I am happy to answer you. As a longtime member of this forum, I can answer you one thing. Ken Franklin insisted that his partner Jim call his wife from the San Diego area from his own phone therefore, establishing an alibi for himself. Do you understand? Ken was trying to establish an alibi for himself by letting Jim use the phone for a long-distance call.
Ken made a long distance calling from the public phone in La Sanka's store, before the murder. This calling is sent from a public pay phone, so, AT&T does not record it.
And the INCIDENT, Ken says to Jim, to make a call to his wife, by direct dial, not by operator.
AT&T records only this one from the cabin.
After the investigation by LAPD, Lt.Columbo finds the calling exchange record of the latter, but it is natural, not suspicious.
Because Jim's wife Joanna testifies that she received a phone from Ken just before the incident, and Ken said this calling was making from the cabin in San Diego.
Oh, how perfect alibi !
Wait. How is the calling exchange record from the office of Ken and Jim's ?
Is LAPD so dumb not to check it ?
Otherwise, the scenario writer ignored this point intentionally ?
I and many of Columbo fans in Japan want to know is this.
"Yes, the local calling in !970's was free. So the calling from the office to Joanna would not be recorded."
I hoped for such answer.