Columbo (1971) s04e06 Episode Script

He was my dog my dog not hers.
I found him he didn't like Margaret at all not really.
She said she fed him she lied.
She said she took care of him but she didn't.
I did.
Daddy Daddy Daddy.
What about your Daddy? Daddy knew about Margaret.
How she really was.
I told him.
Why did you tell him? So he would love me.
So he wouldn't love her.
I could swim and dive from the highest board.
Margaret couldn't.
Daddy used to watch me watch me swim and watch me dive.
He'd watch you dive? Yeah.
Just me only me.
Margaret Margaret was afraid of water.
Well I didn't want Daddy watching her.
We had a pool a beautiful pool.
Margaret hated it.
Why? She couldn't swim.
Did she dive into the pool? Nadia? Sweet Walter my dog.
My dog.
All right come forward Sleep easy.
Easy.
Everything is all right.
It's the present Wednesday.
You're coming awake.
On the count of three you will awaken very refreshed feeling happy very satisfied.
One two three.
That must have been a short one.
About the same.
Same roadblock? I want you to stay here a while till the effects wear off.
I've seen so little of you.
Carl's going out of town today San Francisco.
I thought the beach house No one's around.
I'd like to Mark, please.
You know how much I need you.
All right.
But you stay here for a while and I'll see you later.
Rest.
Dr.
Collier, I thought perhaps you ought to know that we're missing some drugs from the research lab.
Several hundred units of amobarbital and zilothin.
I suggest you double-check the inventory.
I'm sure there's a mistake.
I wonder if you've been using any for your own work.
What? Mark, I know the book isn't going terribly well but using drugs to deepen Mrs.
Donner's hypnotic state is at best a dangerous shortcut.
Anita, don't second-guess me on my methods.
Hey, you're too good a doctor.
You don't need it.
Besides, she's so utterly dependent on you.
I'll tell you what I do need.
I need those results on your experiments with the rats.
I gave you my results, and you rejected them.
Because they weren't properly controlled.
Look, I've got a publisher hovering over my shoulder like a ravenous vulture And, I'm not going to fake lab results just to get your book into print.
I'm not suggesting you fake anything.
I do suggest, however you show a little bit more imagination and a lot more diligence.
Diligence? Hi, darling.
Mark, please, don't.
Yes, yes, do come in, Doctor.
I'm sorry.
He wouldn't let me call you.
Of course.
It would spoil the fun.
Well, what will it be? Pistols at ten paces? Swords? Who gets the choice of weapons? Very amusing.
Never at a loss for words.
What do you want? A confession, that your wife and I are lovers? That's self-evident, but you say it with such pride.
Perhaps she hasn't told you yet.
You're not the first, you know or even the second or, even the fifth.
Must you, please? I must.
Yes, of course, he must.
You forget, Carl, after seven months with Nadia, I know everything about her and you.
Correct me if I'm wrong at this point you usually step aside, knowing full well that the lover at the moment is not about to accept the responsibility for Nadia.
I know my wife, Doctor and the trash she's attracted to.
You might be surprised.
Nadia, get your coat.
You walk out of that door, Collier, with my wife I'll ruin you.
I'll go to the university, tell them about the drugs you're using about the carnal relations you had with a patient, my wife.
What is it, the book? Yes, of course without her, there's no book.
Carl! No, Carl! He's dead.
Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look at him.
I'm here.
I'm here.
I'm gonna help you.
Come over here, come over here.
I want you to sit down over here, sit down.
Don't look around.
All right.
All right.
Now, we're going to have to call the police.
Now, what are we going to tell them? We tell them that Carl tried to stop me from taking his wife.
Yeah, but no jury'd ever believe that.
No, we're going to have to come up with a different story.
Did anybody see you leave the apartment, at all? Now think, Nadia, think.
Anybody? The doorman.
Nobody else? Sure? No.
Positive.
Good, good.
You came here with Carl just the two of you, to be alone.
It was 5:30.
came to the door they forced their way in.
They wanted They wanted jewelry.
They wanted jewelry and money.
Carl Carl wouldn't Carl wouldn't let them in, he resisted them.
You tried to warn him but, he wouldn't listen, his temper.
You got that? I'm scared.
I'm scared.
Of course.
Of course, you're scared.
Two men killed your husband.
It's perfect, that's perfect.
Nadia.
Nadia.
Nadia we're going to beat them.
you came here with Carl, just to be alone.
At 7:00 At 7:00 two men came through that door.
two men came to the door.
They forced their way in.
There was a struggle.
Struggle.
Hello, what's happened? Are you all right? Mark? Don't you ever go home? I'm just re-correlating some data as requested.
I suppose you noticed today that I wasn't my usual charming self.
No kidding.
Why don't we have a cup of coffee in the cafeteria, and talk? Don't tell me, about Nadia Donner.
Nadia Donner.
I don't think we have anything to talk about.
We don't.
You say they were wearing masks? What kind? Stockings.
They were wearing stockings over their faces.
It was very ugly, frightening.
Lieutenant, perhaps if you could wait until tomorrow.
No, no it's all right.
That's right, ma'am.
The more information we have now the better chance we have of catching them.
Carl and I were sitting relaxing having a drink listening to music.
And we heard a knock at the door.
Carl went to see who it was and we heard a man's voice saying he had car trouble on the highway and could he use the phone? As soon as Carl opened the door they forced their way in.
Two men carrying guns.
They demanded money and when Carl said he didn't have any one of them the tall man went upstairs to the bedroom.
Carl picked up the poker from the fireplace and they struggled and the man got the poker away from Carl and he hit him.
Nadia, Nadia, that's enough now.
That's all right, ma'am.
Just calm down.
And when they realized what they'd done he took his wallet and his watch and they took some of my jewelry and then they ran out the door and drove away.
Oh, then the car was right outside? Yeah.
I heard them leave.
But you didn't hear it arrive? No.
We were listening to music.
Look, Lieutenant, I am sorry but she is really in no condition to answer any more questions.
I understand, Doctor.
Thank you very much, ma'am.
The lab guys are on their way, Lieutenant.
Right.
You got a description of the intruders? I'll call it in.
Not much of a description.
Two guys in ski caps and stocking masks.
Can you read my writing? Oh, yeah.
Don't lose my book.
Don't worry about it.
Possible.
What the hell is that? How is she doing, Doctor? Well, frankly, I'll feel a lot better when Dr.
Collier gets here.
He should be here by now.
Who is Dr.
Collier? Nadia Donner's been undergoing treatment for years.
One psychiatrist after another.
The way she is now I think Dr.
Collier's better qualified to deal with her.
Is something wrong, Lieutenant? Guys, let's get started inside.
Louie, you get some pictures of the body the wagon's on its way.
Eddie, you come on with me You guys, you just came down the driveway? It's the only way to get down here, Lieutenant.
You're right, Lieutenant, we got very little to go on.
What about the car, she didn't see it, huh? That's what she said.
Sorry to disturb you, ma'am.
Just one question.
You said that you were having a drink.
Could I ask what it is that you were drinking? Martini.
Dry martini.
Why? Just want to make sure of the details.
Sorry to disturb you.
You got enough there, Lou? Just a few more, please.
Lot of dust around this place.
The house was locked up since Thanksgiving.
They didn't use it very much.
They picked a great night to start again.
How do you like this? Nice, huh? What do you bet it's clean? What do you want, you want it easy? Maybe we got lucky.
Don't hold your breath.
Lieutenant? Lieutenant? Yeah.
We might have a break on the car.
Outside.
Sergeant, tell me something.
What is this? What's what? I don't know, a piece of metal? I found it on the floor over there.
Yeah.
Follow me.
Right.
What have you got? I'm not sure.
See that left post? There's a dent on it.
I don't know if it means anything, but You see something? Just a second.
You got a piece of paper? A piece of paper? What kind of paper? Any kind of paper, give me a piece of paper.
She said that when the fellows left the house that she heard a car pull out, so there should be tracks.
Lieutenant, those tracks are from my car.
I know but I thought I noticed that this is a thinner track.
Thinner.
Where's the lab guy? George.
See? This is a European car.
You know, they have the thin tires.
Yeah, I know, our tires are wider.
But, I don't see any European cars here, only my car.
You got a European car? That's a French car.
Yeah, my car's a French car.
I had these thin tires for years.
George take a photograph of this tire track right here.
Want to see if we can get a picture of the design of the tread.
Sure, I'll get Lou.
Let me show you the post.
Yeah.
Now, maybe it's important and maybe it's not.
Sergeant, check the area, would you? Maybe a neighbor saw something or heard something.
Not many neighbors this time of the year, Lieutenant especially in the middle of the week.
Well, check anyhow.
Maybe we'll get lucky.
You know, maybe somebody saw a car or something.
Dr.
Collier? Yes.
I'm Lieutenant Columbo, LAPD.
This is my associate, Dr.
Anita Borden.
Hello, Lieutenant.
How do you do, ma'am.
Now, what's going on here? Dr.
Hunt called me said something about Carl Donner being hurt.
I'm sorry, sir.
He's dead.
Dead? How? Two men, they broke in there was a struggle.
What about Mrs.
Donner? She's okay.
Thank God.
Dr.
Hunt's inside with her.
He's concerned about her condition.
She's very upset.
I'm sure.
Let's go.
Doctor, may I borrow a match? Oh, sure, let's go.
Lieutenant.
Mark, I can't.
I can't handle it.
Please, Mark, please, don't make me lie anymore.
I'm going to help you.
We're going to do it together.
You expecting anyone? No.
Sit here.
Good morning, Lieutenant.
Good morning, sir.
I'm sorry, I didn't expect to find you here.
I wanted to speak to Mrs.
Donner.
But I thought someone should be with her, you understand.
Certainly.
This won't take long.
Come in, join us, please, for coffee.
How do you take your coffee? Black.
I'm trying to lose weight.
Any news about those men? No, sir.
Not that we had that much to go on.
Let me see.
Oh, yes.
I wanted to ask you, Mrs.
Donner the beach house you and your husband haven't used the beach house since November 25, Thanksgiving, is that right? Yes December and January are very lonely down by the water.
I was wondering, ma'am could you tell me why you and your husband suddenly decided to spend this particular night at the beach house? Yes.
Carl wanted to get away, and Well, as I've told you before, there aren't many people by the beach this time of year.
I love the beach this time of year not that I could afford a place like yours.
Excuse me sir, may I borrow your lighter? Oh, certainly.
I don't know why I smoke these things so early in the morning.
They taste terrible.
I like a good Havana myself.
"Love Mark, from Bibby.
" Is that your wife? No, that's my sister.
You know, she gave me this when I graduated medical school.
I really treasure it.
I can understand that, sir.
Something wrong? No, I'm just trying to picture something in my mind, sir.
Ma'am, last night, you said one of the men went into the bedroom and at that moment, your husband picked up the poker.
Yes, that's right.
And he and the other man then struggled.
Uh-huh.
Yes, that's the problem.
Why didn't he shoot him? The man with the gun, when your husband picked up the poker why didn't he just shoot him? And what happened to the gun? When they struggled, did he put the gun down, or did he hold it in his hand? I thought I told you he put the gun in his belt to look in the drawers or something and when he turned his back on him that's when Carl attacked him.
I see.
I thought I'd mentioned that to you.
No.
Oh, I'm sorry.
No, that's all right, ma'am.
No harm done.
I didn't ask you that before.
Yes, that could happen.
Were they wearing gloves? Gloves? I don't remember.
There were no strange fingerprints in the house, ma'am just yours and your husband's.
He used a handkerchief to wipe away the prints.
I see.
I can't think of anything else.
Thank you very much.
Good day, Lieutenant.
Good day, sir.
You lose something, Lieutenant? Why, yes, sir, my notebook.
It's in your belt.
Good day.
Good day.
Mark, I'm so scared.
Please, we have to tell him.
We can't tell him, we can't tell anyone.
Think how it would sound, after our little story.
Be strong, Nadia, be strong.
The zoo, Chuck the city's number one collection of white rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs.
Very impressive.
This is the lady who can tell you all about it.
My publisher, Chuck Whelan, Dr.
Anita Borden.
How do you do? Excuse me.
Hi.
Fascinating.
He looks just like one of my junior editors.
We call her Willie.
Sorry, I don't have a Willie.
What's the purpose? Well we're measuring her learning rate.
You see, there's only one way to get to the food and last week we had the route marked out in red today we changed the route to green.
But, she seems to be determined to follow the red line.
So she's not getting very far.
We're just going to see how long it takes her.
All that for a bite of egg.
Doesn't seem quite fair.
I'd wager your junior editors sometimes feel the same way.
Perhaps so.
Chuck, I'll walk you to the car.
Okay.
Thanks very much, Doctor.
And thank Willie for me.
All right.
Anytime.
Excuse me, ma'am, how do I find Dr.
Collier? I believe he's in the laboratory, sir.
And how do I find that? Just follow the blue line to the East Wing.
This way? Yes, the blue line.
Is this the East Wing? Yes, it is.
I'm looking for Dr.
Collier.
They said I might find him here.
Perhaps he's in one of the observation rooms.
This way? Yes.
Is there any special color that Well, I'm very sorry.
Dr.
Borden? Yeah.
Lieutenant Columbo, we met last night? Yeah.
Hi.
I'm trying to locate Dr.
Collier.
I just saw him, he was heading towards the parking lot.
No kidding.
I just came from there.
Yeah? While I got you, I want to double check you were working here last night with Dr.
Collier? Yeah, we weren't exactly working, but we were both here.
And Dr.
Hunt reached Dr.
Collier in the cafeteria? Yes.
When was that? About 8:00, I was with him when the call came in.
He asked me to drive him there, as a matter of fact.
Thought perhaps I could be of some help.
Is there anything else I can do for you, Lieutenant? Let me ask you something.
What kind of place is this? What do you do here? You really want to know? Basically, we're concerned with the measurement and manipulation of human behavior at all levels.
This, as a matter of fact, is our test lab, here.
We have all our test animals in here.
Things like peer group adaptability and anxiety catharsis through hypnotic suggestion.
Hypnosis, I'm reading up on that.
Dr.
Collier wrote that.
Yes, I know.
I helped him research it.
You like it? Very much.
It's hard to follow.
Yeah.
Hello, there.
Good afternoon, sir.
I've been looking all over for you.
Dr.
Borden was very helpful.
Thank you, Doctor.
Not at all.
Thank you, ma'am.
Yeah.
I saw you looking at my car.
Naturally, I'm curious.
That was because of the tires, sir.
We found a muddy tire track last night out at Mrs.
Donner's beach house.
You can see the tread design.
It's very distinctive.
Oh, yeah, isn't that the Isn't that the 50,000 mile XKL? That's pretty standard equipment on say, a half dozen imported luxury models like my own.
Yes, sir.
I knew that, I use those tires myself.
You have an imported car? Yes, sir, French.
Of course my tires don't let this get around, they're a little bald.
So I wanted to get a good look at that tread design.
It's not as though I thought your car was out there last night.
I know Dr.
Borden drove you there.
You know, Lieutenant you're a marvelously deceptive man.
You know, the way you get to the point, without really ever getting to the point.
I really think you believe there's something cockeyed about Carl Donner's death.
Can we talk off the record, sir? Please.
Mrs.
Donner's a lovely lady but I'm having difficulties with her story.
Oh? She is either holding something back or she is deliberately lying.
I believe that she knew who those men were maybe she even hired them.
Is that speculation, Lieutenant? No, sir.
That is her story, I can't buy it.
There's that business about the gun and the fireplace poker.
She explained that.
There is something else.
She said that she and her husband were listening to music and two men came to the door and broke their way in.
That doesn't make any sense.
No sense at all because of the headlights.
What are you talking about, Lieutenant? Husband is sitting here.
This is the stereo.
That's the east window.
She's sitting here, she has a martini, they're talking.
If a car comes down that driveway the headlights glare through the window.
You cannot miss those headlights.
What's the point? She said she heard a man's voice claim that he had car trouble on the highway then after her husband was murdered and the killers ran out of the house she said she heard them drive away.
That means that the car had to drive down the driveway in the first place so she must have seen the headlights.
But if she saw the headlights and then a man's voice claims that his car is broken down on the highway why open the door? You see my problem.
I see your problem.
Now what if she got up from the chair at that moment.
It could be many things.
What if they drove down the driveway with their lights off? Drove down with the lights off.
Sure, if they're gonna rob a place, why leave their lights blazing? Yeah, but on the other hand, sir if you intend to claim that your car broke down on the highway why drive down the driveway at all? You see, there are too many inconsistencies, sir.
I just have problems accepting her story.
May I make a suggestion? Why don't you ask her to submit to a lie detector test? A lie detector test? Sure.
Well, that's not admissible in court.
It's not a question of being admissible in court, I'm talking about for you.
If you actually believe that she was innocent then you could turn your full energies to finding the real murderers.
That's a very good idea, sir but there's no way that I can force her to submit to such a test.
Let me ask her.
She trusts me.
And if I advise it, I think she'll take it.
And you think that she'll pass such a test? I'd stake my reputation on it.
Lie detector? I can't.
You can and you must.
They don't believe your story.
But how can I fool a lie detector? It's quite simple really.
Now the lie detector test does nothing more than show your reactions to a series of questions.
If you really believe you're telling the truth that's what the test will show.
And through hypnosis I can make you believe that story so no one can dispute it.
It's merely a matter of post-hypnotic suggestion.
Will it work? Of course, it'll work.
You've always been a good subject.
I took the liberty of bringing along the drug.
After the test the Lieutenant will have no choice but to leave you alone and go after intruders.
It's frightening, Mark.
What choice do we have? The longer the Lieutenant digs into this, the greater the risk.
We have to convince him now that he's wrong about you.
Trust me, darling.
Trust me.
Nadia, can you hear me? Yes, I hear you.
You will listen to me carefully.
You will hear my voice and only my voice.
You will obey my voice, do you understand? Yes, I understand.
It is now 7:00.
You're upset at Carl's death.
After I leave you will lock the door and bolt it from inside.
You will stay here in the apartment tonight.
You'll see no one, you'll talk to no one, do you understand? Yes.
At 10:00, the phone will ring.
You'll hear my voice.
I will mention a man's name, Charles Whelan.
When you hear that voice, you will suddenly become very hot.
You will perspire.
You will have an overwhelming desire to go swimming.
Swimming.
You like to swim, don't you? Yes.
Do you remember when you were a little girl how you enjoyed diving into the pool from the highest diving board? Yes.
How your father enjoyed watching you dive? Yes.
Well, tonight, you'll swim again.
You'll have to swim.
You'll be so hot, nothing else will matter except to jump in that cool, refreshing water.
You will put down the phone cross over to the balcony and dive into the pool below your window.
Sue just doesn't understand it.
I still think you should be writing comic books.
You're awfully quiet this evening.
I've been thinking about that police lieutenant.
Columbo? What on earth for? Well, I think he suspects you of something.
Oh? He keeps asking all kinds of questions, about you, Mark.
How late you were at the Institute last night.
What you've been up to.
And, what did you tell him? Just everything I know.
Everything you know? Everything.
Excuse me.
Good Lieutenant! We were just talking about you.
Oh, really? I hope you don't mind.
I know that this is a bad time.
Oh, no.
Come in, please.
I had no idea you were entertaining.
It's just a group of friends.
You know, we're having a little get-together, some of my colleagues.
Can I fix you a drink? No.
Thank you very much.
I wanted to discuss something with you.
Certainly.
Excuse me, everyone.
Hey, excuse me.
Lieutenant Columbo from the Los Angeles Police Department.
He's investigating the Carl Donner murder.
And I think you've met Dr.
Borden.
Hello, Lieutenant.
Can I get you maybe a soft drink? You have any cream soda? I'll have to take a look.
In the meantime, why don't you meet some of my friends? Arnold, Brenda, Sue, Gary.
Arnold, why don't you make the introductions I'll get the Lieutenant his cream soda.
How are you, Lieutenant? How do you do? Nice to meet you.
This is my wife, Brenda.
This is Melissa.
Lieutenant, Gary Keppler.
Nice to meet you, sir.
How do you do? How are you? This is my wife, Sue.
Hello.
George.
Lydia.
Would you care to come over and join us, sir? No, thank you very much.
Please.
I'm on duty.
Thank you.
Please, Lieutenant.
I have to talk with the Sir, you'd be doing us a favor.
We're just a bunch of boring doctors here.
You'd be like a breath of fresh air.
We'd love to have you.
Come on.
Just for a couple of minutes.
Terrific.
Can I take your coat from you, sir? Thank you.
Here, wait a second.
Please, sit down.
Sit yourself down.
Make yourself comfortable.
Would, you like something.
I mean, look at all this food, it's I'm on a diet.
You're at the wrong party, Lieutenant.
Lieutenant, you know I find this absolutely fascinating.
Do you have an interesting investigation you've been involved with? We'd love to hear about something like that.
Yeah.
I think that the most interesting investigation is always the one that you're working on at the moment.
That's usually true, but what's so interesting about this case? It's already been solved.
I thought Carl Donner was killed by burglars.
Right.
Intruders, ma'am.
At least, that's the way it appeared.
You mean there's some doubt about it? There is always room for doubt.
In this case, I would be willing to bet that the Lieutenant's suspicions are very specific.
But Nadia Donner was there.
She told you what happened.
You doubt her story? Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
Yes, I do have certain problems in that area, ma'am.
Yes.
Like what? There was someone there last night, that she didn't tell us about.
That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Doctor.
She mentioned herself and her husband, and the two intruders.
We know that there was someone else there.
Really? Well, Lieutenant, how do you know that? May I borrow your lighter, sir? Oh, sure.
We know that there was a smoker there.
And we know that it was not Mr.
or Mrs.
Donner because neither of those two people smoke.
How about one of the intruders? Yeah, right.
That's what we all thought originally.
Including myself.
But, no it is not one of the intruders.
That would be impossible.
Why? Why? Because according to Mrs.
Donner the two men that broke in were wearing stocking masks and if that is so they wouldn't have been able to smoke.
Of course.
Make it a little awkward.
Doctor.
Doc, that's why that lie detector thing is important.
Her story's getting shakier and shakier.
How would you know there was a smoker there? Because of this flint, ma'am.
What do you mean? A flint from a cigarette lighter.
You see this little nub of a flint that had been worn down so thin that when the person used his lighter it popped out.
But, how did you know it was left there that night.
You'd make a very good detective.
I don't know if I mentioned this to you or not, Doctor we know that the flint was dropped there last night.
You see, no one had been in the place since Thanksgiving.
On November 25, they closed up the place for the season and brought in a professional cleaning crew.
And it's been locked up ever since.
I found this flint on the rug.
That was a rug that had been shampooed.
Doctor would you mind if I took the cover off this? Why, certainly, Lieutenant.
It's your case.
Do as you wish.
Extremely British tonight.
It's elementary, my dear Watson.
We know the following, we know that there was a smoker there a person who was not included in Nadia Donner's story.
We know that person used his lighter and when he used it, its flint popped out.
Right.
From these two facts, we go on to a third fact.
That person is either using something else to light his cigarettes or he put in a new flint.
Okay, we'll go along with that.
That's elementary.
Like this one.
I would say that's a fresh flint, from the size of it.
Doctor? Oh, yes, I put that in myself this morning.
I knew you did 'cause last night, out at the beach house he lit a cigarette with a pack of matches and he wouldn't have done that if his lighter had been working.
Yeah, but come on, Lieutenant, surely you don't suspect Mark.
The lieutenant suspects everyone.
You know, there must be a dozen reasons how that flint got on the floor.
Why don't you just throw it open for discussion? There's an idea.
Yeah, right.
You know something, I'd make a very good detective.
Really, I am.
Charles Whelan.
Mr.
Charles Whelan, please.
Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I must have the wrong number.
I mean, how did you learn to be what you are? How did you find little things like flints How would you know how to look for it? You're really very bright.
I mean Chuck? Hi.
I'm sorry to call you so late.
I told you I'd call you around Can we make it in the morning? Good.
I'll call you first thing.
You have to swim.
You'll be so hot.
Nothing will matter except to jump into that pool.
To feel that wonderful, cool, refreshing water.
You like to swim, don't you? How your father loved to watch you dive.
Well, tonight, you'll swim again.
You'll have to swim.
You'll be so hot, nothing else will matter except to jump in that cool, refreshing water.
about what you were doing.
Why would I have to lie? That's a very good question.
Yeah? See? My husband always tells me I'm dumb.
Are you convinced that she was lying, Lieutenant? I'm convinced of that, yeah.
There was someone else there.
Why would she lie? I mean that would be silly.
Right.
And jump into the pool below your window.
Your father will be watching.
That's her.
Not very pretty.
Where'd she fall from? The fifth balcony.
Those railings are Believe me, she didn't fall, she jumped.
Or somebody pushed her.
No way.
What do you mean, no way? The door was locked and bolted from the inside.
Our guys had to use axes to knock it down.
The place was empty.
Did anybody see it? Yeah.
The guy in 119 went out for cigarettes.
He heard the scream and he saw the body hit.
When was that? A few minutes after 10:00.
He went out for cigarettes right at the end of a TV show.
Anything else? Only what she was wearing.
What was that? Take a look.
Not wearing anything.
This is the door we knocked down.
That's the balcony where she jumped.
This is her bedroom.
The bed is still made.
Was her bathtub wet? Was she taking a bath or a shower? Nothing was disturbed.
So why was she naked? I don't know.
But her clothes are right there.
You mean she was dressed when she came out on the balcony? So why did she take off her clothes? I don't know.
But there they are.
Has anything here been touched? No, we waited for you.
Nothing was touched, right, Hendryx? Just the phone, Sarge.
The what? The phone.
It was off the hook, so I replaced it.
Off the hook? What do you mean, off the hook? Where was the receiver, was it knocked to the floor? Or on the desk? No, the receiver was on the desk, near the hook, like that.
And it was making a noise.
It was buzzing.
You know the sound it makes.
And so I picked it up and replaced it.
She was talking to somebody, never hung up.
Means she got interrupted or she decided in the middle of the conversation to kill herself.
Who was she talking to? You're right about the railing.
It's too high.
You can't fall over that.
Gotta jump.
But why take off your clothes first? I've seen a lot of pictures of people jumping off of buildings.
I never saw one naked.
This one took off her clothes, and she jumped.
Why did she do this? Do what? Fold her clothes up into a nice neat pile.
Sarge, look at this! What? Lieutenant, over here.
What have you got? A watch, three rings and a bracelet.
Where did you find this? There, in that potted plant.
Lieutenant! Just a second.
Lieutenant, you're not going to believe this.
Are you sure this fits the description of the stuff stolen last night? Exactly.
Lieutenant this is the stuff that was supposed to be stolen from the beach house last night.
Excuse me, excuse me, Sergeant.
Yeah.
I'll tell you what bothers me.
What? This scarf.
It was tucked in the shoe.
It's not so much the scarf.
It's what's inside.
Her valuables.
A watch and her earring.
Good morning, Lieutenant.
You're up awfully early this morning, aren't you? Haven't been to bed.
It's been a bad night.
I just heard about Mrs.
Donner on the radio.
I'm stunned, it's It's awful.
By the way, if you're looking for Dr.
Collier I'm afraid he's gone for the day.
He's with his publisher, out on his boat.
Actually, I'm looking for you.
Do you go swimming? Do I go swimming? You betcha.
Where do you put your valuables? Well, last month I took a trip to Acapulco and I rented one of those cabanas.
Left everything in there.
What do you do if you don't have a cabana? Well, when I was a kid I used to wrap everything up in my stockings and put it into my shoes.
I wanna ask your professional opinion.
Is it possible to hypnotize Mrs.
Donner so that with the use of suggestion you could make her jump over that balcony to her death? No, it's not possible, Lieutenant.
You see, a person won't do anything in a hypnotic state that they wouldn't normally do in a conscious state.
Particularly not anything that self-destructive.
Suppose she thought she was jumping into a pool? Suppose she thought she was just going swimming? I think that's a lot of supposing.
That's Mrs.
Donner's shoe.
We found it on the balcony.
She took it off before she jumped.
This is Mrs.
Donner's scarf.
It was shoved in the shoe.
In the scarf we found her watch and her earrings.
She also took off her clothes before she jumped.
We found them piled up in a nice neat pile.
What are these? They're drugs.
What are they called? Amobarbitol and zilothin.
Do you know where we found them? I have no idea.
The coroner found them in Mrs.
Donner's body.
This is a statement from the medical examiner.
Medical examiner says that these drugs can be effectively used to break down somebody's will.
They're similar to truth serum.
To your knowledge did Dr.
Collier ever prescribe these drugs for Mrs.
Donner? I can't give you that kind of information, Lieutenant.
You're just gonna have to ask Dr.
Collier.
No, I'm asking you! I'm asking you about a murder.
What a nice morning.
Well, it's still better than sitting behind a desk all afternoon, huh? Why don't we have some lunch at the club? You're on.
Dr.
Collier! Brace yourself, Chuck.
It's the law.
You're kidding.
Good morning, Lieutenant.
Good morning, sir.
Oh, Lieutenant Columbo, this is Chuck Whelan.
How do you do, sir? How do you do? Is there someplace where we could talk privately, sir? Mark, I'll go in and make our reservations.
I'll be waiting in the bar whenever you're finished.
Right.
Nice meeting you, Lieutenant.
Now what seems to be the problem? That's him.
That's who? The fellow you were trying to get a hold of last night, 10:00.
You finally got a hold of him.
Lieutenant, I'm a little tired and I'm a little hungry.
Oh, I guess you haven't heard.
Heard what? No, sir, you haven't heard.
About Mrs.
Donner.
Go on.
She's dead.
But how? What happened? It looks like suicide.
She went out on the balcony of her apartment took off her clothes and she jumped.
It's unbelievable unless Unless what? Unless she actually had killed Carl.
That would be consistent with her personality.
She.
You mean that you now believe that she did kill her husband? It's inconceivable, yet But psychiatry is an interpretive science, Lieutenant.
We're all fallible.
No, sir.
I don't think so.
As far as I'm concerned, sir, we still have to look for an accomplice.
Yeah? Dr.
Collier at the time of Carl Donner's death you said that you were at the university.
I don't say it, Lieutenant.
Dr.
Borden can confirm it.
Doctor Borden cannot confirm the time of the murder.
We only know the murder took place at She said it was at 7:00 but the medical examiner says it could have taken place a lot earlier.
Now, if that's true, sir your alibi is not that strong.
As a matter of fact, I went to the university.
I couldn't find anybody there that recalls seeing you earlier.
Am I to presume that I'm currently your chief suspect? I'm not sure that suspect is a strong enough word.
In that case, I should be locked up.
'Course, I'm not.
Therefore, I presume that you have no proof.
Not yet.
You'll let me know when you do, won't you? You will be the first to know, Doctor.
I've been looking all over for you, we got a witness.
Not a great witness, but a witness.
His name is Morris.
He lives with his brother about a half mile up from the beach house.
He was up walking on the highway about the time Donner was killed.
Did he see Collier or the car? That's the problem.
He's blind, Lieutenant.
The most we can get out of him is the right time.
He's got one of those Braille watches.
He said the car came out at 5:30 in the afternoon not 7:00 at night.
He's sure about that? He is positive.
Now I got Morris back at headquarters.
I thought maybe you might wanna ask him a couple of questions.
Good morning, Doctor.
Yeah, good morning.
What the hell is this? I had to cancel two sessions because of your phone call, idiotic phone call.
I'm sorry, sir, I thought it was important.
And what do we got here, the famous Ritz Brothers? Sergeant Kramer, Officer Hendryx.
Officer O'Brien.
Get on with it.
May I have that paper? You wanted me to let you know when I had proof.
Is that it? That piece of paper? Proof? Well, yes or no? This is an autopsy report.
So? Nadia Donner did not commit suicide.
She was murdered.
We found evidence of barbiturates in her system.
Lieutenant Nadia Donner didn't die of barbiturates, her death was a little bit more dramatic.
A leap from a fifth floor balcony.
She thought she was going swimming.
You told her that.
You programmed her.
Have you got anything or not? I have a telephone call.
What phone call? You called her.
I deny it.
That officer found the receiver off the hook when he broke through her locked door.
Congratulations.
Is that it? Why did she take her clothes off before she jumped? You tell me.
Why did she put her valuables in her shoe? Because she thought she was going swimming.
Lieutenant, forgive me, for interrupting.
We could speculate all day on how Nadia Donner died.
Wouldn't mean a damn thing.
The problem with your theory is you have no proof, do you? Yes or no? You're under arrest.
What for? Murder.
You better have a warrant.
I have it.
You're right, Doctor.
I can't prove that you killed Mrs.
Donner.
But I can prove that you killed Mr.
Donner.
I have a witness.
That's right, sir.
I have an eyewitness.
Officer.
Mr.
Morris, would you care to sit down? Certainly, Lieutenant.
Mr.
Morris, do you live around here? Yes, sir, a short distance up the highway.
Dr.
Collier.
You need a match, Lieutenant? Thank you.
You're welcome.
Dr.
Collier do you recognize this man? No, I do not.
Mr.
Morris, besides myself, have you ever seen anyone in this room before? Yes, sir, I have.
Under what circumstances? I was walking along the Coast Highway Monday getting some air when a car suddenly came speeding out of the Donner driveway.
The driver saw me at the last minute and skidded to avoid me then he drove off.
And this driver did you get a good look at him? Yes, sir, I did.
It was this man standing here.
What time was that? It was around 5:30.
I checked my watch.
And you're certain that the man that you see standing here in front of you was the same man that you saw drive out of the Donner driveway? Positively.
He was driving a late model Mercedes a coupe, blue.
Beautiful, Lieutenant, it's a gallant effort.
I beg your pardon? Oh, come now, Lieutenant.
That man couldn't see me or my car.
He didn't see anything.
He's blind.
Blind? I must admit, your little charade was very good.
The way you had him come in, sit down, offer you the matches identifying where I was standing by my voice.
What, makes you think he was blind, sir? Did you see a blind man on the highway that day? Of course not.
You and I both know, I was miles away from here when Carl died.
But, I do have a little medical training.
You can tell by looking at him.
The cast in his eyes the way he moves but don't take my word for it.
Read a few pages of this, will you, Mr.
Morris? Just start anywhere, would you please? "Always pack a bulky sweater "and some heavy underwear.
"Even in the spring, the mountains can get pretty cold at night.
" Here, read that.
"Surely it is the most beautiful of all sports.
" The man is blind.
He's blind.
Mr.
Morris? Stay.
That's right, Doctor, that man that you saw was blind and is blind.
This is Daniel Morris.
That's the man that you saw on the road Monday afternoon.
This other man is his brother, David.
I'm sure you can see the problem, sir.
There is no way in the world that you could have assumed that this man this witness was blind unless, of course you had seen this man that day.
That's the only way you could have known.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I have an eyewitness, Dr.
Collier an eyewitness that will place you at the head of the Donner driveway at 5:30 Monday afternoon.
But the eyewitness is not Mr.
Morris.
The eyewitness is you.