Locked in a cell, how was he going to do any of the things Nolan had told him to do if he happened to find himself arrested by an honest officer?
When they hauled him before the police judge, Casey hadn't been given the chance to explain anything to anybody.

Unless, of course, he wanted to beller out his business before everybody; and that, he told himself fiercely, was not Casey Ryan's idea of the way to keep a secret.

Moreover, that damned speed cop was standing right there, just waiting for a chance to wind his fingers in Casey's collar and choke him off if he tried to say a word.

And how the hell, Casey would like to know, was a man going to explain himself when he couldn't get a word in edgeways?
So Casey wanted bail.

There were just two ways of getting it, and it went against the grain of his pride to take either one.