Al Capone Does My Shirts

Moose follows Theresa to the stairs, unable to ignore the looming guard tower. Natalie follows behind, dragging her toe along the edge of each step. Theresa says they’re going to the morgue; Piper said that “looking for dead guys” is Theresa’s job. She explains that they’re not supposed to talk to the living criminals and that Piper is Warden Williams’s “bossy” daughter. Then, Theresa hands Moose a card and explains that Annie, who’s 12, “did the words.” Moose puts it in his pocket, but Theresa demands the card back and reads it aloud. It’s facts about Alcatraz prisoner Al Capone, including that his favorite jewelry is a $50,000 pinkie ring, that he was sent to jail for tax evasion, and that he opened the first soup kitchen in Chicago. Theresa then adds that they also have Machine Gun Kelly and Roy Gardner. They don’t have Bonnie and Clyde because they’re dead.

The kids move out of the road when a truck horn beeps behind them. Moose looks behind him at Natalie, whose hands are down—they’re usually up high. The guard in the truck, whom Theresa calls Mr. Trixle, asks if Moose and Natalie are Cam Flanagan’s kids. He then tells Theresa to hurry to their destination, which Theresa says is Piper’s house. By now, the cell house looms over Moose, Theresa, and Natalie. Chatting about Al Capone, Theresa leads Moose and Natalie to a cottage that would be cute, except it has a sign denoting it as the morgue. It’s locked.

Just as Moose asks if they should hurry to Piper’s house (he’s “curse[d]” with being responsible), a beautiful girl comes around the morgue and asks if Natalie is “retarded” or “stupid.” Angrily, Moose says Natalie is neither, and Theresa says this is Piper. Piper continues to ask questions, but Moose hisses that they can’t do this in front of Natalie. Finally, Piper asks Moose to prove Natalie isn’t stupid and says more rude things. Moose shouts at her to be quiet, but leads her back to Natalie. He asks Piper’s birthday and year, and then asks Natalie what day of the week Piper was born. Without looking up, Natalie says it was a Tuesday. Piper asks what else Natalie can do, and Moose snaps that she’s not “a trick monkey.” But unprompted, Natalie says that 487 times 6,421 is 3,127,027.

Piper is impressed, but she says that “something is wrong with [Natalie].” Moose shouts at her again, but Theresa whispers that according to Mr. Flanagan, Natalie lives in her own world, and sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad. Piper says that Natalie just sounds “crazy,” and the warden won’t like it—he always says the criminals who are mentally unwell are the scariest ones since they’re unpredictable. Moose is worried—why did Dad tell anyone here about Natalie? He says that Natalie is leaving for boarding school soon, but Piper says it’s her duty to tell her dad stuff like this. She tells Theresa, Moose, and Natalie to follow her; they can meet her dad themselves. But Moose says he and Natalie have to get back home.

Natalie, though, doesn’t move or look up, so Moose sits down and wonders what to do. Just then, Mom calls for Moose and comes into view, running up the hill. Panting, she says she was afraid something happened, but Moose says everything is fine and reminds her that he left a note. Mom nods and pokes at her eyes.