Do you like this episode? It is definately not my favourite, but maybe it is a little underestimated? Anyway as usual there are some things which I'd like to share
- I don't exactly follow Columbo's discovery about Shaeffer's note in the pocket. Columbo says: this note is a set of directions, no address, and there is one reason for that. How could he have deduced that? it is only one sentence. How can you make a conclusion that "he wanted to meet someone in this museum grounds" from only this one sentence?
- I always find this Sgt. Miller somehow a copy from Mac from Last Salute
- again the same thing like in many Columbos: killer offers a lot of explanations or theories about what could have happened. Like Mrs. Lytton saying what Shaeffer was doing or why his hair was freshly made, he had new clothes etc. If you are innocent you shouldn't create those theories
- maybe a stupid question, it is about language again :) Columbo says that in the museum "nothing had been touched". Why doesn't he say "nothing has been touched"?
- there is a discussion about the time of death. Mrs. Lytton says that "Shaeffer made a call and he mentioned a time". Columbo answers "yes, but he was lying". If it was answering machine, wasn't it VERY easy to check when he called? plus - his brother heard him calling so he knew what time it was. Do I miss something?
- I like Columbo's human reaction in the end when he says that he lied about killing Janie's father
- it seems that Mrs Lytton is the cruelest murderer in the series! It is said that she killed 3 people. As I know no other murderer in Columbo reached that number

True, I actually thought columbo had been honest when saying that lytton didn't really kill janie's father, but columbophile (who owns a blog with many columbo episodes' reviews) also thinks he lied when saying that, a thing I hadn't expected.

I think getting Columbo to say "I lied about her killing your father" was basically a "trade" for her confession. As she rotted away in jail, She didn't want Janie thinking that she was also responsible for her father's death. So these were the terms under which she would offer her confession to Columbo.

Of course he has no proof and it's all speculation, but he seems pretty sure that she is indeed a triple-murderer.