The Three Rats of Washington

By Paul R Davis

Four acquaintances bury a large chest in a park in Washington state with the promise there will be a payoff in five years.

 

Bert convinces three guys he met in Seattle to drive with him to Olympic National Park and bury a chest of unknown contents. All he says is, "If we can keep this a secret, I've got a buyer in five years. Payout will be enough we won't need to work ever again. Bryce, Troy, and Ryan, seeing an opportunity to get rich, go all in.

 

A couple months from payoff, Ryan ends up dead as a warning: give us our chest or end up like him. Can Bert keep his acquaintances in line, or has his past caught up to him?

 

One chest. Four strangers. One hell of a gamble.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul R Davis
• Release date: Jul 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393362012

Paul R Davis

Paul R Davis lives with his lovely family in Wisconsin. His children, ranging from elementary school to toddler, keep him on his toes. Mission work in other countries, a Tough Mudder, and reading mythology has led to the inspirations for his stories, creating a diverse pool of ethnicities in his fiction.

Book preview

The Three Rats of Washington

Paul R Davis

Published by Paul R Davis, 2020.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

THE THREE RATS OF WASHINGTON

First edition. July 8, 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Paul R Davis.

ISBN: 978-1393362012

Written by Paul R Davis.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

The Three Rats of Washington

About the Author

To Stephanie Ayers, who is the reason I wrote this book, and the reason I've been striving.

Bert tossed the moist dirt. The silence was only broken up by the shovel breaking into the mound of soil, then slapping the chest below. After a few tosses, Bert said, There's a buyer lined up. Enough money it'll transform your life. Then more silence, just staring at the chest while two other men continued to cover it up. It was disconcerting to Ryan. He was losing hours at the chop shop to participate in something with an unknown payoff. Somehow Bert talked him into it, but as the drive, walk, and now shoveling continued, the appeal was quickly fading.

Anyone coming after us for this? Paranoia crept into his flesh, causing it to prickle against the cool air. I mean, we gone all the way out here, dug a hole somewhere no one's gonno come, and that ain't 'cause no one's looking for it.

Chill, Ryan, Bryce said. The pencil-thin man had beady rat eyes and a long face with a lengthy nose, as if his physical appearance indicated the character within. He got us out here, promised us ridiculous money, and now we're going to be new men. Just need to wait five years, continue doing what we were doing, and then we're gold. He smiled, but the smile never comforted Ryan. There were enough of those guys showing up at the shop, and they were the kind of guys who lied until they disappeared. Just like the chest.

You're right, Bert said, going back to digging. Of course someone wants the magical chest with incredible wealth. Of course someone else wants to meet the mystery buyer who has really weird conditions. Who wouldn't?

So why us? Troy did most of the digging, his jacket off. Rolled up sleeves revealed rippled biceps. Ryan figured Troy was hired in case anyone got out of line. Guy like that, dangle enough money in front of him and he'd beat his own mom.

I don't know you. You need what I'm offering. They don't know you.

They? Bryce went from weasel to mouse, shivering a little.

They, Bert echoed. The people who want this box. Just like Ryan said there'd be some. I think it's just one, but he has a lot of people on his side.

Didn't say that in the brochure, Ryan grumbled. He looked down at his shoes, nice shoes, all dirty and damp from the humidity and soil. It pissed him off. How aren't they going to find us.

Bert shrugged.

Troy reiterated, The man asked a question. How won't they find us?

They're looking for me. We've only met twice. Before this is done, if everything goes right, we'll only meet three times. There's no way he'll tie you guys to me or each other. He coughed and wiped his forehead. He's not in Seattle yet, anyway. Probably won't be for a few months, and maybe I'll visit some other cities to lead him around. Either way, he'll come for me if he figures it out. Then he'll kill me, you'll see me on the news, and I'd write the chest off as lost.

But what if he doesn't get the chest, and he keeps digging? There are things that showed us with you, I'm sure.

I'll bring them here, they'll see the chest, put two in the back of my head, and do whatever they need to do. It wasn't evident when they first met, but Ryan was starting to realize Bert was old. Not old old, but definitely older than he thought. The digging, walking, long drive, and long night were wearing on him as he slowed down.

The digging continued, the chest was covered, and then the hole was filled. Bert flattened it a little, took some nearby debris and put it over the spot so it wasn't so evident that it was freshly dug. Troy found a large rock, grunted as he hefted it up, then put it in the center. With a quick slam from the shovel, he chipped out a portion of the stone.

What keeps you from killing us when we dig this up? The more they spoke, the more Ryan got nervous. The more he got nervous, the more he realized just what a horrific idea this was. He didn't know what was in the box. His girlfriend was going to medical school. If they could just make it two more years, she'd make enough money to get them out into the suburbs. Stephanie telling him this was a bad idea suddenly weighed on him.

However, the suggestion didn't go the way he thought it would. The other two glared at him. Bert didn't bother, just turned and walked to the car.

Not cool, Bryce whispered. If you didn't believe in the chest, you shoulda just kept out of it.

Troy shook his head and followed Bert.

Fine, you guys get a bullet in the back of the head.

Flashlights led the way through the park, and soon they were back at the parking lot. The sun was starting to crest, brightening the cloudy sky.

That's it, kids. You get to go home and pretend this didn't happen for the next five years. Pretend very hard. Don't tell your wife, your girlfriend, your best friend, your barber.

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