Nu poti spune ca e orbit de bunul gust.
Numai de bani.
Totusi a facut mult bine pentru noi.
Nu pentru mine,numai.
O sa termin cu asta.
Ah, cand?
Diseara. Diseara?
E terminat.
Adorabil.
Paul, mai avem nevoie de cateva,numai cu pachetul de data asta.
Viata ar fi de nesuportat fara portia mea zilnica de Bon Snax.
Bine.
Da,da,ansoa mea ar lacrima
pâté-ul meu ar fi suparat
si Camembert-ul meu ar fi de neconsolat.
Iti frang inima, Charlie?
Tine-o tot asa,te descurci de minune.
Cate mai avem baiete? Oh, inca una te rog.
Mereu mai e inca una.
Daca ii oferi unui fotograf 20 de sanse,
tot mai cere inca una.
Grozav. Destul.
Bonjour, si Bon Snax. Multumesc, Paul.
Pe aici domnilor.
Eve, o sa facem incercarile si o sa-ti dam raspunsul in cateva zile.
Verificarea va fi mult mai draguta.
Notitele mele pentru cina de la restaurantul Writers?
Notitele.
Ai sunat la aeroport?
Zborul dlui Ozu va sosi la timp.
Esti fara de cusur. O bijuterie.
Ce fel de bijuterie?
Un safir.
Prea rece. As prefera sa fiu un smarald.
S-a facut.
Paul, pot sa te intreb ceva?
Sigur.
Avem o aventura?
As spune ca e un preludiu pentru aventura.
E grozav, Paul.
De ce trebuie sa rezolv chestiile alea la banca?
Fiindca trebuie. Urasc asta.
Activitatea bancara face parte din meseria ta.
E pe ascuns. Esti contabila, Eve?
Nu,nu sunt.
Si nici nu sunt Irene DeMilo.
De ce trebuie sa ma prefac ca sunt Irene DeMilo?
Fiindca avem o aventura.
Credeam ca e numai un preludiu.
Preludiul e aproape terminat.
Aventura e pe cale sa inceapa.
Vittorio.
Esti o flatare pentru sarmanul meu restaurant, Gerard.
Haide. Amandoi stim ca restaurantul tau este superb.
Sa cinam impreuna si vom fi prieteni din nou.
Vom cina.
Te-ai invitat singur asa ca vom manca.
Albert,bucatarul meu italian preferat
Dle Gerard. Ce ai pregatit aici pentru noi, hmm?
Antipasto.
Rozmarin, shalota,
putin ienupar. Foarte bun,foarte bun.
Altceva, Vittorio?
Nu,asta e tot, Alberto. Te-ai descurcat bine.
Deci. Deci.
Se pare ca nu ai luat in serios
ce ti-am spus la telefon.
Nu am nevoie de lauda ta.
Nici de radioul tau, de televiziunea ta,
de ziare, sau de reviste.
Cum doresti. E restaurantul tau.
Am terminat cu intelegerea noastra.
Nu-ti mai dau nici un ban. Intelegi?
E foarte bun.
S-a terminat cu 25% pentru tine,
dle Paul Gerard.
Dl faimos Paul Gerard.
O sa spun lumii ce esti.
Nu ai uitat ceva? dovada? Am dovada.
Nu,ai uitat vinul.
Pot sa sugerez un cabernet?
Pot sa sugerez un Margaux, maestre?
Bine,bine.
Cand o sa termin cu tine,
o sa mori de foame ca un cersetor pe strazi.
Margaux.
Ce pacat ca trebuie sa se termine asa.
Ce vei scrie?
Ca Vittorio e un restaurant de proasta calitate?
Ce pacat. Ei bine,
ciao,
prietene.
Asteapta,asteapta. In seara asta ti-am dat o lectie.
Paul Gerard? Da.
Am fost sunat. Sunt sergentul Burke.
Vreti sa asteptati putin aici,va rog?
Politia m-a rugat sa iau legatura cu with Paul Gerard. E aici.
Dle Gerard?
Dle Paul Gerard? Da.
Ah, iertati-ma dle ca mananc asa
dar nu am avut sansa sa merg acasa
si bucatarul Albert, a fost amabil sa-mi prepare un castron de cioppino
E minunat.
Foloseste o coaja rasa de lamaie proaspata ca sa-i dea aceasta aroma.
Nu trebuie sa va spun asta dle.
Dle Gerard, e o placere.
Niciodata nu pierd emisiunea dvs .
Ma numesc lt Columbo, de la criminalistica.
Dle lt am venit imediat
ce m-au sunat cei de la politie.
Nu pot sa cred, Vittorio e mort.
Otrava?
Asta e parerea legistului.
Va rog luati loc dle.
Multumesc.
Dumnezeule,otrava.
Am mancat aceeasi mancare.
Albert a pregatit-o.
Ah, da,dle,asta mi-a spus.
Pot sa intreb dle,cum va simtiti?
Nu stiu. Nu sunt sigur.
Am fost la aeroport, apoi acasa.
Nu am nici o simptoma de boala.
Si apoi ati venit direct aici dle?
Da,eu...
Ati spus ca Albert a gatit asta?
Delicios si totul numai din datorita busuiocului si usturoiului.
Oh, inteleg ce vreti sa spuneti dle.
Albert, otrava.
Oh, ma indoiesc de asta dle.
Cand l-am adus sa-l interogam, a parut foarte indignat.
A luat un cutit si o furculita, a inceput sa manance tot ce i-a picat la mana.
E in stare perfecta de sanatate,dle.
Si baiatul? Mario?
Din cate am inteles,nu a mancat.
Ma intreb de ce midiile cumparate din magazin
nu ies niciodata la fel.
Oh, mai gatesc si eu, dle,nimic pretentios.
Dna Columbo,
e o femeie remarcabila. Are multe interese.
Dar gatitul nu e una din ele.
Ma incurajeaza foarte mult.
Va simtiti mai bine dle?
Da,da,multumesc.
Ce vroiam sa va intreb dle,e,
nu cumva...
Ati zis ca ati fost la aeroport in seara asta?
Da,sa iau un prieten.
Si apoi ati venit aici?
Nu,dle lt,
telefonul de la politie l-am primit abia cand am ajuns acasa.
Si cam cat ati spune ca v-a luat
sa ajungeti de acasa pana aici?
Am venit imediat.
De la telfon pana la sosirea mea,
au trecut cam 8 minute. E important dle lt?
Deloc dle. E pentru raportul meu.
Ce vroiam sa va intreb,
e daca victima a dat semne ca ar avea probleme?
Nu. Nu s-a intamplat nimic de genul.
Sunteti sigur dle?
Nu e nimic ce ati fi putut uita?
Domnul stie ca sunteti indreptatit daca ati uita ceva.
Tot stresul asta,
toata otrava din aer.
Ce va face sa credeti ca Vittorio avea probleme?
In principiu din cauza ca a fost omorat dle.
Cele doua,problemele si crima, par sa se lege.
Cel putin asta stiu din experienta dle.
Dle lt.
Albert, pot fi adevarate toate astea?
Dle Gerard,
Vittorio a fost un om bun.
Dvs sunteti un critic gastronomic, unul grozav.
Eu sunt un simplu bucatar,
dar sunt sigur ca vorbesc in numele tuturor bucatarilor
cand spun ca mi-as dori ca dvs sa fiti cel mort.
Oh, Albert.
Dle lt, baiatul, Mario, puteti vorbi cu el acum.
Ma duc acasa sa ma imbat.
Multumesc, Albert.
Tinem legatura, Albert.
Saracul de el. Este extenuat.
Cred ca toti suntem extenuati.
Va pot fi de ajutor cu Mario?
Sigur.
Vreti sa va spun o coincidenta dle Gerard?
Va ascultam emisiunea la radio in masina
intr-o zi saptamana trecuta, si am trecut printr-un tunel
si am pierdut sfarsitul unei retete grozave cu un fel de sos.
Va amintiti cum se numea?
Se poate sa fie béchamel?
Nu.Asta mi se trage de la dna. Columbo.
Rémoulade? Hollandaise?
O sa ma gandesc putin.
Are un nume frantuzesc.
Pot sa stiu cine a chemat politia?
El,dle. Mario.
Dar nu vorbeste engleza.
E un baiat foarte inteligent dle.
Din cate a inteles sergentul Burke a sunat-o pe mama lui in Genoa
si ea a sunat politia de la mare distanta.
Genoa.
E remarcabil.
Din cate am inteles,dle,
ati plecat fara sa va terminati cina.
Din fericire,da.
Si inainte ca victima sa dea semne ale otravirii.
Ei bine,da.
O sa interoghez martorul.
Calm. Calm.
Spune ca si-a iubit unchiul. Il cred.
De ce sa-si fi ucis unchiul?
Ce altceva a mai zis?
A spus ca unchiul lui era foarte furios. Trantea sertarele.
De ce ar fi trantit sertarele?
Adica,de ce le-ar fi deschis?
A pus tava acolo.
Nimic nu a fost bagat la loc.
De ce ar fi deschis sertarele?
Trebuie sa ma gandesc la asta.
Uitati ce oale frumoase.
Baiatul a zis ceva de o cearta si de tipete.
Despre ce era vorba dle? Era o chestiune fara importanta.
Da,dle. Cele mai multe certuri incep asa.
In fiecare an scriitorii de restaurante dau o cina.
Il ultimii trei ani s-a tinut aici, la Vittorio.
Anul asta comitetul a hotarat ca cina sa se tina la Chez Duvall.
Vittorio a luat asta ca pe o desconsiderare, o insulta.
Eu fac parte din comitet si m-a acuzat
ca am sugerat schimbarea, ca le-am influentat alegerea.
Ati facut asta dle?
Da dle.
Cu toata sinceritatea trebuie sa marturisesc ca da.
Dle Gerard,vreau sa va multumesc pentru ajutor.
Oh,ma bucur s-o fac.
Oh, mai e ceva.
Agenda victimei.
A scris ca avea cina cu dvs la 8:00.
Da.
Si intrarea dinainte
la ora 4:00
era pentru o intalnire cu un domn M. Choy si un domn M. Duvall.
Numele astea va spun ceva dle?
M. Choy este Mary Choy, Detine House of Choy.
Si M. Duvall? Cine este?
Max Duvall, proprietarul de la Chez Duvall.
Vittorio ii cunostea pe amandoi.
Dar nu vad ce importanta ar putea avea intalnirile astea.
Probabil nu inseamna nimic, dar Vittorio asa credea.
A subliniat intrarea
si a pus patru semne de exclamatie dupa.
E ciudat. Ce e si mai ciudat
a facut acelasi lucru cu numele dvs.
Si a desenat un cerc si o sageata.
E ciudat.
Care leaga numele dvs de al lor.
E destul de bizar.
Stiti vreun motiv dle
pentru care ar fi facut insemnarile astea?
Nu.Nici unul.
Trebuie sa zic,e foarte ciudat.
Dle lt, e foarte tarziu.
A fost o zi grea. Noapte buna.
Scuze,dle Gerard, dar nu va pot lasa sa scapati.
Ce?
Reteta dvs. Ati crezut ca nu-mi amintesc,nu?
E sos de ceapa.
Inseamna ce e Soubise. Sos Soubise.
E o reteta simpla. O sa o scriu pentru dvs.
As aprecia asta dle.
Noapte buna dle.
Noapte buna.
Nimeni nu traieste vesnic, dar otrava?
Cine se gandeste la otrava? Cine se poate gandi la asa ceva?
Vittorio Rossi.
Am fost ucenici. La scoala hotelului, in Elvetia, eram niste pusti.
Din cate am inteles dle, v-ati intalnit cu el ieri,
si ma intrebam...
Asta e ceea ce cred eu?
Asta e galantina de rata?
Da,e galantina.
Stiti,am citit despre asa ceva intr-o carte de bucate,
dar nu am vazut niciodata cum arata.
Chestiile astea negre, sunt trufe?
Desigur.
Si mozaicul verde de aici,e fistic.
Si mai e un fel de carne aici inauntru.
Mmm-hmm. Sunca.
E o opera de arta dle..
Ce vroiam sa va intreb....,
ati avut o intalnire cu dl Rossi ieri la ora 4.
Imi puteti spune despre ce era vorba?
A fost ceva social. Cocktailuri, vorbarie, barfa intre vechi prieteni.
Din vreme ce sunteti unul din ultimii care l-au vazut in viata,
puteti...
Credeti ca
As putea sa incerc asta?
Asta? Oeufs en Gelée?
Oua in aspic.
Chiar mi-ar placea sa gust asta.
Modul cum garnisiti un fel de mancare ca asta.
Da,poftiti.
Multumesc foarte mult.
Ce vroiam sa va intreb dle,
are de-a face cu starea sufleteasca a victimei.
Dle lt Columbo, Sunt Louis, bucatarul.
E o mare placere dle.
Vittorio era prietenul meu. Va doresc succes.
Si am pregatit ceva pentru dvs.
Ciuperci umplute.
Champignons farcis au crabe
Sunt facute cu sos béchamel?
Exact.
O sa-mi placa asta foarte mult.
Multumesc, monsieur Multumesc dle.
Toti l-am iubit pe Vittorio.
O sa-i simtim lipsa dle lt.
Spuneti-mi ceva.
La ultima dvs intalnire cu Vittorio,
parea temator?
V-a spus ceva de o amenintare?
Nu,nimic.De fapt,
Am vazut ca e preocupat, retras.
Era ciudat de tacut.
Avea multe pe cap?
Era inchis in el, pe punct sa explodeze.
Nu era nici un semn care sa sugereze ca era o potentiala victima.
Dimpotriva parea un om
aflat pe punctul de a se siuncide.
Ati inteles toate astea din tacerea lui?
Sunteti un om foarte perceptiv dle Duvall.
Doriti niste chartreuse, dle Gerard? Multumesc.Pranz usor pentru azi.
Asta e o mare conicidenta.
Nu stiam ca sunteti aici.
Doriti sa-mi tineti companie?
Nu prea mi-e foame dle.
Tocmai ce ai topit trei ciuperci umplute cu crab.
Dar o sa va tin companie oricum.
Daca semanati cu mine, nu prea va place sa mancati singur.
Incep sa va privesc ca pe o veche cunostiinta dle lt.
Va multumesc dle.
Si eu incep sa va cunosc destul de bine.
Doriti niste sampanie?
Nu,multumesc.
Stiu ca o sa va bucurati sa auziti asta dle.
Am primit raportul despre otrava de la laborator.
Inca nu stiu ce fel de otrava e
cea care l-a ucis pe prietenul dvs Vittorio,
dar au aflat ca nu era in mancare.
Era in vin.
In vin?
E extraordinar.
De ce ar trebui sa ma bucur ca otrava era in vin?
Nu intelegeti dle?
Asta va scoate de pe lista mea de suspecti.
Potrivit spuselor baiatului, Vittorio nici macar nu a deschis sticla
decat dupa ce ati plecat.
Nu eram constient ca ma aflam pe lista dvs de suspecti dle lt.
Trebuie sa spun,totul e foarte incalcit.
E incalcit,nu dle?
Adica,baiatul asta, Mario,
a fost trimis in pivnita sa ia o sticla de Margaux
si ia una la intamplare
care contine otrava.
Cum va explicati asa ceva?
Dle lt Columbo,am fost prietenul lui Vittorio.
Complimentele mele.
Caviar? Somon afumat?
Si fois gras.
Va multumesc mult.
E un aranjament senzational.
Succes dle.
Tocmai mi-am amintit.
Dna Columbo mi-a zis sa cumpar ceva pentru cina.
Asta nu e domeniul meu,
dar am o teorie.
Va rog sa nu radeti.
Nici nu m-as gandi la asta dle.
E posibil sa fi fost un accident.
Un accident?
Otrava a ajuns in sticla accidental?
S-ar fi putut intampla la castel, unde a fost imbuteliat vinul.
Poate s-a varsat niste insecticid, si nu s-a observat.
Vinului i -sa pus dop si a fost livrat.
E o notiune foarte interesanta dle.
Dar Organizatia Nationala de Sanatate nu are nici o inregistrare
de vreo eruptie de otrava in podgoriile frantuzesti.
Inteleg.
Does this feel ripe, sir?
I don't think it's squishy enough.
It's ripe.
Sorry about your theory, sir.
But there is another possibility.
That Vittorio might have been planning to murder somebody himself.
And he did have that dinner date with you, sir.
You mean he planned to murder me?
Well, let's examine it.
Suppose it was Vittorio who put the poison in the wine bottle
thinking that you would drink it.
And when you walked away,
he made the fatal mistake of drinking it himself.
Yes.
I can see how that could be possible.
You can, sir?
Well, maybe you can explain it to me.
I mean, how could a man make a mistake like that?
I don't even understand why Vittorio would want to kill you.
Can you think of a reason?
Of course not. You're perfectly right.
The whole idea is ridiculous.
Well, it was my idea, but I'll think of better ones.
How did the poison get into the wine?
That's the question.
But don't worry about it, sir.
I'm gonna write that out on a card
and I'm gonna paste it up on my shaving mirror
and that's all I'm gonna think about.
PAUL: Eve.
I've been a fool.
Interesting. How long have you been a fool?
Since I forced you into that damn business
with the Irene DeMilo account.
It wasrt fair.
Did you say affair?
Eve, go to the bank one last time.
Oh, no.
Close out the account and go home and pack your things.
I'm moving in? You will need a passport.
A passport? Your next assignment.
Go to Paris.
Why? A new book.
It's time to revisit the great restaurants of Europe.
I'm tied up, so you eat the food of the gods.
I'll meet you in one month.
And then we'll travel the Mediterranean, Spain...
Oh, and the Greek islands? Yes.
How selfish I am.
You have so much to do and I keep you in my arms.
It's all right. To sum up, first the bank,
an end to the DeMilo account,
then France, Italy, Spain...
And Monte Carlo.
You will never forget Monte Carlo.
You have the bank book?
Yes, it's in my bag. Good. Hurry back.
I'll have your itinerary. You leave tomorrow.
Oh, Paul, I need at least three days.
Three days. Wait, what about the dinner?
Europe is calling. Go, go, go.
Mario, come ahead.
Gerard is still sitting here.
Vittorio, he's over here, he's putting his plate on the sink.
Yelling, carrying on.
Gerard gets up and leaves.
The bottle is still corked.
Mario goes after him.
Mario.
Here's where Vittorio had to open the bottle.
Drinks.
Mario comes back. Mario!
This is depressing. This is very depressing.
Vittorio picks up the tray, takes it to the sink.
Slams a couple of drawers.
He turns around.
"What's this?" he says.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
(GROANING)
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
All right, enough of that.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
What was he doing slamming drawers?
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
Like he broke the drawer?
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
Cancelled checks
drawn from Vittorio's bank.
$5000, $8000,
$4000, $6000.
Holy Toledo. Must be $100,000 won'th.
Restaurant Developers Association.
They're all made out to the Restaurant Developers Association.
Here's their stamp on the back.
What's the Restaurant Developers Association?
Never heard of it.
Nevertheless,
you'll observe I'm taking these into police possession.
They gonna tell you how the poison got into the wine?
All right, now, we do it all over again.
Not with me. This is too depressing.
Wait a minute, Albert.
How does this thing work?
I know there's some kind of can'tridge.
This...
Another clue?
COLUMBO: If there's poison in that can'tridge,
then that's a clue.
COLUMBO: I want to take this down to the police lab.
We'll see if the boys there find any poison.
Good.
You're a good detective.
Leave no stone unturned.
You want me to fix you anything else to eat before I go?
No, thank you very much, Albert.
The poached scallops will hold me just fine.
See you later, kid.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
That's the kind of man Vittorio was,
tough when it was good to be tough,
generous when it was right to be generous.
Now let me tell you something I don't think you know yet,
how generous he was to me and to his nephew, Mario.
In his will, Vittorio left us his restaurant.
To both of us. With one condition,
that I train Mario the way Vittorio would have trained him.
To me that means just one thing.
That I train Mario to be a great man like his uncle.
ALBERT: A great chef and a great manager.
Tough and generous.
Okay, Vittorio, I make you this promise...
(INAUDIBLE)
(ALBERT CONTINUES SPEAKING)
ALBERT: Now, friends, before you go...
I know you all want to get back. You're all busy people.
But I want you to know that the man in charge
of investigating Vittorio's murder is here today.
The man who is going to catch that murderer,
Detective Lieutenant Columbo.
Lieutenant, we're behind you, all of us.
And I want you to know this.
As long as you're on this case,
you'll never go hungry.
Arrivederci, Vittorio. Arrivederci
Lieutenant, the opener,
the can'tridge, what did the lab say?
Well, it was just a can'tridge.
We still haven't figured out the poison.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
Sir, if it'll make you rest any easier,
I think those checks are gonna be a very big help.
That dim sum reminds me of the kind I used to have at home.
At home, Lieutenant?
Right around the corner from Chinatown was an Italian neighborhood.
When I was a kid I bet I had more egg rolls than I had cannelloni.
Do you recognize this, ma'am?
It's a cancelled check.
I noticed that you tore it up at Mr. Rossi's grave.
But that's all right, ma'am.
I've got a lot more.
$100,000 won'th.
I only passed that around to see who would react to it.
Only two people did.
You and Mr. Duvall.
How very clever of you, Lieutenant.
I've been in touch with the Department of Corporations, ma'am.
I know that Mr. Rossi was the treasurer
of the Restaurant Developers Association.
I know that Mr. Duvall was the vice-president.
And I am the president.
Exactly, ma'am.
Why was the Association formed?
To help develop certain promising restaurants
into commercial successes.
And it's been a smashing failure.
Do you know why Mr. Rossi made out all those checks?
I haven't got the vaguest idea.
We never received the funds
and our commercial account consists of $175.
Well, that's quite a spread, ma'am
between $175 and $100,000.
What happened to the rest of the money?
You don't think poor old Vittorio was up to something nasty?
Ma'am?
I'd hate to believe he committed suicide.
Oh, no, ma'am, that's the furthest thing from my mind.
Never even thought of that.
I want to thank you very much for this tea lunch, ma'am.
I enjoyed it immensely.
I'll have somebody come by and pick up the Associatiors books.
Yes, of course.
Lieutenant, you forgot your fortune cookie.
To tell you the truth, ma'am, I could use some good news.
"Cheer up.
"There is more than one fish in the sea."
That's the kind I always get.
Once I would like it to say I'm gonna be rich and go away on a long trip.
Just once.
Goodbye, Lieutenant.
(GEISHA STRUMMING SHAMISEN)
Charming.
Join us, please.
You're a most welcome part of this surprising evening.
I wanted you to have one last taste of Tokyo
before you begin your tour of American restaurants.
They won't believe this when I send back the story.
They think I'm eating hot dogs and grits.
Have you ever eaten grits? OZU: No, not yet.
Don't bother.
PAUL: And now, the pičce de résistance
Fugu sashimi? Incredible.
This cannot really be fugu?
I did it myself, exactly the way you taught me.
Is it authentic?
I can't believe it.
Fugu sashimi in Los Angeles.
(DOORBELL RINGING)
I'll get it.
I'm definitely not home. To anyone.
Good evening, ma'am.
My name is Lieutenant Columbo, Homicide.
I'd like to speak to Mr. Gerard. Is he home?
I'm not sure.
Is it a big place?
Or is he just out to the police?
Paul, Lieutenant Columbo is here.
Good evening, Lieutenant.
Oh, I beg your pardon, sir.
The young lady didn't tell me you were eating.
It's quite all right.
How may I help you?
Well, I expected to... Sorry.
I expected to see you at Mr. Rossi's funeral.
I guess you couldn't make it.
I never go to funerals.
I prefer to remember my friends as I saw them last.
I believe Mr. Rossi was yelling at you
when you saw him last, isn't that right, sir?
You mustrt take me literally, Lieutenant.
Have you eaten?
Yes, sir.
It seems I've been eating quite a bit lately.
It's terrific. A pity.
You could have joined us.
Well, that's very good of you, sir. Maybe a small bite.
I'm delighted.
A new setting, please, for our latest arrival.
Sit down, Lieutenant.
I'm Eve Plummer, Mr. Gerard's assistant.
Pleased to meet you, ma'am.
My distinguished colleague from Japan, Kanzy Ozu.
How do you do, sir? The two modest maidens are professional entertainers.
Geishas.
Are you a lieutenant with the American Army?
No, sir. Los Angeles Police.
Homicide. Right, Lieutenant?
That's right, ma'am.
There was a murder movie on the plane. Brilliant.
I'm afraid I bore Paul with the detail
all the way from the airport.
That must have been the night that Vittorio was murdered.
The very same night.
Do you have a hot suspect?
Well, I've got my eyes on one.
COLUMBO: Mr. Gerard, this is a lovely place you have here.
Thank you.
Oh, that's quite a dish.
I've never seen a dish like this before.
What is that called?
Raw fish.
In Japanese, it is fugu sashimi A delicacy.
Why don't you try it? It's a developed taste.
I think the Lieutenant would prefer one of the cooked dishes.
Oh, I am sure there is nothing wrong with his taste.
Allow me.
Fugu for the Lieutenant.
Gee, that's funny.
I thought that the fugu was gonna taste like tuna fish.
Did I say something wrong?
Not exactly. Shall we tell him?
I don't think our guest is interested in fish stories.
Eve's off tomorrow night on a trip to Europe,
to visit every major restaurant on the continent.
Lieutenant, they're having a little joke at your expense.
The fish you have just eaten,
what you call a blowfish or puffer fish,
is deadly poison.
Is it?
Except when it's prepared by a master chef.
Then it's heavenly.
In Japan, the chef must be licensed by the Department of Health.
Every year hundreds of people die
trying to prepare fugu themselves.
Holy mackerel.
Excuse me?
I was just thinking about a fortune cookie that I read today.
Mr. Gerard, this has been educational,
but I really have to be running along.
Ma'am, enjoy your trip.
Mr. Ozu.
Sayonara, sayonara
Oh, one more thing.
Gee, I almost forgot what I came here to ask you.
Fortunately you remembered.
As you're an expert on restaurants, sir,
I wanted to ask you,
do you know anything about the Restaurant Developers Association?
I don't know anything about it, Lieutenant.
I've never heard of it. Have you?
No.
No, Lieutenant, I'm sorry.
Well, that's all right, ma'am.
As the Chinese say,
there's more than one fish in the sea.
CRAWFORD: Vittorio and I had a binding agreement.
He didn't lend money and we didn't make lasagna.
This was his favorite coffee cake.
I used to serve it every time he came by to talk.
Oh, my, oh.
Oh, this is sensational.
We always used to think so.
Restaurant Developers' commercial account.
Oh, thank you.
Scrumptious. Let me help you, ma'am.
This is the best cake I have ever eaten.
As you can see, Mr. Crawford,
a balance of $175.12.
As I told you, Lieutenant.
Then we have the savings account.
Say what? Account, what?
The Restaurant Developers also has a savings account at the bank.
You know that's what Mrs. Columbo said?
She said there's probably two accounts
and somehow they got mixed up.
I beg your pardon, Lieutenant,
these accounts are not mixed up,
but a corporate savings account is a little unusual.
This savings account, excuse me,
is where Mr. Vittorio's checks were deposited.
Also the checks from Chez Duvall
and the House of Shanghai.
(WHISTLES)
Who has access to this account?
Just one person. A Mrs. Irene DeMilo.
I would like to speak to Mrs. DeMilo.
Claire.
Her only address seems to be a post office box.
She came in two days ago and closed out the account.
She asked me to draw up a cashier's check
for everything in the account.
Except $3000.
She took out $3000 in cash.
In travelers' checks.
This is the best cake I've ever eaten.
Would you say this looks like me, Lieutenant?
I'd say it doesn't do you justice, Miss Plummer.
You're an angel.
I'm sorry about Mr. Gerard.
I know, ma'am. He's busy at the Chez Duvall.
He's getting ready for tonight's Restaurant Writers' dinner.
I'll be thinking about you on the plane.
You are going to the dinner, aren't you?
Oh, certainly, ma'am.
Mrs. Columbo and I, we appreciate the invitation.
Wouldrt miss it for the world.
You should've been there last year. It was terrific.
Oh, Mrs. DeMilo. Yes, Lieuten...
The bank.
The bank, Miss Plummer.
Only in this case, it's more like a laundry.
I have a feeling I just blew a trip to Europe.
I suppose there'll be questions.
Let's begin
with where Mr. Gerard buys his fish.
His fish?
His fish, ma'am.
How did the poison get into the bottle?
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
The banquet, I know.
How did the poison get into the...
Who's been here?
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
Nobody's been here.
Now we're going to the banquet.
Now we're gonna get something terrific to eat.
(WHISTLING)
No Mrs. Columbo this evening?
Oh, well, sir. It's her night school. Final exam in accounting.
She was dying to come here
but at the last minute she decided she'd better take the exam.
Oh.
Once again, dear friends, we are dining together on the finest cuisine,
drinking the best of wines
And once again we, the restaurant writers,
are about to bestow our coveted Award of Merit
But this is not the happy occasion
we had so eagerly anticipated
One who was very special to us all is no longer here
For three years in succession,
we have held our annual dinner at Vittorio's
This year the awards committee
decided that it would be more appropriate to meet somewhere else
Lieutenant Columbo,
perhaps I should have told you the reason before,
but it was a closely guarded secret
I couldn't even tell Vittorio
Ladies and gentlemen, I now present our coveted award
posthumously to the great Vittorio Rossi
And I call on his nephew, Mario DeLucca, to accept Mario?
(ALL CHEERING)
MAN: Bravo, Mario! Bravo, Mario! Bravo!
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
Thank you very much
(ALL LAUGHING)
Tenente Columbo
(ALL LAUGHING)
Hi, lover. Hi.
What are you doing here?
You're supposed to be on a plane to Paris.
That was Irene DeMilo.
Eve Plummer's been grounded.
I'm Tenente Columbo and this is my friend Mario
He doesn't speak much English yet
So I want to say this
I know the two things
that he wants more than anything in the whole world
One is to be a success here in America
You've given him a start with that
The other is that the murderer of his uncle be punished
I think I can help with that
By this same time
tomorrow,
the person who murdered Vittorio Rossi
will be under arrest
and that's a promise
Oh, that was a lovely speech.
Would you like to hear mine? I quit.
Ciao
Mr. Gerard, sir.
Yes, Lieutenant.
Now that this case is almost over,
this might be our last opportunity
to cook something up together. Yes.
Who knows when our paths will cross again?
Vittorio's will still be closed tomorrow.
Maybe we could get to use all those terrific tools
and that beautiful stove.
What do you say, sir?
Would you join me around noon?
Lieutenant, if you hadrt brought it up,
I was about to suggest it myself.
Lieutenant, I'm late. I'm sorry.
I'm just chopping up some shallots.
Two should be enough.
For what?
A recipe from my pop.
He used to cook for us kids when my mother was in the hospital
having a baby.
That was about once a year for a while there.
Veal scallops.
Slightly seasoned with salt and white pepper.
Somehow it looks better on veal than black pepper.
The dried fresh mushrooms, sir,
they're diced and they're soaking in a dish on the counter.
Now could this dish of yours possibly be
escalopes de veau aux cčpes?
Well, pop just called it scaloppini.
Let's see if we can find a good-sized pan.
This is fine.
I'm just gonna heat up some sweet butter.
About a tablespoon or so.
And a dash of olive oil.
Olive oil first keeps the butter from burning,
Well, this is the way they did it where pop came from.
He was from the old country, like Vittorio.
Oh, I'll prepare the dressing for the salad.
You know, I've been thinking about the murder, sir.
We were all wrong about the poison.
It wasrt in any of the bottles down in the wine cellar.
So the only other possibility
is that the killer brought it with him.
But why?
I'm gonna start browning up the veal, sir. Just a few at a time.
Yes, I think you're gonna be interested in the killer's motive.
Undoubtedly.
He was a silent partner in the Restaurant Developers Association.
You remember I mentioned that to you.
Yes, you did.
Vittorio and the others were paying the killer a lot of money for many years.
You see, he was someone in a position to publicize their restaurants
and make them successful.
Or else he could print a few bad items and demolish them.
What it was, it was a form of extortion.
Would you like some wine, sir?
There's an open bottle on the table, help yourself.
Thank you.
Would you care for a glass, Lieutenant? Yes, sir.
Coming up.
I could also use
about a half a cup for my scaloppine.
Please, please, go on with your explanation.
I'm fascinated.
It went on that way for some time, sir,
with Vittorio paying off along with the other people.
But after a while, he didn't want to pay anymore.
He might even have made threats on his own.
And that was the motive for the murder, sir.
You're right. That's very interesting.
But...
But it's only conjecture, of course.
Oh, yes.
We have no way of knowing for certain.
No, unless we got a lot of cooperation
from the other people in the Association.
Correct.
Oh. I forgot your wine. I'll open another bottle.
I'm taking out the veal, sir.
Then I'm gonna add my shallots and my mushrooms
and let 'em bubble around in the pan for a minute or so.
You look perfectly at home in a kitchen.
It's amazing.
When I was growing up, sir,
that's where we spent most of our time.
We had a living room that was mostly for visits from the teacher
and funerals.
I'm adding the wine, sir.
Your wine.
Oh, just set it down for a moment, sir.
I want to stir this around for a minute or two.
By the way,
the night Vittorio died,
you never did intend to eat his whole meal, did you, sir?
What makes you say that?
Well, the appointment book, sir.
Mr. Rossi had you down for 8:00.
I arrived at 8:00.
Well, then you went to the airport later on. To pick up Mr. Ozu.
Mr. Ozu says
that he came in on the movie flight
and according to the airline schedule, sir,
the only movie flight arrived at 8:55.
And since you planned to meet that plane, Mr. Gerard,
there is no way that you could have enjoyed
an entire meal
and still got to the airport in 55 minutes.
So, you knew that you were going to leave early, sir.
You never intended to eat Vittorio's dinner.
Bravo.
Lieutenant,
guilty.
I was going to make some excuse to Vittorio.
As it turned out,
I didn't have to.
You're doing very well. Very well.
What else have you learned?
I'm adding the veal to the pan, sir.
Oh!
The boys at the lab finally got a fix on that poison the killer used.
It was Japanese
blowfish poison.
Fugu?
You can't be serious. Fugu?
It's a terrific poison.
The killer knew we couldn't trace it.
And between you and me,
he had access to that kind of fish.
There's a fish store in Little Tokyo
that buys them off a couple of fishermen.
But how did the murderer get the fugu poison into the bottle?
Excuse the outburst, Lieutenant.
Lieutenant,
Vittorio was alone when he opened the bottle.
Right, sir.
Right. Right.
Vittorio was indeed alone.
Ah, that's the point, sir.
Now, a very odd thing happened here the other day,
when I was recreating the crime as they say.
Just before you arrived here at Vittorio's kitchen,
Albert took this apart for me
because I wanted to take the can'tridge
down to the lab to have the boys check it out.
And what did they find?
Not a thing, sir. But, and here's what's odd,
Albert put a nice, fresh, new, full can'tridge
into the opener for me.
And nobody used that opener until last night
when just before the banquet,
I myself, sitting right here, tried to open a bottle of wine
and the opener was empty, sir, flat out.
From which you concluded?
I asked myself,
how does a full can'tridge become an empty can'tridge
without opening any bottles?
And the answer was,
somebody's been switching bottle openers around here.
Switching? Switching more than once, sir.
That's my opinion.
And then there's this.
You see this, sir?
Yes.
Well, this hollow needle could also hold a tiny bit of poison,
probably injected with a hypodermic syringe.
And that's what the killer prepared, sir.
He took an opener identical to the one that Vittorio used
and he put poison in the needle.
And he took that opener with him to the dinner
and at an opportune time, he switched the openers.
So when Vittorio was by himself in the kitchen,
and the boy was showing you to the door,
Vittorio used the switched opener
to poison his own wine.
You understand, sir?
Lieutenant, I regret to tell you
that I understand all too well.
It was a terrific scheme, sir.
Your only mistake was coming back
the next night so that you could switch back the openers
so we couldn't find any trace of poison
and that was right after Albert put in the fresh can'tridge.
Brilliantly deduced.
Shall we drink to your successful solution of the case?
I couldn't have done it, sir, without your help.
On the other hand,
there remains a matter of proof.
Oh, I can't prove any of this, sir.
But it did bother me
that there was a poisoned opener around the exact twin of this one.
So when I came in here today, I took the trouble
of putting a little nick in the top.
Right there, sir.
But you'll notice there is no nick.
See?
Yes.
It must be a different opener.
No question about it.
Ah! I wouldn't, sir.
Don't drink.
You switched the openers again
but I switched the glasses.
That's the poisoned glass, sir.
The glass I was supposed to drink.
I'll just keep this for the boys down in the lab.
That's what they call proof.
You must try this, sir.
I'm really interested in your opinion.
You're a very able man, Lieutenant.
I respect that.
But I really don't care for you very much.
You know, sir, I was thinking the same thing about you.
I respect your talent.
But I don't like anything else about you.
The dressing is perfect.
Thank you.
When did you first suspect me?
Well, as it happens, sir,
about two minutes after I met you.
That can't be possible.
Oh, you made it perfectly clear, sir,
the very first night,
when you decided to come to the restaurant
directly after you were informed
that Vittorio was poisoned.
I was instructed to come here by the police.
And you came, sir. Yes.
After eating dinner with a man that had been poisoned.
You didn't go to a doctor.
You came because the police instructed you.
You didn't go to a hospital,
you didn't even ask to have your stomach pumped.
Mr. Gerard,
that's the damnedest example
of good citizenship I've ever seen.
I see.
What do you think?
Lieutenant,
I wish you had been a chef.
I understand, sir.