by Gabe Sluis
He didn't ring the doorbell. He didn't knock. Instead, Jake Gates just walked in the front door of the house he had never been inside before.
Jake ventured through the unfamiliar layout, following the sounds of music and conversation. It was not long before he found the main gathering of old friends, in the kitchen and spilling out into the back yard patio.
"Jake!" Donny Bryte said, coming in from the outside. The two gave each other a quick embrace and Jake handed over an unwrapped toaster box.
"Happy housewarming, D.B." Jake said. "I didn't wrap it cuz I figured it was pointless. This place is pretty nice!"
"Yeah, thanks man. I'm still surprised the bank gave Carrie and I the loan. Should I give you the tour?"
"Let's," Jake agreed.
Donny lead the way out back first, where Jake said hello to the guests he knew, and was introduced to the ones he didn't.
"It's a pretty big backyard, dude," Jake commented.
"Yeah, way bigger than anything I've ever had at any rental. Connie wants me to build a doghouse..."
Jake chuckled. "Well, now at you don't have to deal with pet deposits, getting a dog isn't a bad idea. This patio furniture is nice."
"I know! The McCourtneys got it for us! I was blown away. John was pretty impressed I actually followed through with purchasing a house," Donny said.
Jake smiled at the mention of John McCourtney. The pair grabbed drinks out of a cooler and went back inside the house. Their first stop was the garage, which was mostly empty except for unpacked moving boxes. The pair talked about plans for a work bench and thoughts on the old water heater that could use replacement.
"So, do you know anything about who had this house before you? You said it wasn't a short sale and I can't imagine it was a rental; it looks pretty well taken care of."
"Apparently an old man lived here alone, and when he died his daughter put it up for sale as soon as she could," Donny said.
"He died in here, somewhere, didn't he?" Jake said with a grin.
"Yeah, I found out he did," Donny admitted under his breath. "They had to disclose it in the final sale paperwork. But don't mention it to Carrie. She gets really weird about ghosts and dead people and stuff."
"Those of us who have been killed by crazy men in the woods are immune to stuff like that," Jake said, elbowing his friend. "Your girlfriend wouldn't quite understand about all that though, huh?"
Donny laughed to himself and nodded.
"I had all new carpet put down before we moved in," Donny said. "So that kinda reduces his presence, right? Oh, well," he laughed again. "The price was right, and we are going to redo the tile in the kitchen and half-bath next."
"Cool, man. So, two bedrooms?"
"Yep, here is the spare," Donny said pushing the door open with one hand so the pair could look in. "Not sure what we are going to do with it yet, but it's nice to have the space. And next is the master..."
"Very cool," Jake replied. He half-sat against he foot of Donny's bed, and took a moment to look around. "Ooh, and a walk in closet!"
"Yeah, it's pretty nice," Donny said, pushing the pocket door all the way open. "It's probably the nicest part about this room. Look at all the fancy wooden shelving."
Jake furrowed his brow and looked around. The wooden fixtures were very fancy with beautiful trim and quality hardware. Donny and Carrie had unpacked a good amount of clothes into the shelves and hanging rods.
"It's so nice, it's almost out of place," Jake commented.
"What do you mean?" Donny said, also looking closer.
"This walk in closet system must have cost a ton. No offense dude, but the house is styled a bit old. It still has acoustic ceilings and old doors. The new carpets..."
"And baseboards," Donny cut in.
"No, I mean it all looks good, and some new paint and the tile you were talking about will make it amazing. But before all your updates, his closet system stands out. Have you ever heard of Murphy doors?"
Donny shook his head.
"I have seen them advertised on, like, sky mall and at home shows. They were the original makers of those beds that fold out of the wall, the ones you can put up in the day to save space. Well, they became really specialized in making doors and fold out things that looked really fancy, to hide eyesores and stuff."
"What are you saying?" Donny asked.
"I think there is something more here than a closet. Think about the layout of the house. Come out here," Jake said, exiting the closet.
The pair walked out of the hall and toward the living room. They began to speak in hushed voices.
"Think about it," Jake said again. "There is space unaccounted for. Not much, but some. The half-bath doesn't look like it goes all the way back to the exterior wall. Look how deep the living room is compared."
Donny and Jake skulked through the party, judging the space of the house while everyone visited. They stuck their heads out the back sliding glass door. They made depth comparisons silently until one eyed the other and wordlessly agreed. Jake followed Donny as he made a break back for the master closet.
"Donny? What are you two up to?" Carrie called as they went. "Come be social!"
"Just a minute! We will be out in a sec!" Donny called back.
They went back into the closet and slid the door closed.
"You are so right!" Donny hissed excitedly. "There is space unaccounted for. It's not super obvious, not unless you look."
"And I only noticed because these shelves are slightly out of place," Jake agreed. "It's gotta be this one too. The others are against your bedroom wall and that one couldn't move cuz of the hanging rungs. The old guy must have put the others in here to make the movable door not stand out."
"So how do you think it works?" Donny asked, inspecting the shelf system with his eyes and hands. He gave an experimental tug that yielded no results.
"I don't know," Jake said. "There should be a switch or something. Let me look it up on my phone and see if I can find where they usually hide their switches at."
Before Jake could perform his search Donny's fingers found the switch.
"Got it!"
Both watched in awe as the shelf system swung out from the decorative moulding, reveling darkness behind. Jake shined the face of his lit phone into the dark. Donny stepped over the raised threshold and into the room. With one leg in, and one out, he felt a string hit the side of his head. Realizing what it was, Donny pulled the light chain and the secret room lit up.
The pair stepped inside, leaving the door open to the closet. The space was small; small enough not to be noticed, but large enough to hold the old mans' valuables. Hanging on a peg-board wall were an array of weapons. Two M-16 rifles sat stacked above and automatic pistol and two more revolvers. A double barrel breach shotgun leaned against the wall. Off to the side were an collection of large, fixed-blade knives and a pair of brass knuckles. On the opposing long wall were coils of rope and a pair of stuffed backpacks with labels. Along the concrete floor were boxes of meals ready-to-eat, bottles of water, and ammunition cans. At the back wall, half as wide as the room was long, sat a strong box. Beside it was an empty fireproof file box with the lid up.
"The guys daughter must have never known..." Donny whispered to himself.
Jake nodded as he read the labels on the backpacks. "These were his go bags, in case he needed to bug out. They have a list of their contents on the outside so he knew just what was in them. 'Male change of clothes, medical supplies, maps...' Looks like he had one for himself and one for a woman.
"Look at these guns, man!" Donny said. "I just bought a new collection of guns along with my new house!"
"Safe," Jake said, directing his friend to the final part of the room. "You may have bought more than just some prepper gear."
Donny knelt down in front of the shelf the strong-box sat on. He tried to push it to the side, flaring his eyes at Jake as he felt the weight. "What do you think is in here?"
"The firebox is empty. He must have taken
his important papers out before he died. What, does that thing take the same keys as this, or does it have a code only?" Jake asked of the safe Donny sat in front of.
"Combo," he answered.
"Damn!" Jake said. "Any ideas? If seen on some of those storage shows that the guys just pick them up and drop them on the corner of the lid and it breaks the clasp..."
"No, this thing is heavy, and I'm pretty sure everyone in the house would hear if we cracked it on the concrete," Donny said. "I'll just have to start trying numbers... 1-2-3-4?"
"That will take forever," Jake said as Donny began to punch away. "What about your house number, What is your address?"
"5035 Wildland? I guess we could give that a try..."
"Or maybe the old guys birthday..." Jake muttered to himself. "Oh! Or the birthday of the woman this pack was meant for. Or an anniversary..."
"No. Way," Donny said as the safe light went green and the latch cycled open.
"Your address? Are you kidding me?" Jake nearly shouted.
"I guess not!" Donny said as he opened he lid.
Donny Bryte and Jake Gates walked out side and sat in the fancy patio set in the evening light, grinning and sipping on their drinks. They sat next to each other and didn't say a word. Jake elbowed Donny without looking, and Donny elbowed back.
"What are you two grinning about?" Carrie said, coming outside and seeing the two.
"Oh, nothing," Donny answered.
"Your guys's new place is absolutely amazing," Jake said, disrupting Carrie's next thought. "It's so much more than I thought it would be."
"We are pretty happy with it," Carrie agreed. "The house payment is a bit more than we are used to paying, but I'm sure we will get by."
"Oh, I have a feeling you will have no problem with your house payment," Jake grinned.
"Donny, the tacos are almost ready, will you come help me serve them," she said, and went back in side before he could reply.
"I should have got you a scale so you could weigh that stuff," Jake joked with Donny as he got up to go help with the food.
"Coming," he called after his girlfriend and shook his head at Jake. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can afford one, now."
Two Rabbits