Love Letters From A Dead Man

As he is driving along a country lane towards Woodcote Park, Harry sees a racing cyclist being harassed by a souped-up car. The cyclist, Ian, turns out to be Helen’s nephew. He is staying at Woodcote Park while he trains for a road-race through the centre of Nottingham. Greg Simpson, the manager of a racing team, is pressuring Ian to leave his present team and to join Greg’s. He threatens to publish a letter which proves that Ian once conspired to fix the result of a race by letting a friend win. Harry uncovers proof that Greg’s soignier (team doctor) is prescribing drugs to addicts; this would not go down too well with the sponsors of Greg’s team, a health-food company. Faced with a clear case of stalemate, Greg realises that he cannot win and backs down.

Ken is asked to trace the author of love letters written to Barbara Lake. They are apparently from her husband, Ronnie, a bank robber – but he died in a plane crash six months ago... Either he is still alive or else the letters are cruel forgeries. Laura and Rocky study the newspaper articles and accident report describing the crash, while Ken discusses Ronnie Lake with an old friend, Sergeant Hatchard. The more they discover, the more certain they are that Ronnie really did die in the crash. Hatchard tells Ken that Ronnie had been involved in a robbery just before he died; the money has not been found.

So who is writing the letters? Barbara’s house is being watched. She receives a parcel, supposedly from Ronnie, containing a large amount of cash. Then she gets a letter saying that he wants to meet her in “our special place” – Room 324 in a hotel. Ken keeps Barbara company as she waits in the hotel bedroom. While he is investigating a noise that she hears on the fire escape outside, she quickly takes down a ceiling tile in the bathroom and removes a holdall – evidently this contains the proceeds of the robbery.

Just as Laura is complaining that Ken never gives her anything interesting to do, a suave man called Charlie Cochrane turns up at the office, wanting someone to do some research into his family history. Laura is only too pleased to help. Charlie asks her out and send her red roses. She is clearly besotted with him.

But Charlie Cochrane is not what he seems. It is he who has been watching Barbara’s house, and now he searches the hotel bedroom. He then turns up at her house and threatens her with a gun unless she reveals where the money is hidden. Ken arrives but walks right into the trap. It is Rocky who saves the day by phoning the police and then creating a diversion which allows Ken to overpower Cochrane.

Laura is heartbroken at Cochrane’s treachery, but Rocky buys her some flowers to cheer her up and to show her that he cares.

Notes and episode list © Martin Underwood, 1997

Page last modified: 17 December 2008, 23:48