Mystery #10: Stacey and the Mystery Money
This book is narrated by Stacey, my fave, and starts out very dramatically, with her talking about how she has a secret that she has to take to the grave and she can never tell her friends. Diabetes who? Sign me up for this deep dark secret! What could it be?
“Claudia’s room feels like home.” - Stacey, page 6
This book starts with maybe one of my favorite BSC chapters ever, which is just Claudia and Stacey hanging out, looking through fashion magazines and talking about Stacey’s maybe-crush on a new boy in her language arts and social studies classes. His name is Terry Hoyt and he’s really cute but shy; Stacey and Claudia are devising ways Stacey can get to know him better.
“For the millionth time, I thanked my lucky stars that Claudia is my best friend. There’s just nobody in the world who’s more fun to be with.” - Stacey, page 12
Turns out, Terry has a twin sister Tasha who befriended Mary Anne in gym class, and they have a little brother, Georgie, who may need a baby-sitter from time to time. Sign. Stacey. Up! Turns out there’s also some kind of counterfeit money racket going on in Stoneybrook, which was targeted because it’s a small town with a low crime rate whose clerks and police may not pick up on fake bills very easily.
Stacey has an all-day baby-sitting job with Charlotte Johanssen on Saturday, and it’s really cute - they pretend they’re sisters and they spend the whole day in downtown Stoneybrook, shopping and getting lunch at Renwick’s, and riding the escalator at Bellair’s. (Honestly, riding escalators is one of my hobbies, too - ask any of my friends.) Their wonderful day takes an ugly turn, though, when Stacey uses a $10 bill that she got as change from Bellair’s to buy earrings at the Merry-Go-Round - and the bill turns out to be counterfeit. GASP!
Charlotte immediately has a breakdown and freaks out, especially when the police show up to question everybody and Charlotte thinks Stacey is going to prison. Stacey’s mom agrees to let the police take Stacey to the station for questioning. I would shake her and yell something about “have you not seen Making a Murderer?!” but we all know that Stacey is no Brendan Dassey. Charlotte is reluctant to leave Stacey but finally goes with Mrs. McGill.
“I had the feeling she was already trying to figure out how to bake a file into a cake, so that I’d be able to break out of jail.” - Stacey, page 38
Meanwhile, Kristy is baby-sitting at the Hoyts’ house and it’s Suspicious City over there. Mr. Hoyt is really strict, the kids are all super shy, the family moves a lot and has been in Stoneybrook three weeks but hasn’t unpacked, there’s a closet Kristy isn’t allowed to look in, and she finds an ID with Tasha’s picture on it but with the name Tina listed. What the BSC is going on? Are they in witness protection? Or are they crimey counterfeiters? *”Law & Order” music cue*
Stacey, being the queen that she is, gets asked out to the movies by Terry Hoyt. She’s psyched but she and the BSC are also on a mission to solve the mystery of the counterfeit money. They (Kristy) don’t want word getting around Stoneybrook that one of their sitters tried to pass a fake bill. On their movie date, Terry and Stacey see a sci-fi comedy; Terry buys the tickets and Stacey buys the snacks.
“I like to split the cost when I’m dating, especially if it’s a first date. I want the guy to know I’m independent.” - Stacey, page 95
Stacey’s having a good time on the date, and they run into Mary Anne and Logan after the movie, so they all go to the Rosebud Cafe afterward. Stacey notices a few red flags - she thinks Terry gave two different middle names, and he’s mentioned at least four or five places that his family has lived. But she also thinks he’s funny and nice and generous. He even handles it well when they run into Sam Thomas and his date and Stacey feels awkward. He kisses her goodnight, too. She considers Terry to be ~boyfriend material~.
Kristy and the other members of the BSC, though, are starting to consider the Hoyts ~criminal material~ based on all the red flags and weird things. Stacey is like, “UM, NO” but everyone else is like, “yeahhhh, maybe…” so Stacey is outnumbered. The BSC (and Charlotte Johanssen) are still on the case, spying on color copiers (and their customers) all over town. So far they’ve seen Stoneybrook Middle School English teacher Mr. Fiske at a few places, and Claudia notices a dude with a cool earlobe tattoo. Stacey spills to Terry that she and her friends are interested in the counterfeiting case and Terry seems to know a lot about counterfeit money.
But then when Stacey and Charlotte are sleuthing downtown near the copy shop, a man runs by them and as if he’s being chased, and drops a laundry bag full of counterfeit money in the parking lot. (Only in Stoneybrook.) Instead of calling the police (????!!!!!!), Stacey calls Claudia and tells her to hurry down there with a camera in case the guy comes back. She also calls Terry, who says he’s on his way. They manage to get a few photos of the guy when he comes back for the laundry bag, and Stacey and Terry go to get the photos developed. Terry says they don’t have to go to the police, they can just show his dad and he’ll take care of it… and Stacey thinks she’s about to be whacked. (BUT THEY WILL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST!)
Terry comes clean to Stacey, though - his dad is actually in the Secret Service and he infiltrates counterfeiting operations. That’s why the Hoyts move around so much and change their names. And when Stacey meets Terry’s dad, it turns out he’s one of the officers who questioned her at the station after she accidentally passed the fake $10 bill. Stacey shows Mr. Hoyt the photos, which depict a man with - gasp - an earlobe tattoo, who Mr. Hoyt confirms was one of his suspects. All seems well, and the deep dark secret Stacey has to take to the grave is the truth about what Mr. Hoyt really does. Of course, this means that Stacey’s new beau will have to leave town for good, but at least the case is solved. And at least Stacey still has Claudia! BFF powers activate!
