Knight wanted to accuse her of the irrefutable fact that she had bought the tiger with the full knowledge that it had been illegally trafficked. He wanted to tell her that the people who sold it to her had also sold young girls and narcotics—that she was personally supporting murderers. But Knight and Davis had built a house of lies to take down the Sun Yee On triad, and none of the lies could be walked back or the whole thing would collapse.

“The cub was a genuine Sumatran.”

Kate Henley’s look of surprise at the cub’s authenticity confirmed Knight’s theory that she, like everyone, was full of shit. “The distributor had links to an Indonesian terror group,” he added. Knight let the revelation sit long enough to make her uncomfortable. “But there’s no way you could have known that.”

Knight took an envelope from his jacket. “This should cover everything.” Kate opened the envelope and glimpsed the “10” followed by six more zeros.

“That information about the distributor—can we keep it between us?” Kate asked. “It would be bad for business.”

Knight did his best to mask his disdain. “Just make sure any new tigers come through legitimate AZA suppliers.”

Knight turned his back and walked away. As he made his way to the exit, he passed dozens of exhibits—a veritable Noah’s Ark representing all the charismatic megafauna the world had to offer. The human families maneuvered to see the majestic animals, each of the Homo sapiens falling in love with a natural world that neither they nor the animals had ever experienced.

It was a paradoxical desire: wanting to possess something wild.

CHAPTER 51 DUSK

CHAPTER 51
DUSK

kruger park, south africa

Oupa plodded toward the water’s edge, the mud slurping with each step of his stumpy feet. Since his mother died, one of the tall primates who roamed the park had taken over for her, feeding him milk from a shiny clear gourd. But as the young rhino matured, his diet had switched to the soft grasses that carpeted his home.

The little bump on Oupa’s nose had now grown into the shape of a small thorn, and the boy found the thorn useful for unearthing the delicious roots that lay hidden in the red earth. Though he occasionally crossed paths with the giant rhinos who shared the land, Oupa tended to keep his distance. He had been charged once by a dominant male protecting his territorial claim, and though the adult had ceased his pursuit as soon as Oupa squealed and fled, it had left the youngster with a healthy fear of conflict. And besides, there was enough food at Kruger for everyone without having to compete with the big boys.