The Babysitters Club Mysteries #10: Stacey and the Mystery Money

Stacey can't stop thinking about Terry Hoyt, the new guy in school. He has gorgeous eyes, seems really nice, and is cute, so of course she thinks he's perfect for her. Claudia asks about how things are going with Sam – remember him? - and Stacey says that they recently decided to date other people while still seeing each other. Mrs. Hoyt calls in at their next meeting to hire a sitter, but Kristy has to take the job since Stacey already has one. She does learn that he has a twin sister though.

The girls also talk about a counterfeiting ring making its way around Stoneybrook. That becomes important when Stacey takes Charlotte on a trip downtown while sitting for her that weekend. After getting lunch, stopping by to see her mom at the department store, and picking out some random stuff, Stacey buys a headband, hands over a 20, and gets a 10 back in change. When she goes to buy earrings later though, it turns out that the 10 is counterfeit.

When the cops come to investigate, Charlotte freaks out and starts crying about how she doesn't want Stacey to go to prison. The cops let Stacey call her mom, who comes over to watch Charlotte. They bring Stacey, the lady from the earring store, and the women from the department store into the station. Each one tells their story, but nothing happens except that Stacey learns she won't get her money back.

Kristy then goes to sit for Georgie Hoyt. Georgie doesn't seem too keen on the idea of living in Stoneybrook and keeps talking about his dad in a way that makes him seem super strict. He won't let his kids play sports or join teams because they should focus more on their studies, and he won't even let the family rent movies. Georgie makes a comment about how they move around a lot, realizes what he said, and backpedals to say they don't really move much at all. When he accidentally spills milk, she tries to open a closet to get a mop, and he freaks out because she isn't allowed in there. She also thinks it's weird that they haven't unpacked many of their boxes and then finds a student idea for Tasha in a completely different name from a school in Oregon.

Since the BSC assumes that cops in Stoneybrook can never do work without their help, they plan a meeting to talk about the investigation. It's really just an excuse for them to go to the library, read some articles on counterfeiting, and find out that there aren't any books on the subject. Terry, despite never having once had a real conversation with Stacey and only saying hi to her a few times, calls and asks her on a date.

Before the date happens though, Jessi sits for Becca and Charlotte. They want to get in on the investigation too and decide to stake out some of the copy machines around town. Nothing really happens. Becca manages to piss off some guy who's making copies for work. Charlotte keeps records of everyone they see and acts suspicious of a bunch of people too.

Date night arrives, which means Stacey spends way too much time trying to pick out an outfit. Terry introduces himself to her mom as Terry James Hoyt, which is odd in and of itself. They go to the movies and then run into Mary Anne and Logan. They all head to the Rosebud to eat and chat, and Stacey thinks it's weird when he tells them that his middle name is John and not James. She also can't help noticing all the places he says he lived in the past, including Oregon, Iowa, and some random small town. When she finds out he lived in NYC though, they instantly bond. The date ends when they run into Sam on a date with another girl.

During their next meeting, Stacey reveals that he kissed her at the end of their date, and Kristy confesses that Sam is totally jealous of the new kid. As they start going all of their “evidence,” most of the girls think that the Hoyts might be the counterfeiters. They move around a lot, never unpacked, act suspicious, and there's the matter of the fake ID. Since Stacey has known Terry for two whole minutes though, she refuses to believe them. Not only does she act cool to all of them, but she seems relieved when someone suggests it might be Mr. Fiske, her English teacher.

Since he was at the scene of the first crime, they decide to follow him around. Claudia and Charlotte spots him at an office supply store where he orders a bunch of toner and says cost doesn't matter. Claudia does see a guy with a blue moon tattoo on his ear, which she thinks is a little suspicious. They then follow him around school too. All they see is him grading papers and then driving off in an old car. Jessi is the first one to point out that it's not the fancy kind of car you would expect a counterfeiter to drive.

Charlotte and Stacey then go out investigating again. They almost get run over by a younger guy running down the street who drops a bag and keeps running. Stacey checks it out and finds it full of fake money. Because apparently you would just leave that behind with all your fingerprints on it? She then calls Terry and Claudia for help, Claudia calls the rest of the club, they all wait around to see what will happen next, and Jessi takes Charlotte back to her house. They manage to take a picture of some guys picking up the bag, and Stacey realizes that the notebook is full of comments about a guy with a blue moon tattoo on his ear.

Terry agrees to wait with her to get the film developed. He then takes her aside to confess that his dad is Secret Service and that his family moves constantly because of his work. He even tells her that his real name is David Hawthorne. After picking up the pictures, he calls his dad. They all meet, his dad gets excited because those pictures were just the break that they needed. They can now take down the whole ring.

The next day, the paper tells the story of some brave civilians who helped stop the counterfeiting ring. Terry comes to see her to tell her that his family is getting ready to move yet again and gives her a goodbye kiss. Stacey pretends like she knows nothing about his move and that his dad was just a cop. Sam calls at the very end to tell her that he misses her and wants to date her again. They once again decide to date each other and date other people, even though Stacey is so heartbroken that she wonders if she'll ever find someone she cares about as much as Terry. Ugh.

*Claudia has a bunch of old magazines and tells Stacey that her mom gave them to her when the library weeded out their collection because they only have space for two to three years of back issues. How freaking big is this library? That's 24 to 36 copies of each magazine!

*Charlie takes Kristy to the Hoyt's house just to make sure that they aren't serial killers and gets so distracted by Terry's sister Tasha that he can hardly speak. Given that he's 17 and she's in eighth grade, that's gross.

*Stacey can't wear jeans on a date with Terry because jeans are “too casual.” You're 13, you shouldn't have fancy date clothes in your closet. The final outfit is a white sweater and white leggings with blue polka dots and a white bow in her hair. How is that not casual?

*Stacey flips out on Jessi for wanting to photocopy a bill to see what it looks like because it's dangerous. Yeah, like no kid has ever done that before. Then again, Stacey tells them that passing a fake bill is a felony and that she's lucky she didn't go to prison. Yup, there are a ton of junior high kids in prison.

*Despite saying her and Sam mutually decided to date other people, she worries that going out with Terry is like cheating on him. She then refers to him as her ex-boyfriend. Make up your mind girl!

*It takes two hours to get the film developed. Terry and Stacey grab a slice of pizza and a soda, sit down at the park, he tells her about his past, and suddenly it's time to get the film.

*Would the Secret Service really let Mr. Hoyt keep doing this job? It seems really unfair to make his family move so often. Terry says that they have never lived in one place for more than a few years and sometimes only spend a few weeks in the same place. It's also an incredible expense for the government! Making new identities for five people is definitely not cheap.