The old woman fetched an overcrowded key ring from a drawer, then crossed to a small, locked cabinet. The keys jangled as she searched for the right one and then unlocked the door. She returned to the counter with a carved wooden box. “I believe this is what you are looking for.”

The old woman opened the box, revealing a small chunk of what looked like grayish wood, with furry fibers hanging off one end. “It filters out foreign substances in the body. Good for first- and second-stage cancer.”

Audrey’s stomach sank. “My son has stage four. Can it help him?”

“There have been many cases where it has been successful,” the woman said with a hint of optimism. “One very important politician here in Hong Kong was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer. He took horn and now he is cancer free. I can’t tell you who he is, because he is a very powerful and respected man.”

Audrey hesitated, uncertain whether to cross the line that she was tiptoeing on. Doing a transaction with a criminal enterprise would fly in the face of everything she stood for as an enforcer of the law. “Where does it come from?”

The woman withdrew a small framed photo from a shelf. It featured a blindfolded rhino lying on the ground as its horn was sheared off by clean-cut white rangers in Africa using a small chainsaw. “The animals are sedated—it doesn’t harm them, and they don’t feel a thing. Even if they were awake, there are no nerves in the horn and it grows back very quickly, like hair. It is all very humane and legal.”

“How does it work?” It, as if not saying the name of the contraband somehow diminished her crime.

The old woman pulled out a wide, green ceramic dish in the shape of a pie tin with a lip. Painted on the dish was a small blue rhinoceros. She fetched an electric teakettle and poured a splash of piping hot water into the dish. She proceeded to rub the chunk of rhino horn against the bottom of the dish, which had an abrasive surface that acted like a file. The horn slowly began to sand off. The horn dust mixed with the water, forming a milky mixture. The woman then poured the rhino-horn tea into a cup. “Would you like to try?”

Audrey waved her off. The woman could sense her concern at the transaction. “Don’t worry. We don’t have any problems with the police. Many powerful people come to my store.”

The woman drank the tea as if to reinforce the legitimacy and safety of the whole affair.

“Do you have any that is already powder?” Audrey asked.

The old woman nodded. “Many people prefer fresh, but this is just as effective.”