'Money To Burn' by Donald James

Jeff is given a proposition from an old ‘friend’, Kevin O'Malley, who offers him a cut of £500,000 in old banknotes which are to be hijacked while en route to the incinerator. Jeff does not answer, knowing that O'Malley's reputation may mean he is to be set up as a fall guy. O'Malley leaves the offer open, and tells Jeff that he can be contacted through Anne-Marie Benson, at a club where she is working on a cabaret act with him and another woman named Angela Kendon. Out of curiosity Jeff parks his car along the security truck’s route to Battersea Power Station the next evening. But the police are alerted when one of the cartons of money is dropped - and only old newspaper spills out. Jeff’s car was spotted in the vicinity at the time, and Inspector Large sees him as the prime suspect. Things look bad when Jeff’s alibi of dining with Anne-Marie Benson that night is denied by her, and even worse, £20,000 is found hidden under the floorboards of the Randall and Hopkirk office. Martty is afraid for his partner, as is Jeff's lawyer, Elizabeth Saxon, who is even more dismayed when Jeff reveals he was indeed at the scene that night, claiming to have been simply curious. In order to talk to Jeff, O'Malley pretends to be drunk, so that he can be arrested and held overnight in the prison cell next to him. O’Mally is baffled, as he backed out of the scam at the last minute; if he didn’t do the theft, and Jeff didn’t, then who did? Elizabeth pays a visit to the lounge where Anne-Marie sings, and finds her packing for a holiday instead of preparing for her opening number. O'Malley goes to see why Anne-Marie is late getting to the stage, but is knocked unconscious; he is found by Elizabeth, and they realise that Anne-Marie and Angela did the robbery. The two women load the money onto a private plane and taken off for France, but Marty finds them, and manages to use his vibrations to confuse the plane’s compass. Instead of flying across the English Channel, they hardly leave London; Marty tells Jeff where the plane will land, who in turn informs Inspector Large. The aircraft lands, and Anne-Marie and Angela are immediately arrested by the waiting police. Jeff is cleared and will be released - just as soon as O'Malley and Elizabeth can stop kissing!

Jeff Randall (Mike Pratt), Marty Hopkirk (Kenneth Cope), Jean Hopkirk (Annette Andre), Ivor Dean (Inspector Large), Sue Lloy (Elizabeth Saxon), Roy Desmond (Kevin O'Malley), Linda Cole (Anne-Marie), Olga Lowe (Angela)

Directed by Ray Austin

TX:
UK: 30th January, 1970 @ 7.25pm

Notes:
*Featuring Jeff Randall, the late Marty Hopkirk, and Jean Hopkirk