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Mark murmured.
    “…which would explain why she was stabbed with a model of the Eiffel Tower. And Rory McDougal came first in maths.”
    “He was stabbed too,” Eric said.
    “He was more than stabbed. He was divided!”
    There was a long silence.
    “That’s the reason why Johnny Nadler wasn’t invited to the island,” Brenda said. “He never came first in anything. He was second…”
    “But that means…” Eric had gone pale. “I came first in history.”
    “I came first in sport,” Mark said.
    Brenda nodded. “And I came first in music.”
    We all turned to look at Tim. But he couldn’t have come first in anything … could he? I noticed he was blushing. He licked his lips and looked the other way.
    “What did you come first in, Tim?” I asked.
    “I didn’t…” he began, but I could tell he was lying.
    “We have to know,” I said. “It could be important.”
    “I remember…” Brenda began.
    “All right,” Tim sighed. “I got first prize in needlework.”
    “Needlework!” I exclaimed.
    “Well … yes. It was a hobby of mine. Just for a bit. I mean…” He was going redder and redder. “I didn’t even want the prize. I just got it. It was for a handkerchief…”
    The idea of my sixteen-year-old brother winning a prize for an embroidered hanky made my head spin. But this wasn’t the time to laugh. Hopefully I’d be able to do that later.
    “Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” Eric said. He looked annoyed. Maybe it was because I was ten years younger than him and I was the one who’d worked it out. “I came first in history – and you’re saying I’m going to be killed …
historically
?”
    “That’s what it looks like,” I said.
    “But how…?”
    I pointed at the wall, at the flintlock pistols on the wooden plaques. “Maybe someone will use one of those,” I said. “Or there are swords, arrows, spears … that bear upstairs is even holding a blunderbuss. This place is full of old weapons.”
    “What about me?” Brenda whispered.
    “You’re not an old weapon!” Tim said.
    “I came first in music.” Brenda glared at the organ as if it was about to jump off the wall and eat her.
    “But who’s
doing
this?” Mark cut in. “I mean … it’s got to be someone in this room. Right? We know there’s nobody else on the island. There can’t be anybody hiding. We’ve searched everywhere.”
    “It’s him!” Brenda pointed at Eric. “He never forgave us for throwing him in the canal. This is his revenge!”
    “What about
you
?” Eric returned. “You once said you were going to kill us all. It was in the school yard. I remember it clearly!”
    “That’s true!” Mark said.
    “You used to bully me all the time,” Brenda wailed. “Just because I had pigtails. And crooked teeth.”
    “And you were fat,” Tim reminded her.
    “But I didn’t mean it, when I said that.” She turned to Mark. “You said you were going to kill Tim when he broke all your fingers with that conker!”
    “I only broke three of them!” Tim interrupted.
    “I didn’t much like Tim,” Mark agreed. “And you’re right. I would have quite happily strangled him. Not that it would have been easy with three broken fingers. But I never had any argument with you or with Eric or any of the others. Why would I want to kill you?”
    “It’s still got to be one of us,” Eric insisted. He paused. “It can’t be Tim,” he went on.
    “Why not?” Tim asked.
    “Because this whole business is the work of a fiendish madman and you’re not fiendish. You’re just silly!”
    “Oh thanks!” Tim looked away.
    “I know it’s not me…” Eric went on.
    “That’s what you say,” Brenda sniffed.
    “I know it’s not me, so it’s got to be Brenda or Mark.”
    “What about Sylvie?” Tim suggested.
    “She’s already dead, Tim,” I reminded him, quietly.
    “Oh yes.”
    “This is all irrelevant,” Mark said. “The question is – what are we going to do? We could be stuck on this island