In this chapter, we begin to see a connection between Jack and cats. Marcus notices several similarities between Jack and his cat, Pistol. Jack and Pistol both move with a swift lightness of feet, and Pistol hunts his animal prey just as Jack toys with his own gangster prey. Jack tells stories about Sugarpuss, the cat he and Eddie shared in Philadelphia, and he tells a story about Van Wie's cruel treatment of a cat. It is painful for Jack to remember being forced to kill his neighbor's cat, which looked just like Sugarpuss. It is possible that guilt over having to kill the cat that reminded him of beloved Sugarpuss reminds Jack of the many people he has turned against and betrayed over the years.