The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Three days after the Patel case is settled, Mma Ramotswe is paid over two thousand pula for her services. She is then visited by a new client, Mma Pekwane, who fears that her husband’s new car is stolen. Mma Pekwane asks Mma Ramotswe to learn who the car belongs to and return it to its rightful owners. Mma Ramotswe calls J.L.B. Matekoni to learn about the market for stolen cars; he agrees to help her find the car’s identifying numbers. Mma Ramotswe arranges for Mma Pekwane to distract her husband while Rra Matekoni sneaks in the garage and records the numbers. The following weekend, Mma Ramotswe gives the car’s identifying numbers to Billy Pilani, a schoolfriend who is now working as a police officer. He confirms that the car was stolen and contacts the owner’s insurance company, who arrange to pick up the car in Gaborone. Mma Ramotswe obtains the car keys from Mma Pekwane, and moves it to the arranged location. When her husband realizes that his car has been stolen, Mma Pekwane offers to call the police. Her husband hesitates and says that he’ll look for it himself. Mma Pekwane realizes that she was right: The car was stolen.