YM, Why do you say Mrs. Fielding was suspicious of Alex from the beginning? I don't see that, can you explain? I'd love to be able re-watch it and pick that up where I missed it before.

Tim, your comparison of Columbo's technique to water torture, reminds me of something Peter Falk has said: "Being investigated by Columbo is like being nibbled to death by a duck."

There is a scene near the beginning when Alex
shows up at the Bowl for the concert. His wife
and her mother are there. I don't recall the exact
words, but it is clear from Mrs Fielding's response
to what he says that there is a certain tension
between them. In any event, when she says "especially
Alex!" towards the end when Columbo is talking to her and Paul Rifkin, the hostility is apparent. Don't forget also that after Janice and Alex return home
after they find out that Jennifer Welles is dead, Janice confronts him with the fact that he knew Miss Welles phone number by heart. He replies that she is always suspecting that he is running around with other women. Now, since we know that he is a successful conductor, then it must be that Mrs Fielding hears about his womanizing as well, explaining her hostility.

I've waited over 30 years to voice my frustration with this episode. Killing Jennifer Wells was, IMO, justifiable homicide. I've no sympathy with any sort of blackmailer whatsoever. What did she think she was going to accomplish by this anyhow!? Was she so stupid that she didn't realize that she was killing the goose that laid the golden egg??? It was obvious that the Maestro's position depended on the fact that he - stupidly or not - married for money. BTW, are you going to tell me that Mrs. Benedict (Danner) and the mother-in-law from Hell (Loy) were so out of touch that they couldn't accept the fact that good-looking famous men will not always "eat at home" so to speak? I'm NOT condoning extra-marital affairs, mind you; I only say that this IS a reality that both of them should've readily accepted as coming with the territory. Good as Blythe Danner looked in that skimpy little tennis dress, her character was that of a whiny little girl who - like Myrna Loy's character -was never sympathetic. My hope is that Maestro Benedict got himself a good attorney who could've said that the lapel flower was in Alex's pocket the entire time and that he only belatedly realized that he wanted to put it on. My hope is that he beat this rap entirely, broke from those two worthless women, and moved to Europe and resumed his career there. At the very worst, I hope that they could've pleaded temporary insanity and just gotten him a few hears in a high-class hospital. Finally, this was one of those times that I wish that our boy hadn't been so on the ball. I often think that, if I were a detective, there would be times like this that I wouldn't be quite so diligent. I realize that this isn't exactly how "the system" is supposed to work. However, given the problems of our legal system, sometimes it's necessary to use one's own judgement. Thank you for letting me finally air my two cents' worth after all these years!