Mystery #14: Stacey and the Mystery at the Mall
I would honestly love nothing more than to ride mall escalators with Stacey and Claudia. Just saying.
All the kids at SMS are doing this Short Takes class, where they do an intensive study of various “real world” topics, three weeks at a time. (I’m a high school teacher and this truly sounds like a great idea.) The BSC is about to start Project Work - they’ll get sort of get part-time jobs at the mall to see what it’s like to work at a real business. (Although, if I do say so myself… the BSC is a real business.) Stacey gets a job at Toy Town and Claudia gets one at The Artist’s Exchange. Logan will be at Casa Grande, a takeout counter; Mary Anne will be at Critters, a pet supply store; Jessi will be at the movie theater and Mallory at the bookstore; and Kristy will be working with mall security. (LOL I hope she gets to carry a taser.)
The baby-sitters all like their jobs, and they all learn from their bosses that there’s a major shoplifting problem at the mall. (Duh.) The baby-sitters are also shocked to learn that parents often leave their kids alone in the toy store, bookstore, or in the food court while they shop. Stacey even has merch shoplifted from under her nose. (RUDE HOW DARE U.) She’s Stacey, so she’s perfect and she’s being vigilant, but she also has to keep an eye on the shop owner’s son, Sandy, while she works. It’s a little bit distracting. Then the police and mall security catch and arrest who they think is the gang of shoplifters - a few teenage boys and girls. One of them had stolen a Gamester from Toy Town.
The baby-sitters agree that the mall should have a day-care center - it would be the perfect place for parents and employees to leave their kids while they shop or work. Stacey’s boss said the new mall manager has only been there for about six months, and he might go for it. The gang presents their idea to the mall manager, who likes it and says he’ll let their group of bosses rent an empty storefront for half the regular rent. It’s great news but something tells me there’s something ~suspicious~ about this dude. (Kristy had seen him on security footage talking to some kids, so she assumed they were his kids, but he isn’t married and doesn’t have any kids.) It’s especially suspicious when Kristy mentions to the BSC that, even after the shoplifters were arrested, big-ticket items were going missing; but now, things are disappearing while the mall is closed and the thieves are somehow circumventing the security cameras.
There are other strange things going on, too, like towels, food, hairbrushes, and some clothing going missing; Jessi’s boss thinks someone has been sleeping overnight in the movie theater. SOMEONE IS LIVING AT THE MALL, Y’ALL. And they’re probably not the one stealing VCRs and shit so this is probably a multi-layer mystery. At Toy Town, Stacey has an encounter with a masked man in the stock room and nearly faints, but she’s unharmed. (THANK GOD.)
The enterprising BSC heads to the library to look up info on the Washington Mall. (I love that these baddies are always going to the library. It warms my English teacher heart.) They find out that, since Mr. Morton the new manager took over, the mall has been in financial trouble and that he has even been investigated for misappropriation of mall funds. Stacey theorizes that, because Mr. Morton is trying to be a nice guy, he keeps saying yes to things like benefits and the day-care center, and that the mall started to take a hit financially; then, he misappropriated the funds to cover his tracks. Once people started investigating, he couldn’t do that anymore so he started stealing things and selling them to make up for the lost money. They are afraid that the three kids they see around who they think are the ones living in the mall might have caught Mr. Morton and might be in danger. They rush to the mall on their day off to try to find the kids and make sure they’re okay. (THE BSC ARE SUPERHEROES.)
Kristy, Stacey, and Claudia find the three kids sleeping on exercise mats in the store room of the day-care. Turns out their mom was hospitalized and there was no one else to take care of them, so once the electricity was shut off and they couldn’t pay the rent, they started living at the mall. They admit to stealing little things (food, towels, hairbrush) and also confirm they saw Mr. Morton stealing the big things (TVs, VCRs, treadmills). The BSC knows they have to call the police, so they do. The three kids are taken away by Child Protective Services and the police turn their attention to Mr. Morton, who is removed from his position as mall manager (and probably arrested). THIS BOOK IS… WILD.
Luckily, the BSC hears that the kids were reunited with their mother and would be able to stay together once she’s released from the hospital. Plus, the day-care center they helped get off the ground is going to open as planned. All’s well that ends well?
REMEMBER WHEN MALLS WERE A THING?!
