December 16: "rare insect" (from goodpenmanship)
Sequel to the previous
A middle-aged woman in a pleasant brown dress stared with great interest at a display of various insects from East Asia, aquiline nose just inches from the glass. She appeared a little hunched, though not unsteady on her feet, and her piercing grey eyes seemed to take in a great deal.
"Have you any questions, ma'am?" asked a museum employee. He was of medium height and average build. "You seem to have quite an interest in these exotic insects."
"Quite so," she replied. "My husband has an interest in entomology."
"Wonderful! A growing field, to be sure." He then went onto explain in great detail how the Kabutomushi insect, a species of rhinoceros beetle, has been bred for generations for size and strength and is popular among the upper classes of Japan for collection, and the lower classes for a sort of dog fighting (but with beetles), and how the root word 'kabuto' is a type of helmet the ancient Samauri would wear, and so on and so forth.
The woman listened attentively, occasionally asking questions, and gradually turned the conversation to the museum itself. Before he quite knew what was happening, the man was discussing all sorts of details about the ins and outs of the museum, his coworkers and their schedules and habits. The woman continued to listen with great interest, a small smile on her lips.
Little did the museum employee know that the seemingly banal information he shared would lead to the arrest of an endangered insect trafficking ring.