She knelt down beside the man, felt for a pulse and shook her head. Then she inspected the body. Everyone watched. No one seemed able to move. They were all frozen where they stood, in varying states of shock and disbelief. The anticipation was palpable. Eventually Merida rose to her feet and said, ‘Alvaro’s dead.’
‘How?’ said Clarissa.
‘Blunt force trauma.’
‘Meaning?’ said Carol who had edged closer, terror having given way to fascination.
‘Someone clobbered the poor fellow on the back of his skull.’
A number of the party gasped.
‘Poor Alvaro,’ Salvador said. Clarissa, whose gaze had barely shifted from his face since Merida arrived on the scene, studied him closely. Did she detect sincerity?
‘Murder?’ Vera said, joining Carol as she edged even closer to view the body.
‘I thought
