The telephone call was a disappointment. Another voice answered and informed Mma Ramotswe that she was a neighbour of Mma Sebina and was looking after the house while Mma Sebina was up in Maun on business. She would be back, Mma Ramotswe was told, in a couple of days, and yes, Mma Ramotswe could certainly see her there if she came round to the house before she left for work in the morning.

“And are you the same Mma Ramotswe who has that detective agency on the Tlokweng Road?” asked the voice. “Are you that lady, Mma?”

Mma Ramotswe confessed that she was.

“Do you know where that man who built new roofs is?” the voice went on. “The one who built three new roofs round here—all of which let in the rain when it rained so hard the other day? Can you answer that for me, Mma?”

Mma Ramotswe was patient. “I do not know everything, Mma,” she said. “Did your roof—”

“It did,” said the voice. “The rain came in everywhere. The holes in the corrugated iron were too big for the bolts. So the rain came straight in.”

“I wish I could help you, Mma,” said Mma Ramotswe. “But I’m afraid I can’t help everybody. I have not heard of this roof man. I’m sorry.”

The voice seemed to accept this and rang off, leaving Mma Ramotswe smiling. Really, people imagined that just because she was a detective she knew, or could find out, everything. It was an enviable reputation for a private detective to have, but it did mean that Mma Ramotswe was buttonholed in all sorts of unlikely circumstances and asked to come up with the solution to some often insoluble problem. If people had an issue to raise with a roofing man and had no other means of contacting him, then the answer seemed simple…

She picked up the telephone and redialled the number.

“I have thought of a possible solution,” she said. “If this man fixes roofs, then why not drive around Gaborone and look for people fixing roofs. It is always very obvious whose roof is being fixed, because you will see a man standing on it. That is the way to find this man.”

The voice was silent for a moment. Then it let out a chuckle. “What they say about you is obviously true, Mma,” said the voice. “They say that you are a very clever lady—and you obviously are.”