- Sergeant Frederic Wilson: J'ever see one of these before, Lieutenant?
- Columbo: Uh... no, not sure I have. It, eh, looks kind of familiar, though.
- Sergeant Frederic Wilson: It's a camera-mounted starlight scope. They used 'em quite a bit at Berkeley for night work.
- Columbo: You mean that takes pictures in the dark?
- Sergeant Frederic Wilson: Yeah. I bought this one myself.
- Columbo: You used your own money?
- Sergeant Frederic Wilson: Well, I wanted to have the best equipment for the job, sir.
- Columbo: You must be a bachelor.
- Jarvis Goodland: Well, I must say, Catherine, our kidnapper, whoever he is, is certainly no piker. To demand a ransom of $300,000... Why, I'll wager, a week here and there, even YOU don't spend that sort of money.
- Cathy Goodland: Don't you ever stop, Jarvis?
- Jarvis Goodland: However, leaving our personal affection aside, you must realize that my situation is such that even I couldn't pour even the smallest drop into such a huge bucket - even though I'm not a weakling with a spendthrift wife.
- Sergeant Frederic Wilson: Lieutenant, as you've probably noticed, there are three cups, three plates, three different brands of cigarettes. That means there were two persons here besides the victim. That's obvious.
- Columbo: Yeah. Awfully obvious.
- Sergeant Frederic Wilson: Well, sir, different officers do have their different methods. I must say, the lieutenant's investigatory procedures do differ somewhat from my own.
- Jarvis Goodland: Well, that speaks very well for you, Sergeant Wilson.
- Jarvis Goodland: Ah, the trust fund! That's why you wanted ME here.
- Cathy Goodland: Well, Jarvis, I certainly knew you wouldn't help me raise the money any other way.
- Columbo: I'm sorry. I don't quite understand about that trust fund.
- Jarvis Goodland: Well, you see, I'm co-administrator with the bank of a trust fund set up by Tony's father. And you, Catherine, should know, of all people, that he put enough strings in there to protect Tony from his own bad habits... and grasping wives.
- Columbo: Uh, your nephew's wrecked car, for instance, uh... You know, we found that thing with the ignition and lights off and the gear in neutral.
- Jarvis Goodland: Neutral? But the letter said he was forced off the road. Perhaps they grabbed Tony and then pushed the car over the side to keep it out of sight, don't you think?
- Columbo: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's what it looks like, all right. Of course, only then, one of them made that first telephone call to Mrs. Goodland.
- Jarvis Goodland: Well, that was to make her believe the letter when she got it. She's a very hard woman to convince of ANYTHING, Lieutenant.
- Columbo: Mmm. I wonder how they knew that.
- Tony Goodland: Look, this whole thing better work. It just better work, that's all.
- Jarvis Goodland: Oh, it'll work. I planned it.
- Columbo: Listen, if I arrested everybody with an unregistered weapon in Los Angeles, believe me, I'd have half the population in jail.