The answering machine always gets me. How did he talk the department into getting one just so he could pull off the trick and how long did it take him to learn how to set it up? It's almost the same thing with the tape machine in An Exercise in Fatality. How long did it take Janice to teach Columbo how to send the recorded message into Milo's office, or did she set it up for him and tell him to just push play?

Oh, I love watching for the details now I never got hung up on the answer machine though no I will though thank you very much!
On a lot of these episodes( of which I'm very fond) the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and I have to force myself it's not dissect them too much. I'm particularly fond of this episode for the ending he sits there with a briefcase full of money and has to sign for a root beer, that gets me everytime!