My Slum Apartment Hides a Gold Mine

I froze, staring at the wall between the living room and bedroom. I wondered if I had imagined that voice.

Still, that wall did seem thicker than the others in the house.

110 pounds of gold… At the current price of gold at 4,100 dollars per troy ounce, that was worth over six million dollars!

My girlfriend, Julie Slade, nudged me. "Why are you spacing out? What's so interesting about this dump of an apartment?"

When I came to my senses, Peter Locke, the real estate agent, was still standing there, smiling ingratiatingly at us.

"Miss, the apartment might be a little run-down, but you really can't beat the location. This place is 0.31 miles away from the subway station.

"The school district's pretty decent too. And the best part is, this apartment is affordable—"

Julie cut him off immediately. "It's a 30-year-old shabby apartment that's only 538 square feet, and you're asking 800 thousand dollars for it? And you call that affordable?"

Peter was visibly embarrassed.

Julie glared at me. "Let me make it clear. If you dare buy this dump for us to live in after we get married, we're done. I refuse to be humiliated like this!"

I was about to calm her down when that old voice rang out again.

"Ha! What shortsighted fools. I've got three million dollars in cash hidden in the ceiling and another 110 pounds of gold inside the walls. There's a fortune right here, and you still think I'm a dump?

"Birds of a feather flock together. The woman can't recognize value when she sees it, and the guy is a spineless pushover. They're perfect for each other!"

My legs turned to jelly, and I almost fell to the floor.

There were another three million dollars in cash stashed in the ceiling?

I couldn't help but glance up. The apartment was in an old concrete-panel building, with a simple drop ceiling installed. Nothing looked out of place.

Peter hurried over. "Milo, you think this place is actually quite decent too, right? Mrs. Aston is in a hurry to sell the apartment.

"Her husband was an accountant at a foreign firm before he retired. He was a really good guy, but he died all of a sudden and didn't even leave a will.

"Mrs. Aston is afraid to live here alone, so she wants to move abroad to be with her daughter. That's why she's selling the apartment so cheap. This place is probably worth at least 1.1 million dollars on the market."

Mr. Aston worked as an accountant at a foreign firm? How did he get his hands on 110 pounds of gold? And why did he hide them in the wall?

"Does the homeowner have any other family members?"

"Just one daughter, who's already made a life overseas. But it's not convenient for her to fly back. Mrs. Aston said everything inside comes with the apartment. You can do whatever you want with the furniture and appliances. She doesn't want to take anything with her."

My heart skipped a beat. Did that mean the gold in the walls and the cash stashed in the ceiling were included too?

I pretended to take in the house and slowly walked over to the thick wall. I reached out and rapped my knuckles against it twice. The sound was dull—there was a hollow space inside.

Next to me, Peter continued, "The biggest advantage of these old, run-down apartments is that you can change the layout however you like.

"Check out this wall between the living room and bedroom. It was probably added later, so it's not a load-bearing wall. If you tear it down and redesign the layout, you'll have a living room twice the size. It'll be just as good as a new apartment."

I was afraid Peter might notice something was off, so I quickly pulled my hand back. I headed for the bathroom and pretended to inspect the pipes.

"Can the price go any lower?"

Peter's eyes lit up. "800 thousand dollars is as low as she'll go, but if you really want this place, I'll try talking to Mrs. Aston and see if I can get her to knock another 20 or 30 thousand dollars off."

Julie stared at me in disbelief. "Milo Quick, are you insane? Don't tell me you actually want to buy this dump?

"Didn't you notice how much the walls are peeling? The bathroom's so small too. There isn't even a window in the kitchen. Do you really think I should settle for a place like this?"