Run: 2026-10-27-01M5YG1H234C72K1GWJ0HDW4W1

The children’s party was scheduled for three, which gave Molly and Bill forty minutes to turn a municipal flower show map into a criminal masterpiece. Molly had drawn a red circle around the bouncy castle. Bill had drawn a face on the circle and labeled it SECURITY. “The presents will be stacked beside the cake,” Molly said. “We go in during musical chairs, take every last one, and leave before anyone notices.” “Every last one?” Bill asked. “That seems excessive. What if there’s a card with a fiver in it? We’ll have to read all the cards.” Molly tapped the map with a cocktail sausage. Bill had insisted on bringing provisions, though he had eaten the emergency crisps before they reached the café. Beyond their window, a clown climbed out of a tiny car with the slow dignity of a man regretting his career. “The cards come too,” Molly said. “We are professionals, Bill. Professionals don’t leave loose ends, even if the loose ends are covered in glitter.” “I thought professionals wore black,” Bill said. “This is a yellow chicken costume. The feet squeak, and I can’t see through the left eye.” She had rented the costume that morning, along with a magician’s cape and a plastic wand. Their cover story was that Bill was the entertainment and Molly was his assistant. The actual entertainer, according to the invitation Molly had found, was a woman called Trudy and her performing ferrets. “Trudy’s train is delayed,” Molly said. “I checked. You’ll have at least twenty minutes before anyone realizes you’re not her, or possibly her ferrets.” “What if they ask me to do magic?” Bill said. “The only trick I know involves swallowing a coin, and the hospital made me promise.” Molly produced a pack of playing cards and fanned them expertly. Bill chose one, and she made it disappear beneath the table. She then made the whole pack disappear into her sleeve, followed by the cocktail sausage. Bill applauded until a waiter asked them to stop. “You distract the children,” Molly said. “I’ll fill the laundry bags. Once the presents are inside, we rendezvous by the gate and escape on bicycles.” “I can’t ride a bicycle in this costume,” Bill said. “The beak hits the handlebars. Also, I thought rendezvous meant meeting again after a disagreement.” Molly folded the map, concealing the face marked SECURITY. Outside, the clown was watching them through the window. He lifted a large shoe and pointed toward the café door. Molly turned around. Two police officers stood at the counter, examining a missing poster featuring Trudy and her ferrets. “Change of plan,” Molly whispered. “We attend the party as guests, eat some cake, and steal the presents when everyone’s busy looking for the ferrets.” Bill adjusted his chicken head. “Excellent. But if anyone asks, I’m a very large ferret. And if Trudy turns up, I’m her estranged brother.”