“They will,” she said. “Daddy will make sure of it. Just like he bought those photographs from the man who tried to blackmail him with them so many years ago.”

“You mean your father knows about the pictures?” I asked.

“Of course,” she said. “I found them in his office safe. My mother didn’t know that he had them, obviously, or we never would have been able to blackmail her.”

“Don’t you think your father is going to figure out that you’re the one who took the photos and gave them to Dooney to torture your mother with?” I asked.

“No,” she said. But there was a glimmer of doubt in her voice.

She blinked at me and I remembered something I’d read about criminals not being very smart, which was why they usually got caught. Piper was going to get caught. I had no doubt about that. I just wanted to live long enough to see her go to jail. There was only one way out of this room, and I really hoped she didn’t know about it.

I rose to my feet. She crouched low, gripping the knife in her right hand with the blade tilted up. She looked like she knew what she was doing. I wondered if she’d ever stabbed anyone before, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear the answer was yes.

Judging the distance between us, she could charge me and stab me and I’d be bleeding out before I could stop her. I didn’t like the balance of power in the room. I moved closer to a stack of books.

“Stop moving!” she demanded.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Did you expect me to stand still while you stab me?” As I asked the question, I grabbed a book and threw it at her. She raised her hands to defend herself and managed to stab the book. It got stuck on the knife, rendering it useless. I threw three more books at her, knocking her to her knees while she struggled to pull the knife free.

I took advantage of the opportunity and ran to the door that led to the tunnel. Thankfully, it wasn’t locked. I yanked it open and ran down the steps, not bothering to turn the light on. It was cold and dank and dark, but I felt safer in the shadows than I would have if the light were on.

The door opened behind me, and I could hear Piper swearing as she navigated the steps. It remained dark, so she obviously didn’t know about the light switches. I decided to use the cover of darkness. She couldn’t see me. She didn’t know where I was. I moved swiftly but quietly on the stone path, hoping to reach the end before she could pinpoint my location and stab me.