Stacey And The Mystery At The Mall (5 page)

girl, maybe twelve, Mal thought. She looked

 
as if she might be their sister. After being congratulated by Ms. Munro,

Mal headed for the bus, and we all rode home

together. She filled us in on her story hour.

"That sounds like fun," said Jessi, enviously.

"All I got to do today was sweep up popcorn

and scrape chewing gum off the theatre floor." "I had a good day," said Logan. "The cook

at Casa Grande taught me how to make

enchiladas."

"Cool," said Claudia. "I had fun today, too. I unpacked a new shipment of paints and set them up in a window display."

"Well, I made my first big sale today," said Mary Anne. 'Twenty pounds of dog biscuits to a lady who owns a Saint Bernard."

Then it was my turn to report on that day's work. "My day wasn't so great," I said. "You know all that stuff we heard about shoplifting? Well, it happened to me today. I was right there, too, working at the cash register. Some sing-along cassettes disappeared from practically right under my nose."

"Oh," said Claudia. "That’s awful. Was your boss mad?"

"No, she was really nice about it. But still, I feel responsible. I just wish there was something I could do about it."

'I'll look into it," said Kristy importantly. "Security has cameras in every store, you know. I'll make sure my boss reviews today's tapes from Toy Town extra carefully."

"Thanks," I replied. But I didn't hold out much hope that the shoplifters would be caught that way. They had done their job well, and it was my guess that they knew all about the cameras and how to avoid them.

"Speaking of cameras," said Mal, "I wish we'd had one at story hour today. I thought I saw something weird happen, but now I'm

not so sure." She told us about the blonde boy and girl, and said that at one point during Tikki Tikki Tembo she thought she saw the boy pick up and gobble down a pack of cookies that belonged to a little girl sitting nearby. It wasn't a big deal and the girl didn't make a fuss, so Mal thought maybe she'd been mistaken. Still, it bothered her.

"Ooh," said Kristy, grinning. "Crime wave at story hour. What will it be next? Crayon snatching? Puppet kidnapping?"

We cracked up, and I forgot about the bad parts of the day as we talked and laughed for the rest of the ride home.

Chapter 6.

"So, I talked to my boss some more about the videotapes from Toy Town — " Kristy stopped in mid-sentence and whirled around in her seat. "Alan Gray, you cut that out," she yelled. "Spitballs are disgusting and juvenile. You are so immature." Then she raised her hand to her cheek, where another spitball had just landed. "Alan," she said. "We're trying to have a serious discussion here!"

It was Monday, and my friends and I were on the bus together, heading to the mall to start our second week of work. I was looking forward to my day at Toy Town, although I was having a hard time forgetting about those cassettes that had disappeared. I had even talked to my mom about it. She told me that there's shoplifting at every store, including Bellairs, and that I shouldn't feel guilty that it had happened to me. But I did anyway. April hadn't seemed too upset (I guess she was used

to it), but it sure bothered me. "So what did she say?" I asked Kristy. She had told us at Friday's BSC meeting that her boss, Ms. Garcia, had planned to review the tapes, but that was the last I had heard.

"Well, she called me on Saturday," said Kristy. "And it turns out that there were some people doing suspicious-looking things on the tape. Teenagers — older ones. I guess security has been watching them for a while: they think a gang of kids is responsible for a lot of the shoplifting that’s been going on recently."

"Wow!" I said. "A gang? That sounds major."

"Do they have guns and stuff?" asked Mary Anne, looking scared.

"I don't think it’s a gang gang," said Kristy. "It’s just a group of kids out for kicks. But Ms. Garcia is taking them seriously."

"Good," said Claudia. "They shouldn't be allowed to get away with what they're doing. My boss said shoplifting costs him thousands of dollars a year! He said his prices would be a lot lower if he didn't have to make up for what he loses when people shoplift."

"That’s what my boss said, too," said Logan.

The bus pulled up at the mall entrance, and we all hopped out. As she passed Alan Gray, Kristy stuck her tongue out and made a face.

"Very mature," I whispered to her.
  
She giggled.

"Have fun, everybody!" she said, as she headed for the security office.

Claud and I walked together until we reached Toy Town. We glanced into store windows as we went by them, checking out new displays of shoes and dresses. "One of these days we're going to have to stay a little late and do some serious shopping," said Gaud, eyeing a white lace baby-doll dress. "I'll ask my dad if he can pick us up one day next week."

"Great," I said. "I could use a new pair of shoes." I had hardly thought about shopping, even though I had been spending so much time in the mall. Being there as an employee was very different. Somehow the stores didn't seem to have the same magic, now that I knew what it was like behind the scenes. April had explained a little more about pricing to me, and she'd told me how displays can be used to "move" merchandise that might otherwise sit on the shelves. Still, even though the magic wasn't there anymore, shopping with Claudia was always fun. And knowing more about how stores worked would only make me a better shopper. I gazed at a pair of black lace-up boots and wondered how they would look

with this old-fashioned floral-print dress my mother had given me.

"Hey, we're going to be late," said Claud, pulling on my arm.

I checked my watch. "You're right!" I cried. "I better run. See you!" I took off for Toy Town, and arrived a little out of breath.

"Tay-see!" said Sandy, when he saw me walk in the door. He ran to me, grinning. Sandy had turned out to be pretty friendly, and he seemed to like me a lot, maybe because April kept asking me to play with him whenever he started to get cranky and bored. "See my doggie?" Sandy asked, holding up a black-and-white stuffed puppy. "Ruff, ruff," he said, giggling as he made the dog jump up and down.

"You can show Stacey your doggie later, honey," said April, stepping out from behind the cash register. "Right now, Stacey and I need to have a little talk, so I want you to sit quietly for a few minutes, okay?"

Sandy nodded, and April settled him into a corner with his dog and a little blanket made out of a towel. "You tuck your doggie in, and tell him a bedtime story," she said.

Then she turned to me. I was just standing there, shifting my weight from side to side and feeling extremely nervous. What did she

want to talk to me about? Was she going to tell me I couldn't work at Toy Town anymore? Had she decided that it was my fault, after all, that those cassettes had disappeared?

"I need to talk to you about shoplifting," said April. "Why don't we sit down for a few minutes?" She gestured toward a pair of kid-sized chairs standing next to the train-set table.

A knot had formed in my stomach, and as I walked toward the chair I felt it growing. "I'm really sorry about what happened on Wednesday," I said as soon as we sat down. "I'll pay you back for the cassettes, if you want."

"Oh, Stacey," said April, reaching out to touch my arm. "That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. That wasn't your fault at all!" She smiled at me. "You're a wonderful worker, and I trust you completely."

"Thanks," I said, relieved.

"I just wanted to go over some procedures with you. Security came around and talked to all the store owners last Friday. They're concerned about the major increase in shoplifting lately, and they want us to be on the lookout. Also, they asked us to talk to our staffs about what to do if they see someone stealing something." She held up her hand and started to count off on her fingers. "First of all," she said,

"keep your eyes peeled for people who linger in the store without buying anything. People who are carrying big bags or wearing oversized coats or jackets are suspicious, too. Watch them if they make a move toward merchandise. But if you see somebody take something, don't go after the person yourself, whatever you do. That could be dangerous. Next, don't panic. And don't make it obvious that you saw them. Instead, you should press our security button, which will alert security to a problem at Toy Town, and they'll get here as fast as they can."

"Where's the button?" I asked. I had never seen April so serious, and the discussion was making me nervous.

"It’s under the counter, right below the cash register," said April. "I'll show you." She stood up, and I followed her to the counter. Sure enough, a little red button was hidden underneath. "Nobody can tell if you press it," she said. "And it definitely works. Security re-tested all the buttons over the weekend."

"Mommy!" cried Sandy, running to us. "Doggie woke up!"

"Okay, Sandy," said April, patting his head. "Want to come help Mommy unpack some boxes?" She looked at me and smiled. "I hope I didn't scare you, Stacey, but this is important

stuff. Anyway, I have to unload some new merchandise now. Can you work the counter for awhile?"

"Sure," I said. I tried to sound confident, even though I was feeling pretty shaky. I would have preferred to unpack boxes with Sandy, but I didn't want April to know I was scared. I watched her head for the back room, and then I turned my attention to the counter. I tidied up a display of troll key rings and refilled a box of miniature yo-yo's. I checked the batteries on the display sample of a Gamester, a hand-held computer game. Then a man and a woman walked into the store as I was straightening up a bunch .of pinwheels. I checked the couple out. The woman was wearing a long coat, and carrying a shopping bag. The man was dressed in a business suit, but a leather backpack was slung over his shoulder. Shoplifters? I had no way of knowing. I moved behind the counter and ran my hand beneath it, checking for the button. The woman had picked up a special microphone that adds sound effects when you talk into it, and I wondered what I would do if she slipped it into her bag.

I ran over April's directions in my mind. "Don't let her know you saw her. Don't chase her. Push the button." It all sounded simple, but what if there were complications? What if

a shoplifter were armed? What if he or she were caught and figured out who had fingered him? What would he do to me? My palms felt sweaty, and my heart was beating fast. About five minutes later, though, the couple left. I had watched them closely the whole time, and I was almost positive they hadn't taken anything.

April emerged from the back of the store, brushing her hands off. "Everything okay out here?" she asked.

“Just fine," I said, trying to smile.

'Tay-see!" shouted Sandy, waving his stuffed dog at me.
 
"Play with me!"

April smiled at me. "Could you?" she asked. "I'll be checking the shelves, to see if we need, to re-stock anything. You two can play right up front here, and you can run the cash register if we have customers."

"Okay," I said. I was glad to have the distraction of playing with Sandy. I could still keep an eye out for shoplifters, but maybe I wouldn't be quite so nervous. "Let’s see your dog," I said to Sandy. "What does a doggie say?"

For the rest of the afternoon, I was so busy I forgot to be nervous. I still checked out every customer who came into the store, but I stopped worrying about whether he might be armed and dangerous. Sandy kept demanding

my attention, but I was able to keep him entertained and also watch the store.

Or so I thought. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

As I was getting ready to leave, April approached me with a worried look on her face. "Stacey, have you seen the Gamester?" she asked. "Or did you sell it to someone?"

I shook my head. "I didn't sell it. And the last I saw, it was right there, on the — "I looked at the counter, where the Gamester had been. It was gone.

"I didn't sell it either," said April. "It must have walked out of here." She shook her head. "Darn," she said. "I guess I'll have to report it to security. I'll see you tomorrow, Stacey — and don't worry. It wasn't your fault."

I felt awful. I knew I had watched as well as I could, considering that I was entertaining Sandy and all. But obviously I hadn't watched closely enough.

On the bus going home, I told my friends what had happened.

"That’s terrible!" said Kristy. "Those shoplifters must be really good." She banged her fist into her palm.

"Still, I might have caught them, if I hadn't been taking care of Sandy, too," I said. Then, suddenly, I had an amazing idea. "Hey!" I

exclaimed. "You know what the mall needs? A day-care center."

"Definitely!" said Claudia. "What a great idea! It could be near the middle of the mall, like the food court, and it could be for shoppers and for store-owners like April."

My friends and I spent the rest of our ride talking excitedly about my idea. I was happy to think about something positive, instead of being preoccupied with the disappearance of the Gamester. A day-care center might "not solve the shoplifting problem, but it would sure help with a lot of other problems in the mall. And if the members of the BSC put their minds to it, I knew we could make it happen.