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Thus in all his transactions the superior man
Carefully considers the beginning.
The I Ching or Book of Changes
Strike arrived back in Denmark Street a little after ten, having done some food shopping on the way. After a joyless dinner of grilled chicken and steamed vegetables, he decided to move down into the deserted office to pursue the train of thought engendered by his interview with Abigail Glover. He told himself this was because it was easier to work at the PC than at his laptop, but was dimly aware of a desire to sit at the partners’ desk, where he and Robin often faced each other.
The familiar sounds of traffic grumbling past on Charing Cross Road mingled with occasional shouts and laughter from passers-by as Strike opened the folder on his computer in which he’d already saved the account of Daiyu Wace’s drowning he’d found in the British Library archives, which gave him access to decades’ worth of press reports, including those in local papers.
The child’s death had merited only brief mentions in the nationals, though not all of them had carried the story. However, north Norfolk papers the Lynn Advertiser and the Diss Express had printed fuller reports. Strike now re-read them.
Daiyu Wace had drowned early in the morning of 29 July 1995, during what was described as an impromptu swim with a seventeen-year-old girl described as her babysitter.
The Lynne Advertiser’s article carried pictures of the two girls. Even allowing for the blurry effect of newsprint, Daiyu was distinctly rabbity in appearance, with an overbite emphasised by a missing tooth, dark, narrow eyes and long, shining hair. Cherie Gittins’ picture showed a teenaged girl with crimped blonde curls and what looked like an affected smile.
The facts given in both papers were identical. Cherie and Daiyu had decided to take a swim, Daiyu had got into difficulties, Cherie had tried to reach her, but the child had been pulled out of reach by a powerful current. Cherie had then exited the water and tried to raise the alarm. She’d hailed passers-by Mr and Mrs Heaton of Garden Street, Cromer, and Mr Heaton had hurried off to alert the coastguard while Mrs Heaton remained with Cherie. Mr Heaton was quoted as saying that he and his wife had seen ‘a hysterical young woman running towards us in her underwear’ and that they’d realised something was very amiss upon spotting the pile of discarded child’s clothing lying on the pebbles a short distance away.
Strike, who was Cornish-born, with an uncle in the coastguard, knew more about tides and drowning than the average person. A rip current such as Daiyu appeared to have swum into could have carried away a seven-year-old child with ease, especially as she’d have had neither the strength nor, presumably, the knowledge that she should swim parallel to the shore to escape the danger, rather than trying to fight a force that would challenge even a powerful and experienced sea bather. The article in the Diss Express concluded by quoting a lifeguard who gave precisely that advice to those unlucky enough to find themselves in a similar situation. Strike also knew that the gases that cause bodies to rise to the surface form far more slowly in cold water. Even in late July, the early morning North Sea would have been very chilly, and if the small body had been dragged out into deep water and sank to the sea bed, it might soon have been stripped by crustaceans, fish and sea lice. Strike had heard such stories as a child from his uncle.
Nevertheless, Strike found certain incongruities in the story. While neither local journalist made an issue of this, it seemed odd, to say the least, that the two girls had visited the beach before sunrise. Of course, there might have been an innocent, undisclosed reason, such as a dare or a bet. Sheila Kennett had suggested that Daiyu had the whip hand in the relationship with the older girl. Perhaps Cherie Gittins had been too weak-willed to resist the pressure of the cult leaders’ child, who’d been determined to paddle no matter the hour and the temperature. Cherie’s simpering smile didn’t suggest a strong personality.
While the sky darkened outside the office window, Strike made a fresh search of the newspaper archives, this time looking for reports into Daiyu’s inquest. He found one dated September 1995 in the Daily Mirror. Certain features of the case had clearly piqued the national newspaper’s interest.
CHILD RULED ‘LOST AT SEA’
A verdict of ‘lost at sea’ was delivered today at the Norwich Coroner’s Office, where an inquest was held into the drowning of 7-year-old Daiyu Wace of Chapman Farm, Felbrigg.
Unusually, the inquest was held in the absence of a body.
Head of the local coastguard, Graham Burgess, told the court that in spite of an extensive search, it had proved impossible to find the little girl’s remains.
‘There was a powerful current near the beach that morning, which could have carried a small child a long distance,’ Burgess told the court. ‘Most drowning victims rise to the surface or wash ashore eventually, but sadly a minority remain unrecoverable. I’d like to offer the service’s sincere condolences to the family.’
17-year-old Cherie Gittins (pictured), a friend of Daiyu’s family, took the primary schooler for an early morning swim on 29th July, after the pair had delivered farm vegetables to a local shop.
‘Daiyu was always nagging me to take her to the beach,’ a visibly distressed Gittins told the coroner, Jacqueline Porteous. ‘I thought she just wanted a paddle. The water was really cold, but she just dived right in. She was always really brave and adventurous. I was worried, so I went after her. One minute she was laughing, then she disappeared – went under and didn’t come up.
‘I couldn’t reach her, I couldn’t even see where she was. The light was bad because it was so early. I went back to the beach and I was screaming and shouting for help. I saw Mr and Mrs Heaton walking their dog. Mr Heaton went to phone the police and the coastguard.
‘I never wanted any harm to come to Daiyu. This has been the worst thing that’s ever happened to me and I’ll never get over it. I just want to apologise to Daiyu’s parents. I’m so, so sorry. I’d give absolutely anything if I could bring Daiyu back.’
Giving evidence, Muriel Carter, owner of a beachside café, said she saw Gittins taking the child down to the beach, shortly before sunrise.
‘They had towels with them and I thought it was a silly time to be going swimming, that’s why it stuck in my mind.’
Interviewed after the inquest, bereaved mother Mrs Mazu Wace (24) said:
‘I never dreamed anyone would take my child without permission, let alone take her swimming in the sea, in the dark. I’m still praying we’ll find her and be able to give her a decent burial.’
Mr Jonathan Wace (44), father of the dead girl, said:
‘This has been an appalling time and of course, it’s been made far worse by the uncertainty, but the inquest has given us some sense of closure. My wife and I are sustained by our religious faith and I’d like to thank the local community for their kindness.’
Strike reached for the notebook that was still in his pocket from his interview with Abigail Glover, re-read the Mirror article and made a note of a couple of points that struck him as interesting, along with the names of the witnesses mentioned. He also scrutinised the new picture of Cherie Gittins, which seemed to have been taken outside the coroner’s court. She looked much older here, her eyelids heavier, the previously babyish contours of her face more defined.
Strike sat in thought for a few more minutes, vaping, then made another search of the newspaper archives, now looking for information relating to Alex Graves, the man who, if Abigail was to be believed, was Daiyu’s biological father.
It took twenty minutes, but Strike finally found Graves’ obituary notice in a copy of The Times.
