Pittsburg, PA

Saturday, October 22, 1910

ALVERA FIELDS CASE MAY BE SOLVED BY RAID

The mystery of Mrs. Alvera Fields, the beautiful Pennsylvania wife and mother, whose disappearance earlier this year became an international sensation, will finally be cleared and her vanishing explained, the district attorney believes, as the result of a raid made yesterday afternoon by county detectives on the Fields Estate.

Although no arrests were made in connection with the case, the district attorney believes they are close to solving it.

Women Detective at Work

Shortly before 1 p.m. yesterday afternoon, the entire county detective force was stationed in separate groups at the Fields Estate. A woman detective in the employ of the County Detective Bureau, who posed as Mrs. Fields’ distant second cousin, was granted entrance into the home by Robert Fields’ maid, whereupon the detective set about examining the residence for evidence.

Upon searching Mr. Fields’ office, she discovered several letters neatly hidden in a hole in the hollow leg of a desk. The letters suggest Mr. Fields is behind Mrs. Fields’ disappearance. One such letter was an exchange between a doctor at the sanitarium insisting he could no longer in good conscience keep Alvera hostage against her will, for she is otherwise healthy and sane. The details of the other letters are still being investigated as detectives continue to search the estate.

The house, which is a large three-story building, is on the edge of a steep hill, its rear overlooking the Ohio River and the Bellevue Station of the Pennsylvania lines west. On one side of the house is a deep ravine, while on the other side steps lead to the station. In front of the large yard before the house the street becomes a muddy road and turns to the right.

At the turn in the road the machine containing the detectives stopped. The driver alighted and pretended to be tinkering with the engine, when the taxicab containing Robert Fields came down the street also. As the car containing the detectives had a large limousine body, Fields entertained no suspicions. He jumped from the taxi, aided his fellow passengers to alight, and pointed to the house. The next minute he found himself handcuffed.

Mr. Fields is being contained at the county jail on a charge of murder. He persists in claiming his innocence while his attorneys assure the public he is not in any way guilty.

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Felicity

As ambivalent as I felt about Cody, I couldn’t leave him in that condition. Neither of us said a word as I helped him to the sofa and doctored and bandaged his wounds. He was so liquored up I doubted he felt much of anything. The pain would hit him tomorrow. Good.

Ever the compulsive neatnik, I started tidying up the place and stopped myself. I wasn’t Cody’s maid. When I left, he had fallen over on his side and was lightly snoring.