Read The Madams of Mischief: Doom Divas Book # 1 Page 37

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  About two weeks after the never-to-be-forgotten anniversary party, Charli and I went to the psychiatric hospital to visit Vanessa. She'd been intent on having it out with Nancy after she stole John's truck from me that Sunday morning, but after talking to Charli and her kids had decided that there had to be a better way to resolve everything.

  She spent the rest of that day, while Tim and I were looking for her, talking to a therapist. He helped her arrange for a medical leave of absence and for the care of her children while she went into the psychiatric care unit for intensive therapy.

  She looked good. Still too thin and too tired, but she was obviously making progress. While we were there, Beth Turner and Steve LeFever came in to see her.

  "We'll leave now," Charli said.

  "No, y'all stay," said Beth. "Steve's got something to say to Vanessa and I want you all to hear it too."

  "Okay," I said. Charli and I sat back down. Steve looked around nervously.

  "Go on, Steve. Say it," Beth said.

  He looked everywhere but at Vanessa. "Listen, Vanessa. I've been involved with some stuff I'm not proud of. I helped Nancy out with a little gambling scam, and well, anyway, Beth thought, I mean, I thought that the only fair thing to do would be for me to give you the money that I helped her steal from you and O'Del."

  Vanessa looked at him with surprise. "I can't take the money, Steve."

  "Please. I really want you to take it. It belongs to you, anyway."

  They talked it around in circles for awhile, but Vanessa finally agreed to take the money.

  "The rest, Steve. Tell them the rest," Beth said.

  Steve paced around the tiny room. "I'm fixing to make it right, even if it sends me to jail. I'm testifying against Nancy. You won't ever have to worry about her again."

  On their way out the door Beth stopped right in front of me. "Marty, I owe you an apology."

  "No. Don't worry about it."

  "Yes. I do. I'm sorry for the hateful things I said about you the other night. Oh. And one more thing. I insisted to Mr. and Mrs. Turner that you and Charli get the reward money. They'll be sending the checks to y'all in about a week."

  Charli said, "No. Have them send it to Vanessa. It's more rightfully hers than ours. Right, Marty."

  "Right," I said. "And Vanessa, don't even think about arguing."

  When we left Vanessa's hospital room, we weren't exactly friends with Beth, but we had an uneasy truce and had moved closer to something akin to respect. It was a start.