Run: 2026-10-09-01M4G0W9ZJ8JQG90WYVXTAA06Q

Molly leaned over the sticky table at the back of Pizza Palace, unrolling a blueprint across the crumbs. "Right. Party room is through the swinging doors, past the ball pit. Presents are stacked by the cake table. Forty-two gifts, Bill. Forty-two." Bill squinted at the paper. "Why is there a ball pit in the blueprint?" "Because I drew it from memory, and I was emotional at the time." "You were emotional about a ball pit?" "I was emotional about a seven-year-old named Harper who bit me at the last job." Molly tapped the page. "We go in during the magic show. Everyone's watching the rabbit. Nobody watches the presents." "What if somebody watches the presents?" "Then we wait for the piñata. Kids go feral for the piñata. Nobody remembers their own name during the piñata." Bill scratched his beard. "And the disguises? Last time you made me go as a clown." "You looked terrifying. That was the point." "Children cried, Molly." "Children cry at everything. It's how we know they're alive." She slid a cardboard box across the table. "Party hats. Balloons. Gift bags. We walk in carrying a bunch of balloons and look like we're late for the bouncy castle." Bill lifted a hat and frowned. "This one says 'Happy Birthday Ollie.'" "Perfect. We're Ollie's uncles. Nobody questions an uncle." "Ollie doesn't have uncles. Ollie has, what, four grandmas and a dog named Pickles?" "Then we're the uncles nobody invited. Very sad. People feel sorry for sad uncles." Bill sighed and pulled on the hat. It sat crooked on his head. "Fine. But if I get bitten, I'm not doing the ball pit again." "Deal." Molly grinned and clicked her pen. "Now, the getaway. We need a van, and not the ice cream one this time." "That van had a song, Molly. It played the same song every time it turned a corner. The whole neighborhood knew where we were." "It was a catchy song." "It was 'Greensleeves' on a loop." "Okay, fine, no ice cream van. We take the bouncy castle. It's inflated, it's bright, and it's the only thing at that party that moves faster than the kids." Bill stared at her. "You want to drive a bouncy castle away from a crime scene." "I want to bounce a bouncy castle away from a crime scene. Details, Bill." He groaned, reached across the table, and took a cupcake. "Fine. But I'm eating this first. Crime is hungry work." "Crime is loud work," Molly said. "Leave some frosting for the kids."