Yes, he really had done it...

I stared at him, he was so still.

 Then the rope - I hadn’t noticed the rope. 

The rope from the clothes rack was around his neck. 

I ran through to the sitting room and picked up the telephone. 

No, supposing I was wrong - another false alarm. 

I ran back to the kitchen and looked at his face - 

a long string of saliva hung from his mouth. 

Yes, he really had done it. 

What to do next? 

I looked around the room expecting to see 

Ian standing in a corner watching my reaction. 

My instinct that he was playing a cruel trick