Hi Steve
The lost flower could easily have been dropped, simply as a mistake and forgotten.But that was Benedicts downfall, wasn't it.
The Whiskey bottle wouldn't have meant much had Devlin not marked the bottle with his ring, also his downfall.But what about the missing weapon Robert Culp used, it just melted away.But Columbo guessed but never actually suggested a piece of ice was used.
That is surely the beauty of the writing.