Dollar Bills

Angie discreetly took out the items from inside the safe and placed them on Eddie’s coat lying next to her. The hundred dollar bills came to a total of $51,080! The stack of money also contained some old $2 bills. The couple was astonished by the total sum of the money. Is this too good to be true? 

The Bourbon

Apart from the money, there were two more things inside the safe, one of which was a bottle of bourbon. Eddie recognized the bourbon bottle instantly. It was from a private stash of James E. Pepper, who was the inventor of one of the most famous cocktails named ‘old fashioned’.

A Guide For The Perplexed

The last thing in the safe was a book, titled ‘A Guide For The Perplexed’. This book was written by ‘E. F. Schumacher’ and published in 1977. E. F. Schumacher is well known for his economics essay book called ‘small is beautiful’. It is said that five days before he died, he gave this book, A Guide For The Perplexed, to his daughter saying it includes philosophical foundations of Small is Beautiful.

A Photograph

Angie took out the book and opened it to see a photograph of a man tucked inside it. There was a message scribbled at the back of the photograph. It said, “Alan, I have a book you must read. I have underlined a few key passages. Your friend, Vincent”. Angie couldn’t help but wonder how many years this book has been locked away in that safe.

Underlined Passage

The very first passage Angie found underlined in the book read, “Most modern readers will be reluctant to believe that perfect happiness is attainable by methods of which their modern world knows nothing.” At first, she didn’t think much about the underlined passages. But then she found another passage which felt like it was saying something to her.

More Passages

The passage read, “One way of looking at the world as a whole is by means of a map, that is to say, some sort of plan or outline that shows where various things are to be found.” She wondered if this passage is some kind of indirect message to search for more things because there were additional items tucked inside this book.