looking for a message in the downspout after a rain like this.

On the ferry the next day, Moose overhears a conversation between Mr. Mattaman and Mr. Bomini, who complain about how long the task force is taking to investigate the fire and about how Darby has been “milking” the incident to get back at Cam Flanagan. Then Mr. Bomini says that Al Capone is going to be interrogated about the fire and mentions that Count Lustig was recently seen giving Lizard five dollars, which the latter swallowed when caught. The two men seem convinced that a conspiracy is afoot.

Back on the island, Moose tells Annie about his mounting worries, particularly involving Natalie, and she asks him to describe, again, the events of the night of the fire. Moose says he made a bed for Natalie on the floor of his room, leaving his light on because he didn’t intend to fall asleep. As always, he was careful to turn off the other lights in the house. The two of them realize, at once, that Natalie could not have used the stove without turning the kitchen light on first, and then she would have fallen into her pattern of flicking the light on and off for hours. Thrilled and relieved, Moose thanks Annie for proving his sister innocent.

The two of them go to the Mattamans’ to tell Jimmy what they found out, including the conversation Moose overheard about the questioning of Al Capone. The investigators, Moose says, will be questioning Capone in a private house as part of a ruse to keep the other cons from targeting him as a “snitch.” Moose thinks they should listen in on this interrogation. They decide to bring Piper into their plan, and Annie mentions how “strange” Piper has been acting: Besides her recent, uncharacteristic generosity with gifts and money, she has seemed moody and troubled. Moose suggests that she might be getting the money from her grandmother, but the others have their doubts.

Moose visits Piper at her house to ask if she is okay. She claims she is fine but then mentions, in the strictest confidence, that a butcher knife has gone missing from the cell house kitchen. She also tells him that Al Capone’s interrogation will take place at Doc Ollie’s house under the pretense of a medical procedure; the doctor will even put a fake bandage on Capone to fool the other cons. Moose asks her to help him eavesdrop on the meeting, and she sullenly agrees, but only after he assures her that they are still friends. The two of them go to Doc Ollie’s to scope out a place to hide. A utility closet on the back porch seems perfect, aside from its dirtiness and smell. Moose asks again if she is okay, citing Annie’s worries about her odd behavior, and Piper bridles at the mention of the other girl. Annie, she says, “doesn’t know the half of it” (126).

Later that day, Moose’s father tells the family that the task force will announce its findings within the next week. Meanwhile, he insists on not holding grudges, even against Bea Trixle, who he says simply made a mistake when she accused Natalie of starting the fire. He urges his wife to socialize more with Bea and the other neighbors and says that he will do his part for neighborly relations by hosting a poker party with Darby Trixle, Mr. Mattaman, and Donny Caconi.

The next night, after helping his father set up a table and chairs in the Chudley house and making popcorn, Moose reluctantly takes Natalie to the Mattamans’ house for the evening since his father says poker is “grown-up stuff.” There, Mrs. Mattaman expresses her misgivings about her husband playing poker, since they are in financial straits, but Mr. Mattaman insists it’s “penny ante.” After Mr. Mattaman leaves, Bea Trixle and Janet come for a visit, and Mrs. Mattaman shows Bea a new dress that was delivered anonymously to her. She does not know if she should wear it, not knowing where it came from, but Bea argues that she shouldn’t worry about such things and just “enjoy it.” Moose plays Parcheesi with Jimmy until 10:30, and then Mrs. Mattaman asks him and Natalie to go home and “break up” the poker game.

At the Chudley house, the men, deep in their game, have lost track of time. Donny has three “huge” stacks of chips, and the other men have much less, especially Mr. Mattaman, who has only half a stack. Mr. Flanagan gestures for the kids to leave, but Natalie plants herself behind him, watching the game. Donny continues to win, and soon Darby Trixle is down to his last three chips. Suddenly, Natalie yells the words, “Second black jack!” (134). Only half listening, her father tells her that every deck of cards has two blackjacks, a jack of clubs and a jack of spades, but she clarifies that two jacks of clubs have been played. Remembering how Donny pocketed his money after the throwing contest, Moose hints to his father that the deck may be crooked. As Donny smoothly tries to end the game, Moose grabs up the discard pile and asks his father to count the jacks. Reluctantly, he does so and counts out two jacks of clubs. Donny quickly tries to cast blame elsewhere, but Darby, who has lost almost all of his chips to Donny, leaps on the younger man, locking his arm around his neck. By the time the others break up the fight, both men are bruised and bloody. Moose’s father, noting that he saw a queen fall out of Donny’s undershirt during the tussle, tells Donny that he will personally see to it that he never plays cards on the island again. Everyone, he says, will leave with the same amount of money they brought. Sternly, he reminds Donny that his mother lives on Alcatraz on the warden’s charity, so he should watch himself, if only for her sake. After Donny leaves, Darby looks at Natalie with new interest, realizing that she saved him a lot of money. Sensing the importance of this moment, Moose prays that his sister will make eye contact with Darby to finish winning his gratitude and respect, but she keeps staring downward as usual, and the “moment passes.”

The next day, at the Mattamans’, Mrs. Mattaman greets Moose warmly and tells him that Natalie saved their family a whole month’s wages by spotting the card cheat. Moose confides to her his worries about Natalie, such as her aversion to looking people in the eye, which makes people like Darby treat her like she’s worthless. None of Moose’s little “tricks,” such as taping math problems to his forehead, seem to work; Moose wonders why she can’t “fake” being normal. Mrs. Mattaman says that one reason she likes Natalie so much is that she never “fakes anything.” However, to get by in life, she says, children must learn the “rules” for getting along with others. Moose goes to #2E to fetch Natalie, who has just gotten up, and brings her back to the Mattamans’ place, where Mrs. Mattaman offers to make her a lemon cake as a thank-you for saving the family’s money. When she asks Natalie why she doesn’t look people in the eye, Natalie becomes tense and angry. Theresa and Janet try to calm her, and Moose wraps her in a blanket to comfort her, but to no avail: “Beyond reason,” she fights Moose as he tries to carry her to the door, biting his arm. Crying out in pain, he can barely restrain himself from slapping her. Dumping her on her bed in #2E, he tells her he sometimes hates her and wonders angrily why he is always the one who has to do everything.

When Moose’s mother arrives, he tells her what happened with Natalie. She looks at his bite wound and tells him that maybe they should keep Natalie at home more: With all of the pressures on the family, they can’t keep “parading” her problems in front of the neighbors. Moose counters that he has been trying to help Natalie by getting her used to people outside the family. His mother says it doesn’t seem to be helping and that they can’t have her throwing tantrums in other peoples’ houses and biting people, or soon she won’t be welcome anywhere. Some of their neighbors, she reminds him, believe that Natalie burned down the apartment, and her school has put her on probation for it. His father, she says, has enough pressure on him with his new job, which some don’t think he deserves. Moose tells her that Natalie can’t be kept at home forever and that eventually, she’ll have to live “out there.” He asks her to have a little more faith in her daughter. His mother, drawn with worry, closes her eyes but stops arguing with him.

That evening, Moose proposes to Natalie a new game: Every time she looks him in the eye, she gets a point. But she responds by turning her face away. He decides to get Annie, Jimmy, Piper, and Theresa to help him with this; together, they might be able to reach her. Meanwhile, Moose’s father tells him that he’s going to have a talk with Donny Caconi about his card cheating. Moose asks if he can come along, but his father won’t allow it, saying that Moose has been taking too much responsibility on his shoulders lately and should enjoy being a kid while he still can.

Before meeting up with Piper to spy on the Capone interrogation, Moose drops by Annie’s to invite her along. He overcomes her reluctance by telling her that he needs—and wants—her to be there. Piper is surprised, and not altogether pleased, to see them arrive together, claiming there isn’t enough room in the shed for Annie, but Moose insists on her joining them. The three of them move some tools out of the shed and slip inside. Moose, trapped in a confined space with two girls—one of whom he has kissed, and the other his best friend—feels less than comfortable. He has long had a crush on Piper but lately, he has begun to feel “weird” around Annie as well.

Finally, they hear the voices of people arriving at Doc Ollie’s house: Darby Trixle, Bo Bomini, and Cam Flanagan. Darby says he will “handle” the questions, but Cam disputes this in a “commanding voice” that surprises his son. Then a fourth person arrives, whom Moose recognizes by his voice as Al Capone. As Cam and Darby question him, Capone replies flippantly, asking for a “highball” and laughing at Darby’s attempts to intimidate him. He denies any knowledge of the fire, saying that he’s been keeping his “nose clean” and that they should be more worried about some of the other cons, who have a “long reach.” Cam asks him about the money and gifts that have been “floating around.” Capone is unfazed, but the question seems to alarm Piper, who begins to “jiggle” back and forth in the shed as if she can’t control her emotions. Again, Capone denies any connection to bribes or gifts, claiming the only things he shares with others are magazine subscriptions. Finally, Darby loses his patience and asks to speak to Cam outside, adding that he knew this interview would be a waste of time. As they go, Capone tells Cam not to let Darby bully him just because he was passed over for promotion. Darby and Cam step out onto the back porch, right by the kids’ hiding place, causing Piper to gasp nervously. Darby taunts Cam with Capone’s supposed lack of respect for him, saying they should beat “the beejeezus” out of the mobster; then, they might get somewhere. Cam, noting that that would be against the “regs,” cautions the angry guard to “behave” himself. Capone opens the door and interrupts them, noting that it’s lunchtime. While Mr. Bomini makes Capone a sandwich, Cam asks him about the convicts’ “point system,” which gives points for attacks on guards and wardens. Capone denies any involvement, claiming his name is also on the hit list, the same as theirs. He also denies any knowledge of who stole the butcher knife from the kitchen, ignoring Darby’s sneering remarks. Finally, Cam, having learned nothing useful from Capone, ends the interview, and the four of them leave Doc Ollie’s.

As Moose and the two girls emerge from the shed, Piper runs off by herself, greatly agitated. Moose knows this has something to do with the gifts and money Capone was questioned about but is puzzled by her extreme reaction. He tells Annie they need to talk to Piper right away.