Ep 3. By Dawn's Early Light

In the season 4, episode 3 of Columbo, titled "By Dawn's Early Light", the beloved detective is called to investigate the murder of General Hollister, a war hero and chairman of a military academy. The General's body is discovered early in the morning inside his office, with a gunshot wound to the head. As Columbo arrives at the scene, he quickly realizes that he's dealing with a complex case that involves various potential suspects.

The first suspect that Columbo encounters is Colonel Roger Dutton, a strict and by-the-book military man who had a heated argument with the General the night before the murder. Through his investigation, Columbo learns that the two men had a long-standing rivalry, and that Dutton had a motive to kill the General in order to take over his job as chairman.

Another potential suspect is Janet Leigh, the General's secretary who had her own personal motivations for wanting him dead. Leigh had recently discovered that the General was planning to fire her for embezzling funds from the academy, and she feared that he would expose her crimes to the authorities.

As Columbo digs deeper into the case, he uncovers a web of deceit and lies that involves not only the potential suspects, but also the General's family members. His son-in-law, a shady businessman named Charles Clay, had borrowed a large sum of money from the General, and was desperate to avoid paying him back. The General's daughter, Fran, was also caught up in the scandal, as she was secretly dating Clay and feared that her father would disapprove of their relationship.

Throughout the episode, Columbo uses his signature style of investigation, relying on his keen intuition and uncanny ability to see through people's lies and manipulations. He puts pressure on each of the suspects, questioning them repeatedly and getting them to contradict themselves. He also uses some creative tactics to gather evidence, such as tricking Colonel Dutton into confessing his involvement in the murder by pretending to have found a hidden clue.

As always, the highlight of the episode is Columbo's interactions with the suspects, which are full of witty banter and dry humor. His demeanor is friendly and unassuming, but underneath the surface, he's always one step ahead of his targets.

In the end, Columbo is able to piece together the clues and solve the case, unveiling the true murderer and bringing them to justice. Without giving away any spoilers, the resolution of the episode is both satisfying and surprising, leaving viewers on the edge of their seats until the very end.

Overall, "By Dawn's Early Light" is a classic episode of Columbo that showcases the detective's skills at their finest. Fans of the series will no doubt enjoy the clever plot, the memorable characters, and of course, the always-entertaining Peter Falk as the incomparable Lieutenant Columbo.