Super Mystery #4: Baby-sitters' Christmas Chiller
“Chiller”? Pshhh. Let me break this down for you in three bullet points:
Mallory stumbles upon a pregnant woman with amnesia who has no identification or money on her. The Pikes kind of “adopt” the woman (known as Mary Doe) until Mary gives birth during a blizzard and Mallory figures out her identity with the help of a fax machine (!!!). Of course, Mary (real name: Lisa) is from California, because California and Connecticut are the only two states that exist in the BSC-verse.
Houses are getting broken into in Kristy and Abby’s ritzy neighborhood. First the Hsu and then the Papadakis homes are burglarized (also, pet peeve — stopped saying someone something was ROBBED if there was no taking by force; if no one was home it’s just a burglary!). “NAUGHTY” is scrawled in red spray paint on the wall in both homes. Meanwhile, Kristy’s family gets a note in their mailbox that says “NICE,” and Abby’s house gets a broken window but also a note that says “NICE” (???). With the BSC springing into action to start a neighborhood watch and do most of the police department’s work for them, the case is eventually solved: a disgruntled gardener (who’d been fired by the Hsus and Papadakises but not the Stevensons or Thomas-Brewers) was the culprit.
Finally, Stacey and Claudia are getting legit stalked in New York City, and someone is leaving creepy surprises: “blood” in the elevator, a jack-in-the-box with a photo of Stacey for the face, etc. The gals are initially suspicious of Stacey’s boyfriend Ethan (remember him?) because he won’t stop staring at Stacey or show them what’s in his bedroom or closet. But 1) Stacey is stunning, so of course he’s staring at her and 2) he’s an artist and it’s almost Christmas, so he’s obviously doing some sort of painting or sculpture of her and that’s why he’s studying her face. Turns out the stalker is Ethan’s ex-girlfriend Cybil (really? Cybil?) who’s lost it a bit. Her torture culminates in luring Stacey, Claud, and Ethan to a dark basement where she laughs creepily and eventually Claud basically tackles her. Reminder: these are thirteen-year-olds basically acting out the plots of later-years episodes of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Anyway, thank god Stacey didn’t get murdered. Good work, Claudia!
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