Another raised hand.  “How old is this place?”

“Fair question.  From what I understand, it was built around 1880 or so, at least the initial structure.  That first structure is now the sub-basement, the basement, and a central portion of this floor that I think is a large storage room I ran across this morning.  It was expanded over the years, with the final version we see here being finished around 1923.  That means old wiring, bad pipes, possibly all kinds of bad shit lurking in the walls.”

The same guy raised his hand again.  “When did it shut down?”

Bramford frowned slightly.  “Look, this isn’t story time, okay?  We can talk about the history of the place later if you want to, but for…”

The out-of-place kid piped up from his corner.  “It shut down in 2003.  It had been run as a hotel for over a hundred years at that point, always owned by the same family, never closed during all that time.  Then one day in 2003, it just…stopped.  From what I’ve read, no one around here worked at the hotel, so it took a little while before they realized no one was coming or going.  When they came and checked, it was just like it is now.  Clean and undisturbed, with no one inside and no sign of where they went.”

“Jefferson, that’s enough.”  Bramford’s face was red now, and I realized it was more embarrassment than anger.  “For those of you that don’t know, that’s Jeff, my kid sister’s boy.  He’s going to be working with me on this as…a character-building exercise.  Help me keep an eye out for him, if you will.  As for what he’s saying, that…” He moved his glare away from Jefferson and back to the crowd, “is a prime example of the kind of fuckery I’m talking about.  And unless one of you mutts is also my sister’s secret love child, it’s fuckery you want to stay clear of.”

Clearing his throat, Bramford went on.  “Now, as I was saying.  Those of you here to evaluate the building, you know your role.  For the rest of you, you fall into one of two teams.  Team One is to go over this building with a fine-toothed comb looking for cosmetic defects.  No one expects you to know if a wall has structure problems, but you should be able to identify if its cracked or needs paint.  Or if the carpet is worn out, that kind of thing.  The four of you on Team One will work in pairs.”

“Team Two is inventory.  This is the bigger job, which is why eight of you are on it.  Again, you’ll work in pairs both for safety and efficiency.  This part of the work is very important for several reasons.”