At this invitation, Mma Makutsi sat up in her chair and grinned. At least here was something to make up, even in small part, for the news of the van. “I have solved a case,” she said modestly. “That Zambian …”

Mma Ramotswe let out a cry of delight. “You’ve found him? Where is he?”

Mma Makutsi held up a hand. “Not exactly found him,” she said. “But I’ve found out that he’s no longer here. He’s in Johannesburg.”

She explained to Mma Ramotswe about the telephone call to the minister and about his inadvertent disclosure of the whereabouts of their quarry.

“You assume that it was inadvertent,” corrected Mma Ramo-tswe. “But I rather think that the minister may have known exactly what he was saying. He did know that you were looking for somebody who had probably stolen a very large amount of other people’s money? He did know that?”

“He did,” said Mma Makutsi. “He knew all about that.”

“Well,” said Mma Ramotswe, “I think that this minister is not as stupid as you think he is. It sounds to me as if he was looking for a way of telling you something without running up problems with his own conscience. He knew that he should not break any confidences, but if he could do it indirectly, as he obviously has done, then perhaps he would not feel so bad about it.”

“But is that the way that ministers think?” asked Mma Makutsi.

“It certainly is,” said Mma Ramotswe. “One thing I have learned in this job is that everybody, even ministers, find ways of telling you things that they feel they should not tell you directly. And in the case of this minister, he probably thinks that it would be a very good thing for somebody to catch up with this man. So he has told you all that he knew, but he has done it in a special, roundabout way.”

Mma Makutsi was thoughtful. “So, what should we do now, Mma? Is that enough?”

“What would Clovis Andersen suggest?” asked Mma Ramo-tswe.

Mma Makutsi looked at the well-thumbed copy of The Principles of Private Detection. She had never actually read the book from cover to cover, although she knew that one day she should do this.

“He would say that you should always remember when to stop asking questions,” she ventured. “I think he says that, doesn’t he?”

“Exactly!” exclaimed Mma Ramotswe, adding, “I don’t think we even need that book any more. I think we know enough to start writing our own book, Mma. Do you agree?”

“I do,” said Mma Makutsi. “Private Detection for Ladies by Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi. I can see that book already.”

“So can I,” said Mma Ramotswe, taking a further sip of her tea. “It will be a very good book, Mma. I am sure of that.”