Stacey and the Stolen Hearts Page 5

  “Well, you just don’t seem yourself lately,” I said. “You seem sort of — down. Sort of out of it.”

  Robert didn’t say anything for about half a block. He threw pebbles as we walked silently along.

  “Robert?” I asked finally.

  “I don’t know what to say,” he replied. “First of all, you’re right. I’m not feeling terrific. And second of all, thanks for noticing. And asking. I appreciate that.” He flashed me a smile.

  “So what’s going on?”

  “It’s no big deal. I just haven’t been feeling too excited about things lately. I mean, everything seems boring: school, my friends, TV. You know what I mean?”

  “Sure,” I said. “I guess I feel that way sometimes. But the feeling doesn’t usually last too long.”

  “I bet I’ll snap out of it soon,” said Robert. He paused. “In a way, I’m glad Jacqui saw that note today. She’s really been bugging me. I don’t want to go out with her, but I couldn’t figure out a nice way to say so.”

  “Now she knows,” I said. “I have a feeling she’ll leave you alone after this.”

  “Then there’s my friends,” Robert continued. Once he started talking, it was as if he couldn’t stop. “They’re okay, but sometimes I feel as if they’re speaking some other language. They never talk about anything interesting. Just the same old stuff: girls, cars, disaster movies …”

  “What about Alex?” I asked. I knew Alex Zacharias used to be one of Robert’s best friends. “Don’t you talk to him?”

  Robert shrugged. “He’s still pretty upset about his parents’ divorce. And I don’t know what to say to him. I want to help, but I can’t. That makes me feel lousy.”

  I knew what he meant. That was exactly how I was feeling about him. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how. It was frustrating.

  By then we’d walked all the way down Elm Street, and my house was in sight. I wasn’t sure what else to say to Robert. There was an awkward pause in our conversation.

  “So, I heard you’re seeing somebody,” Robert said suddenly. As soon as he’d blurted that out, he put his head down and stuck both hands in his pockets.

  “Who told you that?” I asked. Somehow, I didn’t want to talk about Ethan. But I didn’t want to deny that I was seeing him either.

  “Oh, it’s just something I heard. You know how word goes around.”

  “That reminds me,” I said, hoping to change the subject gracefully. “What have you heard about Brian and Rose Marie? From what I can see, they’re not speaking to each other.”

  Robert seemed grateful to have another topic to talk about. “I don’t know. Nobody knows what happened. But they sure aren’t acting too lovey-dovey these days.”

  We chatted about Brian and Rose Marie and other SMS gossip for the rest of our walk. When we arrived at my house I thanked Robert for walking me home. In the old days, I would have invited him in for a soda. But I had the feeling he was eager to take off. And I had some thinking to do before I headed for that afternoon’s BSC meeting. “See you, Robert,” I said.

  “ ’Bye, Stace,” he answered. “Thanks for the talk. I feel better already.”

  I wasn’t sure whether to believe that or not, but I told him I was glad. Then he left, and I went inside to fix myself a snack.

  As I rummaged through the fridge, I thought about Robert. Was it possible that he still felt something for me? He’d certainly acted uncomfortable when he’d asked me if I was seeing someone. I thought back to the last time I’d seen him, when I was writing out my valentine-grams.

  Had he thought I was writing them to a boyfriend? Exactly how curious was he about who that boyfriend was?

  What about the way he’d said that Cokie deserved to be embarrassed? Just how strongly did he feel about that?

  I remembered how relieved he had sounded about being rid of Jacqui. Had he been so bothered by her attention that he would do something drastic about it?

  And last but not least, who was one of the last people I’d seen just before the valentine-gram bag was stolen?

  Once I’d put all the facts together, it seemed as plain as day. I didn’t want it to be true, but it was.

  Robert was a suspect.

  “Order! Order!” Kristy was tapping her pencil on the desk.

  Abby’s voice rose above the racket in Claudia’s room. “I’ll have a BLT on rye with mayo. Hold the L, extra B. And make it snappy.”

  “Oh, ha-ha,” Kristy said. “That joke is so old. Last time I heard it I fell off my dinosaur.”

  That cracked everyone up. We may be mature middle-school students, but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate a good third-grade joke.

  Or, for that matter, third-grade food. Claudia had made fluffernutter sandwiches for everyone, and they were a big hit. (I, of course, was sticking with a handful of sourdough pretzels.)

  Friday’s BSC meeting was not a typical one. Oh, we took phone calls, and we spent a few minutes talking about our clients. Kristy filled us in on her job at the Hobarts’, for example. But other than that we talked about nothing but the mystery of the stolen valentine-grams.

  That’s right, mystery.

  I’d made it official by hauling out the mystery notebook and making an entry.

  What’s the mystery notebook? Well, the BSC members have a way of becoming involved in mysteries, probably because we all love them (Claud’s not the only one who reads Nancy Drew books). In fact, we’ve solved quite a few. And when you’re solving a mystery, one of the things you have to do is take lots of notes — on motives, suspects, stuff like that. Anyway, we figured it would make sense to keep those notes together in one place, instead of having them scattered around. The mystery notebook has made us into better, more efficient detectives.

  But it was going to take more than efficiency to solve this case. For one thing, there were just too many suspects. Like, the entire student body of SMS. As we talked about the case that afternoon, one thing became obvious, and Kristy put it best.

  “It could have been anyone,” she said. “What we have to do is narrow it down to the most likely suspects and then start ruling them out, one by one. We’ll end up with one or two major suspects and then the rest will be a snap.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” said Mary Anne. “I’m not so sure we can solve this one.”

  “Of course we can,” said Abby. “Look, let’s start by taking the main suspects, the way Kristy said. If you suspect someone, it’s your job to start checking them out, first thing on Monday.”

  “Dibs on Brian and Rose Marie!” cried Claudia. “I’m dying to find out what’s going on with them anyway.”

  “They’re yours,” said Kristy, making a note in the mystery notebook. “Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can find out what Brent’s been up to. He keeps a pretty low profile, and just because nobody’s seen him near the valentine-gram table doesn’t mean he’s above suspicion.”

  “Speaking of suspicion,” Abby put in, “how about if I check out Cary? I’m sure his dentist story checks out, but I still think we should keep an eye on him.”

  We all agreed with that.

  “I hate to say this, but I’m wondering about Pete,” Mary Anne said softly. “I mean, there he is, in the middle of everything. If you think about it, he’s in the perfect position to fake a robbery.”

  Hmm … I hadn’t thought of that. Earlier that day I’d mentioned to Pete that my friends were on the case, investigating the theft of the valentine-grams. He seemed glad, and said he’d keep his eyes open for suspects. Did that mean he wasn’t one himself? Not necessarily. He could have been trying to throw me off by acting casual. “Good plan, Mary Anne,” I said.

  Mal and Jessi said they’d just float around school, checking out anything suspicious. “Nobody notices us sixth-graders,” said Jessi. “We can spy on everyone.”

  I was planning to keep an eye on all the major suspects myself, since I’d be working at the valentine-gram table again. Yes, we were open for business
once more. We’d made an announcement over the PA that morning, saying that anyone who’d already sent a valentine-gram could come by the table to fill out a replacement (we had their names in our notebook). Nobody was thrilled by our solution, since it wasn’t easy for them to recreate their masterpieces, but we didn’t know what else to do. When I listened to kids in my homeroom grumbling about it, I became even more determined to find those missing messages in time for Valentine’s Day. Which meant it was time for the BSC members to move into high gear on our investigation.

  Kristy had the surprise of her life on Monday morning. She’d planned to hang out in the hall near Brent’s locker before homeroom, hoping to catch a glimpse of him and start on her surveillance. She caught a glimpse of him, all right.

  A glimpse of him and Cokie together. And they weren’t fighting this time. Instead, they were coming very, very close to breaking the SMS rule against public displays of affection.

  They were sitting on the windowsill.

  He was gazing into her eyes.

  She was gazing back.

  And the two of them appeared to be exchanging whispered sweet nothings.

  Kristy crept closer, trying to hear over the usual roar of a crowded hallway.

  “I just felt so awful for you,” Brent was saying as he stroked her hand. “Having your private feelings splashed all over the school.”

  “It was humiliating,” Cokie answered. “But you know what, Sugarbear? Now that we’ve made up, I don’t care anymore.”

  Awww … For a second, even Kristy was moved. But then she stopped to think. Cokie had been upset about the fight she and Brent had had. She’d written all those valentine-grams. Clearly, she’d wanted to make up with him.

  Could she have been so desperate to have him back that she’d embarrass herself in front of the whole school?

  Claudia didn’t have too much luck observing Brian and Rose Marie. At least, she didn’t have much luck observing them together. She saw Brian walking in the halls, sitting in the cafeteria, and heading into classrooms. And she saw Rose Marie in all the same places.

  But never at the same time.

  The two of them seemed to be doing a great job of avoiding each other. “It was almost like when you have two magnets that don’t stick together,” Claudia explained with her usual grasp of scientific principles. “Even if you tried to make them meet, you couldn’t.”

  Asking around, Claudia discovered that it was pretty much common knowledge that Brian and Rose Marie had broken up for good. At least, that was what Rose Marie’s friends said. Brian’s friends left out the “for good” part. According to them, Brian wanted to get back together with Rose Marie. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to him,” explained Rick Chow. “He doesn’t want to let some stupid fight end it all.”

  Claudia never did find out what the fight had been about. Only Brian and Rose Marie knew that, and neither of them was talking.

  Claudia’s investigation didn’t turn up any new information about the missing valentine-grams. But, according to her, neither Rose Marie nor Brian was a suspect. “They’re too busy avoiding each other,” she explained.

  Mary Anne had never imagined herself hanging around outside the boys’ bathroom, but we BSC members will do almost anything in order to solve a mystery. And, in the process of tailing Pete Black, Mary Anne ended up discovering that a bathroom can be a pretty great spot for detective work. Why? Well, because it’s a place where kids feel comfortable speaking freely, knowing members of the opposite sex can’t hear them. Supposedly.

  Mary Anne had been following Pete and his friend Austin through the halls. She was just about to give up her surveillance, since they weren’t talking about anything besides some boring basketball game, when the two of them stopped in at the boys’ bathroom. The outer door was open, so Mary Anne stationed herself next to it and waited. What she heard surprised her.

  “So, did you send it?” asked Austin.

  “Uh-huh,” answered Pete. “But then I almost wished I hadn’t. And I’m almost glad it won’t be delivered now, since they were stolen. She probably would have thought it was dumb.”

  “No, she wouldn’t,” said Austin. “Emily would love it, trust me.”

  “I told you not to say her name!” cried Pete. Then, more quietly, he added, “I told you I don’t want anybody to know I have a crush on Emily Bernstein.”

  Outside, Mary Anne put her hand over her mouth. This was big news! When Pete and Austin came out of the boys’ room, Pete’s face was flaming. Mary Anne quickly turned the other way and walked off, thinking hard.

  So Pete liked Emily. That was sweet. But it sounded as if he regretted sending that valentine-gram to her. There was only one question on Mary Anne’s mind: Did he regret it so much that he had stolen the valentine-gram bag just to get it back?

  Mal and Jessi didn’t know what to make of the comment they overheard in the girls’ bathroom between fifth and sixth period. But they knew it belonged in the mystery notebook, because it had to do with the valentine-grams.

  Grace Blume was talking. And, of all people, Alan Gray was the topic of conversation. Grace was telling someone (Jessi and Mal, hiding in a stall, didn’t see who it was) that she was sorry the valentine-grams weren’t going to be delivered. “I’d have given anything to see the look on Alan Gray’s face when he read his!” she said. Then she must have washed her hands and left, because Jessi and Mal heard nothing more than the sound of running water and the slamming of a door.

  Abby had such a busy day that she never found a chance to follow Cary around and spy on him. Finally, at the end of the day, she was dashing through the halls looking for him when she discovered that the valentine thief had struck again.

  One entire hall of lockers was plastered with copies of passionate valentine-grams from Clarence King to Rose Marie, and vice versa.

  Abby couldn’t believe her eyes. This was big news. And maybe it explained Brian and Rose Marie’s breakup.

  Then, for the first time all day, Rose Marie and Brian appeared together, at the end of the hall near Brian’s locker. Abby told us later that Rose Marie was begging Brian to believe that she’d never sent a valentine-gram to Clarence King. “She told him she’d sent a few others, just as pranks, but that she’d never send one to King, even as a joke,” Abby told us later. “Brian didn’t look convinced. And I’m not either. I’m not sure what it has to do with the missing valentine-grams, but I’ll tell you one thing. Did you ever hear the expression ‘the plot thickens’? Well, this is one plot that’s getting thicker all the time.”

  Logan’s entry in the BSC notebook must have made Kristy’s day. Everyone likes being told they were right. Kristy loves it. She thrives on it. She lives for it. And if nobody else will do it, she does it herself. But this time she didn’t have to, because Logan was nice enough to write it down for everyone to see. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kristy blows up a copy of that page to post on her bedroom wall.

  Anyway, you must be wondering what she was right about. I’ll explain.

  After the experience she had with the Pike and Hobart kids, Kristy realized that planning a Valentine’s Day festival wasn’t going to be easy. She wanted to make sure to create a day that all the kids would enjoy. She’d learned a lot about what kids didn’t like about the holiday, but what was the best way to find out what they did like?

  Amazingly, the answer came to her during dinner only two days later. Kristy’s mom was talking about work, and she mentioned something about a “focus group.” At first Kristy wasn’t paying much attention. Her mind was focused on her dinner, which was lasagna, one of her favorites. But as her mom kept talking, what she was saying began to sink in. Kristy asked some questions about focus groups and realized that the concept was exactly what she’d been looking for.

  What’s a focus group? Kristy’s mom explained it to Kristy, and Kristy explained it to us. It’s very simple. A focus group is a tool businesses use to find out how the public feels about their
products. They bring in a bunch of “regular citizens” and sit them down in a room together. Then they ask them questions. “How do you feel about New, Improved Maxi-Clean for Small Dogs?” “Would you recommend Spring-Fresh Mitten Deodorizers to a friend?” “What words would you use to describe the flavor of Chocolate-Covered Fish Zingies?”

  Sometimes researchers just watch the people talk among themselves, from behind a one-way mirror.

  Anyway, if it turns out that the average young male snowboarder thinks Chocolate-Covered Fish Zingies taste “awesome, dude,” then the business will know they should advertise their product in snowboard magazines. Or if most dog owners are more interested in a cleaning product for their large dogs, the Maxi-Clean people will know they have to work on creating one.

  Okay, now fast-forward to Monday afternoon, and the first-ever BSC focus group. Purpose: to plan the best Valentine’s Day festival ever. Location: Mary Anne’s barn. On hand: four sitters and their charges.

  Kristy couldn’t be there (she had a preseason girls’ softball team meeting), so she asked Logan to be in charge. He had a sitting job with the Hobarts, and Mary Anne was sitting for Matt and Haley Braddock (he’s seven, she’s nine). They invited Jessi, who was sitting for her sister, Becca (she’s eight), and Charlotte Johanssen (also eight, and one of my favorite clients), and Mal, who promised to bring along as many of her siblings as she could round up.

  “I still think this is the dumbest thing I ever heard of,” Logan whispered to Mary Anne as they set up a big circle of folding chairs.

  “Give it a chance,” Mary Anne whispered back. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll work.”

  Just then, Matt ran to Mary Anne and made some motions with his hands. Haley, who had followed him, explained. “He wants to know what we’re doing today,” she said. Matt is profoundly deaf and uses American Sign Language to communicate. Every BSC member has learned to sign a little, but for complicated things we need help. Haley is one of his best interpreters.