7x04 How to Dial a Murder

Summary: Motivational psychologist Dr Eric Mason discovers that his wife, who died in a car crash several months earlier, was having an affair with his colleague Dr Charles Hunter. Mason has planned for some time to murder Hunter in a way that will be untraceable to him.He owns two Dobermans named…
[show all]Motivational psychologist Dr Eric Mason discovers that his wife, who died in a car crash several months earlier, was having an affair with his colleague Dr Charles Hunter. Mason has planned for some time to murder Hunter in a way that will be untraceable to him.He owns two Dobermans named Laurel and Hardy, and he trains them to come into the house when they hear the phone ring, and then attack Hunter when they hear the special attack word 'rosebud' (Mason is a film buff and is especially obsessed with Citizen Kane).One day when Mason is at his doctor's office for a health checkup, he tells Hunter to go to his (Mason's) house and wait for him to return so they can play tennis. He then phones the house, thus summoning the dogs, and then tricks Hunter into saying 'rosebud' by claiming that he has an argument with his doctor as to what Kane's last word is in the film. The dogs then attack and kill Hunter.Despite Columbo being convinced that Mason trained the dogs to kill Hunter, he cannot prove it without getting Mason to reveal the attack command. Source: www.TVRage.com
[hide]