Kells poured more whiskey into the glass. He said: “The Joanna came out tonight; how did they get the load?”
Kastner said: “She came out last night, an’ they worked all night transferring cargo from a couple schooners — twelve hundred cases. The play was to run it in, three cases to a launch, each trip. They’ve got a swell federal connection at the wharf — the point was to get it by the cutters.”
Kastner coughed again. “That’s about all.”
Fay went back to the desk, sat down. Kells held the glass of whiskey toward Kastner but Kastner shook his head. Kells drank a little of it.
Kastner went on listlessly: “Eddie an’ me went to Perry’s an’ I busted in and waited for you. Doc was scared. That’s the reason he’d wanted to see you: he had some kind of an in on what Rose was going to do an’ wanted help. He was scared pea green.”
Kells grinned at Fay.
Kastner twisted on the couch. Suddenly he spoke very rapidly, as if he wanted to say a great many things all at once: “Eddie waited down on the street to give me a buzz on the downstairs bell when you started up. Rose had called Reilly an’ he was all set with three men to make the pinch — two in front an’ one in the alley.”
Kells asked: “How come you sapped Dave?”
“He was putting on an act for the girl so she wouldn’t think he was in on it. He got too realistic.”
Kells looked at Fay, spoke to Kastner: “I thought Reilly was Lee Fenner’s man.”