“She did not die,” Mma Makutsi pointed out. “So her life would not have flashed before her, Fanwell.”

“My neighbour took me to hospital,” said Mma Ramotswe. “He drove very fast and we almost went off the road, but we got there in a couple of minutes, I think.” She paused. “They put me on a trolley and wheeled me in. I told them what had happened and they fetched a doctor straightaway. He looked at my leg and said that he could not find the puncture wounds of a snake bite. He said that the snake must just have grazed my leg with its fang as it struck. He said this sometimes happens if the snake starts its strike from the wrong angle.”

“You were very lucky,” said Mma Makutsi. “If a puff adder gets its fangs into you, then it is very serious.”

“Your leg dies,” said Fanwell. “Then you die. That’s what happens, unless they can chop it off in time.”

“The doctor said that no venom had been injected,” Mma Ramotswe went on. “Although he thought it possible a tiny amount might have got in through the scratch. That’s why they said I should sit in my chair at home today and tomorrow—in case I developed any symptoms. But there is nothing. I am feeling one hundred per cent. I do not need to stay here.”

Mma Makutsi’s face registered a rapidly changing range of emotions as Mma Ramotswe gave this account. No venom had been injected—relief; a tiny amount—mouth in a tiny O; sit in my chair—nodded agreement; developed any symptoms—renewed anxiety; one hundred per cent—a smile of encouragement, tempered with slight concern over the non-following of medical advice. At the end of it all, she said, “You have been very lucky, Mma. And we are lucky too, aren’t we, Fanwell? If that snake had injected its poison then you could be dead by now, and we could have lost our dear friend.”

“And colleague,” said Fanwell. He thought for a moment, looking at Mma Makutsi. “You would now be the managing director, Mma.”

“We do not like to think about that sort of thing,” said Mma Makutsi firmly. “Mma Ramotswe has survived this great danger.”

“She is still with us,” said Fanwell. “That is very clear. She is still with us.” He paused before delivering the final verdict. “The head of that snake was turned aside by the hand of God. That is the only conclusion we can reach. God was present in Gaborone last night, and his divine intervention on behalf of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency bore the result we see before us. That is all I can say on this.”