This week on Cowboy Traders, we're on the trail of Barlow's Bookies. When Rob Donovan betted his money on a number of horses,he was left disappointed when the bookies refused to pay up. I'm going to pay Rob Donovan a visit and find out more about this tragic turn of events.

"Well, come on. Think up a sob story." Said Tracy impatiently. "Say we were going to use the money to renovate our awful kitchen or something."

They were stood behind the counter at Barlow's Buys during a quiet Sunday afternoon. Nobody ever seemed to buy anything on a Sunday afternoon. In fact, nobody seemed to buy anything on any day of the week. They'd get the occasional taunt from Peter Barlow, then pretty much nothing. Business wasn't exactly booming.

"I'm trying, alright? I just can't think of anything." Rob replied in defence.

"Yeah, well, you better hurry up. I'd just love to see the shock on my brother's face if we manage to get Melinder Messenger to give us something expensive."

There was a soft knock at the door. Tracy opened it in reply, greeting Melinder in a friendly fashion before walking back towards her boyfriend.

"So what exactly happened when you visited the bookies to place the bet?" asked Melinder, brushing her long, blonde hair as she eyed Rob warmly.

"Well, I placed a large accumulator bet on a few of the racehorses competing in the horse racing that was taking part while I was in there. The guy who served me, Peter Barlow, accepted the bet and I watched the TV screen he had on showing the race. At first it looked like I was going to be coughing up, but one of the horses was disqualified. When I made my way back to the counter, that dirty little-sorry, I mean that Peter Barlow refused to pay."

"Was there anything in particular you were going to use the money for?"

"I was planning on using it to...erm(Tracy shot him a dirty look)...renovate my living room. It's starting to fall apart quite quickly and I needed the money to buy a new sofa. If I'd got the money I'd rightfully won, the living room would actually be safe to walk in by now."

Rob broke into false tears in a way that reminded Tracy of those cringeworthy X Factor contestants just before a audition.

Tracy hastily offered Rob a hanky and said 'Sorry. He gets like that sometimes. He's inability to renovate his living room has really left him depressed."

I can tell Robert's life has been badly affected by Barlow's Bookie's refusal to pay. This is a man who's been left emotionally traumatised with the loss of the money he deserves and can only all but dream about having a living room that isn't slowly fading away.

"Reckon we've bagged that new living room, Trace?" Rob asked cheerfully.

"I'm sure of it. She really fell for your sob story. "

I'm having a hard job of tracking down others who have been conned by Barlow's Bookies. I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but something tells me that Rob's case could be one of a kind. However, I managed to contact one woman who claims that the owner of the bookies was facing financial problems. I'm going to pay her a visit and see if I can sieve any more details out about what exactly this bookie has been up to.

Michelle and Steve were in the middle of watching a romantic movie together when they heard a hard knocking at the door.

"Steve. Answer that, will you?" said Michelle, lying back in the sofa lazily, glass of red wine in one hand.

Steve did as he was told and opened the door. His eyebrows nearly fell off his head as he gawped like an idiot at the man standing before him.

"Holy moly, it's only Dominic flipping Littlewood off Cowboy Traders!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"I know, he contacted me earlier. I told you that earlier, Steve! Honestly, do you never listen?" Michelle said in reply.

"You must be Michelle?" Dominic asked, approaching her slowly and extending his hand.

"Yep, I'm Michelle. And that's my stupid boyfriend over there, Steve McDonald. Sometimes I think he's gone deaf." She replied.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Dominic Littlewood off Cowboy Traders."

"So I gather. Steve's a big fan."

"I can tell. So what exactly were these financial problems Barlow's Bookies were facing?"

"Well, it all started when my sister's brother Rob placed a risky bet on a number of racehorses. Rob won and the rest was history. Peter was left bankrupt and unable to pay off Rob."

Michelle's comments explain why there's no more cases similar to Rob's. It seems Barlow's Bookies was only unable to pay off punters after Rob placed the bet. But that doesn't explain why there's no sign of Barlow's Bookies in Weatherfield. I have a feeling finding this bookies is going to be the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack.

Coming up….

I find out more about Barlow's Bookie's sudden disappearance from Weatherfield.

And I help bring Rob Donovan's dreams of a new living room to life.