Closed for the Season

Logan immediately confronts his parents about the truth of the house. His mother and father try to comfort Logan by telling him that Mrs. Donaldson had simply fallen down the stairs. Logan is insistent that Mrs. Donaldson was murdered. The pizza delivery man arrives with their dinner and immediately begins remarking on the house. Logan’s father is quick to change the topic and ends up hiring the man, named Johnny O’Neil, to mow the lawn the next morning. Logan’s mother comments about Johnny’s tattoos disapprovingly, but Logan’s father is impressed by them. Logan’s mother continues to remark about the pain and regret involved in getting a tattoo, clearly trying to impart this onto her son. As they finish up dinner, Logan hears a noise in the kitchen and sees Arthur standing there holding a cake. Arthur’s grandmother has baked it for them to welcome them to the neighborhood. They invite Arthur in for dessert; he eats greedily while Logan watches him with disdain. Throughout dessert, Arthur goes on about all the issues with the house, including but not limited to the leaking roof, the flooding backyard, and the porch covered in dry rot. Logan’s father is annoyed and insists that the house was already inspected.

The house was inspected by Errol G. Lacey, whom Arthur’s grandmother insists is “positively and absolutely mendacious”—a ruthless liar (14). Both of Logan’s parents dislike Arthur but the young boy fails to notice; instead, he talks about Johnny. Arthur goes on to tell the table about how the pizza place is full of roaches and rats. Apparently, the health department has been trying to get them shut down. Logan’s mother feels quite ill by this news and Logan’s father interrupts Arthur. He asks the neighbor boy about the murder. Arthur tells them the story again and Logan’s mother is upset that Rhoda DiSilvio, the real estate agent, lied. They learn from Arthur that the killer was never caught. Arthur’s grandmother then plays the sound of a police siren to call him home. Later that night, Logan hopes that the termites will ruin the house so that they can move to a brand new one in Fair Oaks. He wants to be cool in his new school, not a nerd like he was in his old town. 

The next morning while Logan is eating cereal, Arthur arrives without invitation. He tells them that the cake from the night before was purchased from a bakeshop. Logan does not want to hang out with Arthur but follows the young man out of the house anyway. Arthur wants to show Logan the town and admits that he does not have many friends. They both ride their bikes into town. Logan’s parents call out to him and remind him to wear his helmet. Arthur, on the other hand, insists that “Grandma says helmets take all the fun out of bike riding” (19). Arthur gives Logan a tour of the town where he discovers that people have “SAVE THE MAGIC” protest signs on their lawns (20). Logan learns about the old amusement park, called the Magic Forest, that is about to be torn down and replaced by a new housing development. Arthur then tells Logan about Mrs. Donaldson’s funeral. Logan is surprisingly jealous of Arthur for being allowed to attend; this chapter makes it especially clear how protective his parents are of him, especially in comparison to the freedom that Arthur experiences.

In the beginning of this chapter, Arthur continues to show Logan the rest of Bealesville. Arthur talks to Logan about how his grandmother is upset by the small local stores that are slowly closing and being replaced by large corporations. They go to the library to get Logan a library card. Logan does not want to admit that he likes reading and that he was unpopular at his old school. He is upset that the librarian and other people in town will think he and Arthur are friends.

The boys look up newspapers from the day that Mrs. Donaldson’s body was found to learn more about the murder. According to the newspaper, Mrs. Donaldson was questioned numerous times about the “large sum of money” that “had been embezzled from the park” (26). The police chief believes that the missing money is connected to Mrs. Donaldson’s death. The theft of the money ultimately led to the closing of the town’s beloved park. Arthur and his grandmother believe that Mrs. Donaldson had nothing to do with the lost money. This is the first time Logan learns that Silas Phelps, Mrs. Donaldson’s son-in-law, is the possible perpetrator.

Logan pictures Silas “as a modern-day Bill Sykes straight out of Oliver Twist,” and pays for photocopies of the newspaper for both Arthur and his parents (28). Arthur promises to pay Logan back, but Logan is unconvinced and unbothered. As they return the paper, they meet an investigative reporter from the Richmond Times named Nina Stevens. She takes down their phone numbers and promises to stop by to interview Arthur’s grandmother and Logan’s parents. Arthur is delighted by the idea that their picture may be in the paper.