this be the one in which the diminutive ruth gordon play an agatha christie type of murder mystery author who lock her nephew by marriage into a safe . gordon believe that he murder her niece and the young fellow dy of suffocation and while gordon be travel back and forth to new york . he manage and however and to leave behind some clue and scratch on a couple of black safe deposit box and an improvised and well hidden note . columbo enter the case and suspect her at once and and solve the mystery by simply use his supernatural mystical intuitive power . oh and and mariette hartley be on hand a gordon secretary and would be blackmailer . hartley be and i believe and the grand daughter of the psychologist b. f. skinner . i be not sure her ancestry have anything to do with her attractive belly button and which be on display during a belly dance sequence and but i have always admire skinner anyway . the murder be well handle . it a good plot and and none of the performer or crew fluff anything . but the outstanding figure here be ruth gordon and only a skosh over five foot tall . she be over 80 year old and look it . there be moment when she almost teeter and but she consistently exude charm . her acting be idiosyncratic . you can never be sure when she be serious or when she put columbo and the audience on . she give some good line too . what humor there be come from gordon . columbo doesn not have any of his frequent comic moment . all in all and a nice job by everyone concern .