A petty thief steals money from the donation box at a local church. Upon investigating, Fraser and Ray learn two things: the thief is a shoemaker who was forced out of business by a local Mafia boss's protection racket, and the Mafia boss, Frank Zuko, is a member of the congregation (and an acquaintance of Ray's since childhood) has taken it as a personal offense that his church was robbed, ordering a hit on The Shoemaker. Fraser and Ray must find a way to protect The Shoemaker from Zuko's men, while Ray deals with his failure to protect a classmate from Zuko when they were younger.
Tropes
- Ambiguous Situation: The episode's ending: Did They or Didn't They?note
- After Action Patch Up: Elaine tends to Fraser's wounds, while allowing for some Ship Tease.
- Christianity is Catholic: Ray Vecchio and Frank Zuko are both Italian Americans, making this a Justified Trope.
- Confessional: An exasperated priest explains to Frannie that he can't forgive her for sins she plans to commit, never mind ones she doesn't follow through on (which is to say, seducing Fraser).
- Later on, Father Behan implies that he goes to confessional for wishing harm on Frank Zuko
- Disproportionate Retribution: Zuko orders The Shoemaker killed because he stole money from the church.
- Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": Joey Paducci. You'll hear his name once or twice, but mostly he's just The Shoemaker.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Fraser relates a story about how he was once beaten with a dead otter.
- Irony: The money Padduci stole came from a collection meant to help the poor. All things considered, Father Behan is more than happy to let him keep it, but Frank Zuko disagrees.
- The Mafia: With local boss Frank Zuko
- No Holds Barred Beat Down: Zuko's men beat Fraser senseless and nearly kill him. Ray later corners Zuko and returns the favor.
- Oh, Crap!: When Frannie shows up at the church.Ray Vecchio: Oh, God... Sorry, Father.Father Behan: That is your sister, isn't it?Ray Vecchio: Ah, yes it is, Father.Father Behan: Oh, God.
- Police Brutality: Ray meets Zuko in private (after leaving his gun and badge in the car) and beats him to a pulp.
- Which means Ray wasn't on duty as a police officer at the time, so it's not police brutality.
- Soft Glass: A glass door is slammed in Fraser's face during a foot chase, and unusually for this trope, it's clear that going through it hurt quite a bit.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Fraser, while in a lingerie store:Fraser: We would like to ask you a question that is unrelated to either underwear or breasts.
