In her own quiet way, Hannah determines to find out what happened to Lydia. She finds a way to unfasten the safety lock her mother recently installed, escapes to the lake, and lies on the dock so that she is “as close to her sister’s last night as she can get” (105).

When Marilyn finds the safety lock unfastened, she blames James. She insists that Lydia was kidnapped and would never run away. She is mad that James accepts the police’s theory that Lydia left of her own volition because she was isolated from her peers, and she accuses him of kowtowing to authority, unwittingly referencing the offensive stereotype of the servile Oriental. James leaves home and finds refuge in Louisa’s arms.

Marilyn paces Lydia’s room, in denial about her daughter’s unhappiness. As she embraces Lydia’s bookbag, a box of cigarettes and an open box of condoms fall out. Marilyn is shocked but determined to “keep searching until she understands her daughter completely” (120).

Nath and Hannah go to the lake, where they spot Jack. Nath moves to confront the boy he is certain had something to do with Lydia’s death, but Hannah passionately apprehends him, allowing Jack to escape.