[Write the Story] It’s A Setup!

Prompt: It’s a Setup!

Words: acrobat, blurt, jolt, gregarious, tortoise, persimmon, balk, follow, grasp, deli

Story
“What is it I’m supposed to have done?” Benji tried to be calm, but everything seemed to come out in a blurt.

“Once more, you were brought in for questioning for the…kidnapping of Persimmon the Painted Terrapin,” said Detective Lively. “It’s an endangered tortoise.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because there’s a lot of money in the endangered species black market.”

“But why me?”

“Access. You work with reptiles at the zoo, which is also opportunity. Motive? Crushing student loan debt. And, you were seen coming out of Duke’s Deli, a well-known hangout for the exotic underground market.”

“Ew!” Benji bit back a gasp. “No! That’s not it. I couldn’t have…you have to some kind of Cirque du Soleil acrobat to get that terrapin out of the tank. And why would I? Persimmon’s the most gregarious tortoise we have…” then he balked. Benji looked up with a jolt. “I’m being set up! Now it makes sense! The secret meetings, the whispers. The Recipes! Detective, if you want to solve this case we need to move fast before Persimmon becomes soup. Let’s go!”

Word Count: 183

Written: 10/15/2020

Tags: fiction, flash fiction, Piccadilly, short story, terrapin, Write the Story