Columbo

Chapter 4

Two days passed, it was 7:33 A.M., and Columbo was in his hotel room, eating his breakfast, cereal, in the kitchen, on a small, round dining room table.
He was thinking about the case, when he heard a knock on the door. He put his spoon down, got up and walked towards the door.
When he opened the door, he saw a bellhop, holding a big, orange envelope. He said, "Mr. Columbo?"
"Yes?"
"Mail for you, sir."
He handed him the envelope and Columbo said, "Thank you, sir."
"Of course."
Columbo shut the door as he walked away. He opened the envelope to see that the pictures and papers have arrived. He, then, called a taxi and rode back to the other hotel.
As soon as he got there he took the pictures out of the envelope and showed the pictures to the clerk.
"Do any of these men look familiar?" asked Columbo
"Yes," said the clerk he was pointing out two pictures. "These two. I remember checking them in."
"Good, good, now we have the faces, all we need now is to figure out is where they are, why they killed Jane, and, most important, where my wife is."

For the past two days, Kate has been trying to escape. Durring those two days she tried to open the door, with her hands, but, it was locked. She kept going at it, but then gave up. Even now, she's still trying to figure out the best possible way to get out.
It was 9:07 A.M., Kate sighed, wondering when she'll get out of here. Then, the door opened, and it was Hoffman. He was holding a mattress, with the help of Harrison.
They put the mattress on the floor and Kate walked around the. As they did and she ran out the door.
Harrison caught her as she almost got out.
"I knew we shouldn't have kept her, she's trouble, I'd have to say, we kill her."
Kate gasped, she looked like she was going to cry.
"What? No, no, no, no. How about if she does this again, we kill her."
"Whatever, I just don't like keeping her here, she's a distraction to you."
"She is not a distraction, she-"
"This was your idea, to give her a mattress. We had to spend our money on this mattress for her."
"Oh, well, sorry for being such a gentleman."
"Look, if we just work together to get the money from the bank, we'll be set. The only thing I see distracting you, from our plan, is this woman."
"Yes, but, let's keep her for a while, huh? I promise she won't distract me from the plan, anymore."
"All right, then bring her back to her room."
"Yes, of course."
So, Hoffman brought Kate back to her room and left the room, locking the door.
Kate sat on the mattress, crying, hoping, wishing she could get out of here.

10:13 A.M., Columbo was at the Florida police station, trying to figure out the case. He was looking at the pictures of the two men. Sargent Johnson comes into the room. The room was filled with people and Columbo was at a desk, looking at the photographs, trying to remember why he knows the names.
"Columbo, I thought it be a good idea if we had an interview about your wife and Jane." He said
"Sure, sure." said Columbo, smoking on a cigarette
The officer walked closer to him, grabbing a chair. He took out a notepad and a pencil.
"How long have you known Jane?" He asked
"About two weeks. You see, we met two days after my wife did."
"So, where'd your wife meet her?"
"She met her at college."
"Did she say anything unusual about herself?"
"No, you see, my wife brought her to the house, one day, and we talked and I found nothing unusual about her, she seems like a nice person."
"What'd you find out about her?"
"She works in a floral shop, in Glendale, she loves flowers, lillies, especially, and loves helping people with their arrangements."
"Did your wife know anything unusual about her?"
"She never said anything, if she knew she was up to something, she would of told me. I had no idea that Jane could of been involved in anything unusual."
"Why did your wife go with Jane, on this trip."
"She found out she was heading to Florida and she's never been there, so, she asked Jane if she could go along. My wife told me she-"
Columbo put his hand on his forehead and groaned.
"What? What is it?"
"It's starting to make sense, now. She was hesitant because she didn't want Kate to go along and get caught in the crossover. Unfortunately, she's been caught. Oh, man, I hope she's O.K." said Columbo, looking down at the pictures.
"O.K., well, that's all, thanks." The sargent got up, looked at Columbo with concern and said, "Don't worry we'll find her, with your help, of course."
"Yes, of course."
Columbo grabbed out a cigar and a lighter, from his pocket, and said, "I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all."
So, Columbo lit his cigar and started smoking it, as the sargent left.