Chapter 17

It took the boys three weeks to complete the entire property cleanup, even though they had a lot of help from the volunteers, the number had more than tripled over the last couple of weeks. Every member of the community had wanted to enter the houses to start the cleanup inside, but the boys held them back, they argued that the time was not right for the doors to be opened just yet.

The mayor herself had visited the Thomases and requested whether they’d be willing to donate some of the items in the houses to the local museum. Joe wanted to confirm her request but Cynthia had placed a hand on her husband’s arm and told the mayor that the family will discuss the matter and she will be informed. The mayor left extremely disappointed, and hardly acknowledged the three boys returning from their most recent restoration project, the massive waterfall that had been discovered between houses three and four.

That August evening everyone sat down to dinner in the dining room, Cynthia had prepare