Mma Ramotswe did not answer his question. She should not have said anything about it, she realised, even if she wanted to share the overwhelming sense of relief that the visit had brought her.

“Well?” said Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, opening his eyes and looking around the yard. “The important thing. Why is it …” He stopped. Then, frowning, asked, “Where is the white van?”

Mma Ramotswe sighed. “It broke down on the way back. It is sitting out over there.” She waved a hand in the general direction of the south, the direction of Lobatse, the Cape, and the oceans to the south of the Cape. “It is down there.”

“Broke down?” asked Mr J.L.B. Matekoni sharply. “What happened?”

Mma Ramotswe told him of how the engine had suddenly lost power and then stopped. She told him that there had been no warning, but that it had all happened rather quickly, just before she reached the main road. Then she mentioned the oil and her suspicions that it had something to do with the cracking of the sump on a rock.

Mr J.L.B. Matekoni grimaced. “You are probably right,” he said reproachfully. “Those rocks can do a lot of damage. You really shouldn’t take a small van like that on those roads. They’re not built for that sort of work.”

Mma Ramotswe took the rebuke quietly. “And if the engine has seized? What then?”

Mr J.L.B. Matekoni shook his head. “It is very bad news. You’ll need a new engine block. I don’t think it would be worth it.”

“So I would need a new van?”

“Yes, you would.”

Mma Ramotswe thought for a moment. “I have had that van for a long time,” she said. “I am very fond of it. They do not make vans like that any more.”

Mr J.L.B. Matekoni looked at her and was suddenly filled with a great sense of pride. There were some women who would be only too eager to get hold of a new van or car and who would willingly scrap a faithful vehicle for the sake of something flashier and smarter. It made him feel proud to know that Mma Ramotswe was not like that. Such a woman would never want to trade in an old and useless husband for a newer, smarter man. That was very reassuring.

“We’ll take a look at it,” he said. “You must never say that a van is finished until you’ve had a good look. We can go out in my truck and collect it. I’ll tow you back.”