Run: 2026-09-23-01M37Q0Z1PKTQV32Q9Q6B5HN65

Molly unrolled the blueprint across the kitchen table and pinned the corners with four mismatched mugs. "Right. The Hendersons' house. Saturday, two o'clock. Tyler turns seven." "Happy birthday, Tyler," said Bill solemnly. "Don't get attached. By four o'clock, Tyler's going to learn that life is cruel and presents are temporary." "That's a bit dark, Molly." "It's character-building. We're basically educators." She tapped the living room. "Gift table's here, by the window. Forty kids, forty presents, minimum. Posh neighbourhood. I'm talking drones, tablets, those robot dogs that cost more than my car." "Your car cost two hundred quid." "Which is why I need a robot dog, Bill." Bill squinted at the map. "What's this square in the garden?" "Bouncy castle. That's our distraction. At exactly two forty-five, you let the air out of it." Bill gasped. "With the kids inside?" "They'll be fine. It's like being hugged by a very large, very sad balloon. Every parent runs outside, and I stroll out the front door with the gifts." "And how do we get in? They won't just let two grown adults wander in off the street." Molly smiled and dumped a plastic bag onto the table: a rainbow wig, a red nose, and a pair of shoes roughly the size of canoes. "No," said Bill. "Yes." "Molly, I'm scared of clowns." "You won't see the clown. You'll be the clown." "That's worse! I'll be scared of my own reflection!" "Then avoid mirrors. You're Bingo the Birthday Buffoon. Balloon animals, silly jokes, the works." "I can't make balloon animals." "Everyone can make a snake, Bill. You blow up a balloon and don't do anything to it." He considered this. "What are you going as?" "The magician. Top hat, cape, big box. The Great Mollini." "Why do you get to be the magician?" "Because the magician has a box. And what fits in a box?" Bill thought hard. "A rabbit?" "Presents, Bill. I make them disappear. Literally. Greatest magic trick in history." "What if the kids want them to reappear?" "Then I tell them the magic was inside their hearts all along." Bill fiddled with the red nose. "There's just one problem." "There are no problems. This plan is airtight." "Unlike the bouncy castle." "Exactly. What's the problem?" "The Hendersons already hired a clown. I saw the booking on their fridge when I was scouting. Some bloke called Chuckles." Molly went very still. "How did you see their fridge?" "I said I was reading the meter." "Which meter?" "The fridge meter." She closed her eyes and breathed slowly through her nose. "Fine. We deal with Chuckles." "Deal with him how?" "Bill, we're going to have to do the one thing no professional thief ever wants to do." He swallowed. "What?" Molly picked up the phone with grim determination. "Book him for a different party."