We were really enjoying this episode but our recording frustratingly ended at the point where Eddie has been poisoned and blown up and the 'other' key put on his ring. (We also noted the problem with keys!) We guess maybe the typewriter was only bought recently or maybe the carbon paper is found showing the letter was not written about 6 months ago. Can anyone please help us by saying briefly how it ends?
Do you really want to know how it ends? If you do I'll tell you. I am not trying to tease you, but I just would think you would want to 'see' the ending rather than just hearing it.
Ok...as some of you know it is against my religion to say ***spoiler alert***....but just this once I will....but in protest I didn't use capital letters.
Ok Roger I will try. It turns out that Greenleaf claims that Eddie had the actual idea for the manuscript, but that Mallory saw it and wanted to write it himself. Greenleaf offered Eddie a significant money pay-off but Eddie was outraged. So the logical thing would be for Eddie to kill off Mallory and frame Greenleaf for the murder.
Eileen reads the 'supposed' Eddie Kane's outline over and says it seems as if Mallory had written this himself..it was his style....(there is a bit of a plot-hole here because she doesn't mention at that time that the ending is the ending that she helped Mallory with just a week ago....but I digress!)
Columbo tells Greenleaf of the evidence against him...the key on Eddie's key ring fits the lock on the door, but the only problem is that since the murder, Columbo had the lock changed again, and the only person he told that to was Greenleaf...so he obviously was the one to get the new key made and put it on Eddie's keychain. And he explains that the door was open, because the air conditioner was not working, and Mallory had opened the window and then the door of his office to create a cross breeze...Columbo knew this because he heard the blinds rattle on the tape, and he also heard street noises on the tape. Columbo also has the manuscript messenger guy admit that he was passing on the pages of Mallory's book to Greenleaf. But the most damaging evidence is that Greenleaf claims Eddie sent him this outline....nine months ago...but Eileen had only helped out Mallory with the ending just the past week.
Ok?? is that befuddled enough for you Roger???
If someone could make it a bit clearer I think Roger and I would greatly appreciate it!!!
Anybody got any Tylenol???????
Thank you Cassavetes (and David) for your descriptions.
Great to have found this site with so much information on it. Fascinating. Anyway, thanks again.
Oh...I forgot....Thanks to Mark Dawidziak and his wonderful Columbo Phile for helping me through that.....it is almost 11:00 pm here....so the brain is getting a bit thick!!!
Well!!!....Mr. David!! Where were you when I was languishing in describing the plot??? I could have used you then. I went into this whole long thing, and you come up with such a simple, but concise reply! Thanks!