Chapter 17 Summary and Analysis

The Lufthansa dream quickly begins to unravel. Henry is so busy with his point-shaving scheme on the weekend of the robbery that he first hears about it on the news Monday morning. Henry has spent the previous evening getting drunk with Marty Krugman; as a result, he gets in a fight with Karen and winds up spending the night at a girlfriend's house. Jimmy calls him that morning and summons him to a meeting. Fat Louie Cafora, one of the Lufthansa gunmen, is there with the new Cadillac he has bought for his soon-to-be wife, Joanna. Henry knows better than to bring up Lufthansa, but the news is all over the radio. Jimmy pressures Henry into going home to Karen. Henry now realizes that Jimmy didn't want any personal issues to call attention to them in the wake of the heist...