death lend a hand be one of the pivotal early episode of columbo that help define the show for the next thirty year . it mark the first of robert culp four appearance ( three a a murderer ) and play much the same role in each show . in this case culp play brimmer and the head of a large private detective company who be ask to investigate whether the wife of a wealthy newspaper magnate and mr kennicut and be have an affair . although she be and brimmer decides not to tell kennicut and in the hope that he can blackmail his wife in return for snippet of information about her husband business associate . she react badly to this suggestion and an argument ensues which rapidly turn violent a brimmer whack her across the face . because he be wear a large ring and the blow knock her to the ground and kill her . there be some really priceless moment in this episode . one of my favourite scene be where columbo pretend to be into palm reading and although this be in fact a ruse to discover the shape and size of brimmer ring without admit that he know the killer wear a ring . columbo be columbo and he only reveal what he really know when the time be exactly right to turn the screw a little . so initially he goofily play the part of a rather simple mind man who get excite by the lifeline go over the mound of the moon and or some equally ridiculous palm read mumbo jumbo . another great scene be when brimmer try to offer columbo a job for his firm and effectively bribe him to stop poke his nose around . again and columbo doesn not reveal that he know what go on and he pretend to be honour and excite by this job offer . and there another where columbo say to kennicut and in front of brimmer and that he wish the murderer could hear their conversation . he want to hint to brimmer that he be onto him and without directly accuse him and so he rather cruelly ( but understandable in the circumstance ) decide to play mindgames on brimmer in order to spook him into panic and do something stupid . which of course he do . all the while and the grieving kennicut be unaware of the subtext of this conversation . it only near the end that columbo explain all to kennicut ( not show on screen ) . i would not reveal how columbo finally nail the killer bang to right and but let just say there a potato involve . a really really good episode and possibly the very best of the first series . if you like this then you will like double exposure too and also feature robert culp .