When they moved into their home in Phoenix, Arizona, Imgur user sarm and her husband Eddie found what appeared to be the three-digit combination to a safe. They had no idea where the corresponding safe might be, or if it even existed, but they saved the numbers in case they ever found it. They had a hunch that it’d turn up somewhere.
As it turns out, that hunch was right. While renovating their kitchen, they found a safe hiding out under the island.
Judging by the age of the safe, it probably didn’t belong to the home’s last owners.
That being said, it could have belonged to any of the five families who lived in the home previously.
The next logical step was to enter the combination.
They weren’t quite prepared for what they found inside.
This isn’t the first bizarre safe we’ve come across here at ViralNova. One homeowner even found a stack of video tapes…alongside a note warning people not to watch them. There have also been tales of people finding weapons and child pornography in safes. Needless to say, mystery lockboxes tend to make us a little squeamish.
But luckily for these people, what they found inside was awesome.
Really, really awesome.
They found $50,000…and some booze!
It was a bottle of James E. Pepper.
The masterminds behind this brand are said to have come up with the Old Fashioned.
The unbroken seal says that it was made in 1960.
And according to the label, the drink itself was already six years old by the time they bottled it.
Here’s where things get a little mysterious.
This is a book called A Guide for the Perplexed, which was published in 1977. Between a few pages, they found this picture of a guy named Alan.
There was a message on the back of the photo.
It reads, “Alan, I have a book you must read. I’ve underlined a few key passages. Your friend, Vincent.”
There was also a flashcard with a basic map of Arizona on the back.
The city of Mesa is marked with an X.
Now for the passages. Were these simple anecdotes, or did they reveal something deeper?
This selection reads, “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.”
On page 11, they found this old photo of an estate.
On the same page was a partial line that read, “…there yielded such fruitful results.”
The back of the photo said, “Where one tree becomes three.”
Could it be referring to the tree on the left?
The most mysterious passage reads, “Most modern readers will be reluctant to believe that perfect happiness is attainable by methods of which their modern world knows nothing.”
The last “clue” was a bingo card with the numbers 66, 3, and 54 circled.
Since the safe they found had a three-digit combination, they think that this may be a combination to another safe of the same style.
Still, the couple is a bit baffled.
It seems that the book is holding some kind of secret. Did Vincent want to send Alan on a treasure hunt? If $50,000 was already in this safe, what else could be out there? Is this a genuine treasure hunt, or some kind of strange inside joke between old friends?
In any case, they’re unsure about what to do with the money — it was, after all, intended for Alan. But they do know one thing: they’re keeping the bourbon!
