Run: 2026-07-25-01KYD5GSQ0FNYNBXQSATZB6MG7

Molly spread the blueprint across the hood of Bill's car, weighing down the corners with a half-eaten sandwich and a water pistol. "This," she announced, "is the Hendersons' back garden. Saturday, two o'clock. Twenty-eight confirmed presents." Bill squinted at the drawing. "Why is there a bouncy castle on the blueprint?" "Because there's a bouncy castle at the party, Bill. I do thorough reconnaissance." "It's just that you drew little windows on it. Bouncy castles don't have windows." "Artistic license." Bill picked up the sandwich, took a bite, and put it back on the southeast corner. "So we walk in, grab the presents, walk out. What's the complication?" Molly pulled out a second sheet of paper. "The complication is Timothy Henderson, age seven, birthday boy. According to my source, the kid has wanted a detective kit since Christmas. He's going to be watching that present table like a hawk." "Your source is his babysitter." "She talks a lot when she thinks you're a clown booking agent." "Are you a clown booking agent?" "For the purposes of this conversation, yes." Bill leaned against the car and crossed his arms. "Right. So what's the plan, genius?" Molly tapped the blueprint with a chewed pencil. "Phase one: we arrive disguised as the entertainment. You're the magician, I'm your lovely assistant. Phase two: you perform tricks so bad that every adult in the garden leaves to go 'check on the barbecue.' Phase three: I sweep the present table into a decorative sack." "Why am I the magician? I don't know any magic." "That's what makes it convincing, Bill. Nobody suspects a magician who is genuinely terrible at magic." "What about the kid detective?" Molly smiled the smile she reserved for safes, salesmen, and small obstacles. "Phase four. I hire him." "You hire him." "Junior detectives can't resist a case. I tell him someone stole my lucky pencil, he spends three hours interrogating the clown from next door's party, we walk out with a mountain of Lego." Bill was quiet for a moment, staring at the blueprint, the sandwich, and the water pistol. "Molly, can I ask you something?" "Go on." "We've robbed banks. We've robbed a casino. We once stole an entire boat. Why are we robbing a children's birthday party?" Molly rolled up the blueprint and tucked it under her arm. "Because, Bill, the Hendersons' insurance payout on those presents is laundered through their garden gnome business, and the father shorted me forty quid on a ceramic fisherman in 2019." "So it's revenge." "It's revenge with presents. The best kind." Bill picked up the water pistol and weighed it thoughtfully. "Do I get a wand?" "A wand and a cape." "A cape that swirls?" "A cape that swirls magnificently." He tucked the pistol into his waistband like a tiny, soggy sidearm. "Then we've got a party to crash."