The Orphanage by the Lake

Madeline acts as if nothing happened, and she ignores Hazel’s obvious distress. Madeline tells Hazel she needs Hazel’s help to find her missing goddaughter, Mia Ross. Madeline shows Hazel a picture of Mia: She is a 13-year-old sweet-looking Black girl. Madeline explains that Mia is an orphan and that Madeline had been friends with her parents before they died in a car accident. Mia had been living at a children’s home called Saint Agnes in the small town of Lake George in upstate New York before she went missing six months ago. Madeline tells Hazel she will pay her $100,000 if Hazel finds Mia by the end of the following week. Hazel is broke and in no position to turn down the offer.

Madeline tells Hazel that the police and other private investigators have been unable to find out what happened to Mia. The day Mia went missing, the headmaster of Saint Agnes, Dr. Thomas Mackenzie, “an old family friend” (20) of the Hemsleys, called Madeline to tell her about Mia’s disappearance and to see if she knew where Mia might have gone. After not hearing anything further from Dr. Mackenzie after 48 hours, Madeline called the police. The police investigation was led by Detective Robert Riether, who initially vigorously investigated but gave up when he wasn’t able to find any leads. The following day, Dr. Mackenzie called Madeline angry that she had contacted the police and has since cut off all contact with Madeline.

Madeline tells Hazel that Mia is a talented singer and shows her a video of Mia singing “Time after Time” by Cyndi Lauper. Hazel agrees to take the case. Madeline tells Hazel she expects an update in 48 hours.

Hazel is still shaken by her confrontation with Strauss. She thinks about how she had once been assaulted and how it led to her becoming a private investigator. Hazel refocuses on the investigation and researches Madeline’s background. Madeline is a socialite from a wealthy family that owns a lot of property around Lake George. Hazel calls Detective Riether, who tells her only that the investigation into Mia’s disappearance is open and ongoing.

Hazel looks around her dirty office, thinking about how she once had so much promise but that the world has since “beat [her] down” (30). She goes outside for a walk, armed with a Taser in case Gene Strauss comes after her. She goes to the hotdog stand, where she is a regular, which is run by a friendly man named Yanush. She walks west and thinks about the case. She calls Saint Agnes Children’s Home and talks to a friendly woman named Sonia Barreto, who seems happy that Hazel is on the case. Sonia tells Hazel she can visit the property and interview Dr. Thomas Mackenzie the next day.

Hazel stops in Hudson River Park and takes in the beautiful fall day. She hums “Time after Time” to herself and feels resolved to find Mia.

Hazel walks along the Hudson River and makes an investigation plan. Since Mia has no family or connections to the outside world, the case revolves around Saint Agnes and its people. She wonders about the connection between Madeline and Mia and thinks about how “evasive” Madeline was when she asked. She reflects that she will have to investigate Madeline further.

It begins to get dark, so Hazel starts to make her way home. She feels paranoid that she is being watched. She wonders if Gene Strauss is following her. She notices a gray Tesla SUV following her along Canal Street. She tries to evade it and is almost to her office when the SUV pulls up alongside her and a man gets out. She tries to run away from the driver, a young blond man, when he calls her name. He grabs her arm and introduces himself as Patrick, Madeline’s personal assistant. He has been sent to give Hazel money for the investigation and a car. Patrick gives Hazel $5,000 and a key to the Tesla, then leaves. Hazel gets in the car. As a New Yorker, she doesn’t drive very often, but she is excited about the car.

The next day, Hazel drives up to Lake George. She has nine days to find Mia to get the $100,000 reward. While she drives, her mother calls her. She tells her mother about the new case, but her mother is not enthusiastic because she doesn’t approve of Hazel’s career choice. Her mom asks if Hazel is going to dinner the following week because Dr. Phil Lee, a Korean American doctor who is single, will be there. Before Hazel can answer, Hazel notices she is being trailed by a police car because she is speeding. She hangs up and the officer pulls her over.

The officer asks her why she is in Lake George and so far from home. Hazel tells him she is a private investigator looking into a girl missing from Saint Agnes. He remarks that “that place has quite the reputation for missing girls” (46). Hazel gets a bad feeling about the officer. He lets her off with a warning to “be careful out there” (47). Hazel continues driving for another five minutes and reaches Saint Agnes.

Hazel pulls up to the large wrought iron gates of Saint Agnes. She sees the main building up on the hill and thinks it looks like an English boarding school but more “monastic.” She reflects that it seems like a lonely, desolate place. The guard, Neil Paver, checks her in at the security booth at the gate and gives her a visitor’s badge. Hazel takes pictures of the grounds before going into the main building.

The receptionist shows Hazel into Sonia Baretto’s office. Sonia, the director of child services, greets her warmly. Hazel interviews Sonia. Sonia tells Hazel that she has worked at Saint Agnes for 25 years. She started as a cleaner and worked her way up to her current position.

Sonia says Mia was one of her favorite students. Mia was a happy girl and a talented singer, who was friendly with the other girls but was not particularly close with any of them. The day Mia went missing, Sonia had just arrived back in Lake George after spending the weekend in Manhattan. That morning at breakfast, Mia’s roommate Penny told Sonia that Mia had not been in their room when Penny woke up that morning.

Sonia immediately informed Dr. Mackenzie, who organized a search. No trace of Mia or anyone else was found on the external surveillance cameras, but they do not cover the grounds along the lake. There are no surveillance cameras inside the buildings. Gregory Goolsbee, the choir teacher, reported having checked Mia was in her room at lights out the night before Mia went missing.

Sonia takes Hazel to meet Mr. Goolsbee in the choir room. Hazel asks Sonia to leave and then she interviews Mr. Goolsbee. Mr. Goolsbee reports that he had been Mia’s choir teacher since she was eight years old. He says Mia was a smart, sweet girl and a practical joker. He describes Mia as the “best singer” he had ever taught and that she dreamed of performing on Broadway.

The night before Mia disappeared, they had had private choir lessons together until 8 PM. He hadn’t noticed anything unusual about her behavior. He tells Hazel that Mia confided in him, but that she largely kept to herself. He did not think she had any “romantic relationships.” Hazel presses him on whether he had “romantic feelings for Mia” (63), and he vigorously denies the charge. Mr. Goolsbee says that the night Mia disappeared, he was in charge of bed check because Sonia was away, and he verified Mia was in bed at 10 PM.

Hazel asks him what he thinks happened to Mia, but before he can respond, Sonia returns to take Hazel to meet Dr. Mackenzie. In Sonia’s presence, Mr. Goolsbee says all he knows is that Mia disappeared. Hazel notices Mr. Goolsbee is working on a piano composition called “Mia’s Song.” Hazel gives him her business card and leaves. She feels he knows more than he has told her.

Hazel goes with Sonia to Dr. Mackenzie’s office to interview him. On the wall in his office are two paintings of the Greek gods Apollo and Dionysus. Dr. Mackenzie is a dour old man. Hazel notices Sonia seems afraid of him. Dr. Mackenzie dismisses Sonia.

Hazels asks Dr. Mackenzie about the paintings. He explains they represent the values of Saint Agnes. The girls are supposed to emulate Apollo, a representation of “strength, rationality, order, selflessness” and avoid Dionysus, a representation of the “hedonism” of the “outside world” (68).

Dr. Mackenzie tells her he has been working at Saint Agnes for 25 years. She asks him questions while they walk to Mia’s room. Dr. Mackenzie says Mia was a talented student. He refuses to let Hazel interview the other girls at the school, including Penny Besser, Mia’s roommate. He expresses skepticism that Hazel will find out more than the police or the other private investigators. He tells her that Madeline was the only visitor Mia ever had. The only people with access to the dorm room are school staff.

Hazel searches Mia’s room. She notes that it is very bare, with few personal effects. Hazel notices that Mia’s closet has little clothing in it, her personal essentials like a toothbrush are missing, and her bed is made. Hazel concludes that Mia went “willingly” wherever she went. Dr. Mackenzie tells Hazel that Mia could swim, but he did not know if she was a strong swimmer. Hazel finds nothing of note in Mia’s room.

As they leave the dormitory, Hazel asks Dr. Mackenzie about the security cameras. He tells her they were installed after something happened, but he does not tell her what. At the time Mia disappeared, there were no cameras at the lake, but they have since been added. He tells her they do not have internal security cameras because Saint Agnes is a “shelter” and the residents should not feel they are being surveilled.

Neil Paver, the security guard, arrives in a golf cart to take Hazel around the grounds. Before she leaves, Hazel asks Dr. Mackenzie what he thinks happened to Mia. He tells Hazel he thinks she just ran away, but Hazel thinks he is “hiding something.”