Staying in Austin for a bit anyway. . .

When the going gets tough, the tough watch TV. Maybe that's not exactly the way the cliche goes but it's always worked for you. You crash on the couch and channel surf over to HGTV, they always have a reno show to distract you. Hopefully, someone will call soon and help you figure out what to do about this mess next. About a half-hour into some Alaska house program, your phone beeps but it isn't a call.

You grab the phone and see the cam app blinking. About six months back you felt paranoid about your place when you were out. Sometimes you'd swear you had six drinks left but could only find five or the remote was left somewhere you couldn't imagine putting it. So you downloaded the app and hid a small camera on a shelf facing across the living room toward the front door. It'd gone off a few times in the past for weird reasons you could never figure out. Was it a stray breeze or maybe a fly landing on the sensor? Who knows. This time it was definitely human.

When the app opens, you see a large burly fellow wearing gray overalls on a step ladder with his hands inside a vent on your living room ceiling. There's no audio but you can see his lips moving so either he's talking to his phone or there's someone else off-camera. You'd complained about the AC in the apartment many times before but this guy isn't the normal handyman. Maybe they just brought in a professional? Davy is pretty good at general stuff but heating and air seems more complicated than unplugging a drain. The good news is you can see your laptop and TV are still there so the guy doesn't seem to be stealing stuff. You see him grab a hand vac and seemingly clean the area inside of the vent a bit. It kinda makes sense he's talking to someone, probably wants a witness in case you claim something was stolen.

You go to the app menu and pop your card number into it so you can upgrade to the one-year storage option. Ten bucks doesn't seem a bad option to keep this recording around just in case. Maybe creepy Decard is finally getting it done before the one-year inspection? Jim hates to be bitched at after all. Doesn't everyone? Still, it makes you feel a bit better because you were worried he might have been sneaking in with a master key and you really didn't like the idea of that at all. You close the app and make a note to watch the whole recording later sometime and review the lease. It's not like there's anything that can be done about it right now anyway. You aren't sure when they can send people into your place when you aren't around and that suddenly seems important to you.

You pull up your Eats app and order a BBQ chicken bowl from a local place with a green tea. You could get used to not having to scrounge through the fridge all the time. Then sit back and watch the reno show until the food arrives. About 45 minutes later, your food is here and you happily wolf it down while giving your phone a glance willing it to ring. It does not, so you hop in the shower and throw the sweats on. Then it's back to the couch to watch more rich people buy and renovate houses.

The phone finally rings at 3 o'clock. You grab it and hurriedly answer. Walker is sounding rather pleased with himself after you exchange greetings.

"OK, Simone. The contract people say you are clear. Mrs. Beckett signed off on your release so you should see the full commission in your account Monday. She says you can keep all the accessories the client provided for the trip so you made out pretty good I'd say."

"No complaints really. Last night got pretty wild but I think that's just how this job works."

"Probably. I won't ask and you don't have to tell unless you want to complain about something. You're a big girl. Flights are a slight issue though. I can get you a redeye leaving at midnight or you can hang in Austin until tomorrow. Starting at 8 in the morning, I can book you a flight at 8, 12 or 6. That's your choice, honey."

"I know this is going to sound weird Walker but tomorrow at 6 works for me. I feel bad bailing before the contract is supposed to end."

He laughs, "Simone, there's no reason why you. . ."

You cut him off.

"Yeah, I said it would sound weird. I feel like I'm running away for some reason. Conscience is a funny thing, right? Still, I'd prefer the 6 pm flight please."

"You're the boss, sweetheart. I'll book it and text the details. Want me to reschedule the Monday HR meeting?"

"Probably best. If you have them send me an email, I'll work something out."

"Ok, Simone. I'll text details. Walker out."

You text Kat about covering tomorrow and she strikes a hard deal. You end up Venmoing her $150 to do it but the Monday payday makes that feel acceptable to you. Next, you email your professor claiming you've been sick all weekend and will probably miss Monday too. You expect to see a reply tomorrow with a full-on guilt trip. He's a married man and all but likes to look. . . a lot. He'll just have to settle for the other girls in the class. Maybe he can assign one of them the 'bend over so he can stare at her ass' role two whole class days in a row? He's such a funny man.

You crack your knuckles and start thinking. What to do now?

You only have 24 hours or so left and you aren't Jane Bond. You could wait and see if Sue or Jules check in on you or maybe call them but what would you say? "Hi, I'm slumming for the next day here for no sane reason at all, wanna talk?". . . that sounds pretty pathetic. You could rent a car and Nancy Drew around the park or maybe hit the station and see if you can pry some info out of the cops there. There's also Umberto's farm that Jules said was near the park. That last sounds like it may be a bit dangerous though, especially if the feds are looking for him. You begin to wonder if any of this was a good idea but it's just one day right? Everything will be fine, you think as you begin pulling up your map app.