Mr. Polopetsi said that he was pleased to hear this, and Mma Ramotswe thought that he meant it, even if the implication of this news was that Mma Makutsi would stay at her post. She wished she could do more for this mild and inoffensive man, who was always so willing to take on new tasks and who never complained. A great wrong had been done him, she felt, in his imprisonment for the consequences of an error that was not of his making, and in the past she had entertained thoughts of clearing his name. But no longer; it was too long ago and it would be an impossible task. Now he should concentrate on forgetting that nightmare, which she thought was exactly what he was doing. But it would still be a help to give him some scrap of status to hang on to …

“I’ve been thinking, Rra.” She had not—not strictly so—as the thought had just popped into her mind a few seconds ago. “I’ve been thinking about your position.”

He looked at her with that long, hopeful stare that he often used—rather like the mute gaze of a dog that wants his master to feed him.

“Yes,” she went on, now thinking quickly. “You know that this is a small business. We do not make much money, and the share we put in of the wage that Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni pays you is very small. You know that?”

He inclined his head slightly. “I know that, Mma. And I am very grateful.”

It was typical of him, she thought. Others would resent this arrangement, but he accepted it.

“So we cannot really give you more money. We would like to, but we cannot.”

“I know that, Mma. And you must not worry. My wife is helping in a shop now, and she is getting some money too. We are luckier than many. I am not complaining.”

Mma Ramotswe nodded. “You do not complain, Rra. You are very good that way. But what I’ve been thinking about is this. We could give you a new title. I thought that we might call you …” She hesitated. She had thought of Operations Manager, but she knew that Mma Makutsi would object to that. So it would have to be Consultant. That was the word people used to describe the jobs of those who really had no fixed role, and sometimes nothing at all to do. “How about Consultant Detective?” she asked.

Mr. Polopetsi said nothing.

“It is a very good title,” Mma Ramotswe encouraged him.

He shook his head. “It is kind of you, Mma. But I am happy as I am. You do not have to find a name for me just to make me feel better.”

“But …”