In the swish of a tail

The Long Lost Memory of Water



In the swish of a tail

Kellie and Shaniqua sashayed hand in hand towards the pier and the waiting sand. Jamal stood there giving them the evil eye. They were late.

"I made sushi for you-two."

"Thanks. Did you make shrimp for Shaniqua and octopus for me?"

"Of course. And finely filleted mermaid for me."

Shaniqua snickered. Whatever mermaid she might desire she didn't want finely filleted. But then she looked at Kellie and sighed. "Mermen perhaps?"

"Too tough and ornery."

They all laughed. Jamal preferred his men smooth, submissive and without scales.

"Did you download the pictures I sent you?"

Jamal paused between bites.

"Yeah."

"What do you think?"

"A bit blurry but the logos on the wet suits and their basic body form should give us a lead to the two."

"Yeah. Who would wear pink on a heist?"

"How does the body form help?" Kellie repressed a smirk.

Jamal didn't notice.

"Well. The female was very muscular and seemed to be 6 feet tall. The guy... his endowment showed... quite nicely... he shouldn't be hard to find at the local strip joint."

"Wipe the grin off your face, Jamal. It's not likely he's a stripper."

"But he might pay for one. Not everyone can handle what he has to offer."

"Really?"

Jamal ignored that jab.

"And he's a swimmer. No butt, broad shoulders. Maybe breast stroke."

"No back stroke?"

"I wish."

"Well, it's somewhere to begin."

Jamal's boss was happy for any lead at this point. The thieves were clever. Steal and hide their loot in the lagoon. The alligators and muddy black water would hide and guard most anything until it could be retrieved.

"Any idea what they are stealing and why?"

"The jewels are obvious. Add a coded GPS device and they can be easily retrieved, washed and sold."

Jamal heard the 'but' and saw the grimace.

"But..."

"They took 20 computers and dumped them too."

"Computers? That makes no sense."

"Computers?"

Kellie and Shaniqua looked at each other. Jamal just shrugged.

"We..."

"... might have a clue." Shaniqua finished off Kellie's thought. They did that often.

"Of what value could rusting computers parts have?"

Kellie bored her eyes into Jamal's until he broke the silence.

"Ah... the precious metals."

"Bingo. That fancy degree is paying off."

"Or..."

"Got better photos this time!" Shaniqua was almost shouting with glee.

"There were three of them this time."

"One looked like a manatee... though..."

"... or a mermaid."

Shaniqua and Kellie burst out in laughter until they looked at Jamal holding the photos.

"Mermaids, mermen, manatees..."

His whisper was deep and serious.

In the swish of a tail, and the long lost memory of water.

© Copyright 2022 Kåre Enga [178.342] (30.januar.2022)

~450 words for

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Chapter One   (18+) Write the first chapter of a book, inspired by the prompt. #2251577 by Cubby