What is Lake Whe-atchee?

Lake Whe-atchee is a lake that Tom tells Chin about the night before his execution. The word “whe-atchee” translates to underhanded or deceitful. It is named as such because of the ever-changing shoreline. It symbolizes not only the complications surrounding Tom’s execution, but also foreshadows the way deceit is used through the novel: Burke lying about the creation of the mermaid, Adelaide disguising Sarah, and Harold kidnapping Adelaide in order to get to Sarah.