The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|49|

Sadie nodded, looking impressed as they entered the hotel. "It is a lot bigger in real life," she stated, "than what it looks like in a video."

Ashley was carrying Jerry's bag; it was slung over her shoulder. The plan was, just like with Ronja, to bring the two siblings back to town after the investigation, so that they could stay in a motel there before going back home the next day. For now, they brought the stuff to Ashley's room and set it down in a corner.

As she stepped back to the bed, she frowned. The chocolate bar Colby had given her was no longer in her bag, instead lying on the floor. Frowning, she picked it up and put it away again. Even though she was pretty sure she'd closed the bag earlier, she decided that she was only freaking herself out and ignored the event.

Instead, she reached into her jacket's pocket and made sure that her little secret was still there. She hadn't got to show it to Sam and Colby yesterday; instead, she was hoping to shock them with it today.

Sam had grabbed the camera and some of the other stuff, and Ashley grinned as he asked, "Who's ready to hunt some ghosts?"

They cheered and left the room, the atmosphere loaded with excitement, especially from her side. Jerry seemed mostly nervous, and Sadie tried to look indifferent. She could tell, though, that Jerry's sister was more excited than she led them on to believe.

To get down to the lobby, they had to use the elevator. It was small and looked just as old as the rest of the hotel, making them get pressed up against each other.

"Why did we never use the elevator last time?" Colby asked – he was the last to enter, gently pushing the others further inside.

"I think it was out of order," Sam answered, "at least as soon as the snowstorm cut us off. Don't know about the day before that, though."

"Well, now we can't not use it," Jerry snickered, pointing out his crutches. The others chuckled and nodded.

They got down to the lobby and Sam set up the camera as soon as they stepped out of the hotel.

"What's up guys, it's Sam and Colby!" Colby began after the group had gathered outside the building and Sam had turned on the recording.

"And welcome back to another part of our Hoffman Hotel series!" Sam added. "Today, we have two special guests with us, who have never been on the channel before!"

"Jerry and his sister, Sadie," Colby introduced the two. They waved – well, Sadie did. Jerry just nodded at the camera, unable to take his hands from his crutches.

"From a one to a ten, how... believing are you guys?" Colby asked.

"I'm just gonna go all in and say a nine," Jerry laughed. "There's absolutely no reason for me to believe that much, but there's no reason for me not to, either."

"A nine?? That's insane," Sam exclaimed. "What about you, Sadie?"

"Honestly, like a one," she stated, grinning confidently.

"What, even though your brother believes?" Colby tilted his head, genuinely confused.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "I've got no reason to believe."

"Oh, we're going to give you one," Ashley smiled.

"That sounds... really menacing," Colby chuckled. "She's right, though."

"Alright, with that being said, let's get to it," Sam said, turning off the camera.

Their steps echoed through the ballroom as they walked through the doors. Especially Jerry's crutches were well audible, the clicking resounding through the entire hall. He let out a low whistle, looking around in amazement.

"Wow, this is..." he began, his gaze travelling all across the room, "beautiful."

"Yeah, right?" Ashley said, silently stepping next to him and enjoying his astonishment. "Breathtaking."

"You're going to play on that thing?" he asked, pointing at the piano with his chin.

She smiled and nodded. "I have already, a few times. And you know what I'm going to play."

"Oh, hell nah. The piece you tried at home? The one that freaked you out?"

"Wait, what?" Sam asked, stepping closer. "What are you guys talking about?"

Ashley exchanged a glance with Jerry, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Well, the day I texted you about the trip," she began, shrugging as if it weren't important, "I might've tried to play the piece at home. The thing is, I don't even really remember it."

Colby frowned, looking at Sam quickly. "What do you mean you don't remember it?" he asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and worry.

"I mean that it had felt like I'd played for ten minutes when Jerry came into the living room and told me that almost two hours had passed."

"What?" Sam exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

"That's insane," Colby said, his eyes equally as shocked as Sam's. "Why wouldn't you tell us about it?"

"Didn't think of it," Ashley shrugged.

Sadie, who hadn't said much during the conversation, chimed in. "You just casually forgot about it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ashley was about to answer when Sam raised a hand. "Hold up, what the fuck?" he said, lowering the camera.

"What's wrong?" Colby asked, stepping closer to look at the camera's screen. They could see Sam press the record button before he spoke again.

"It just turned off," he said, frowning. "The whole camera just shut down."

"The whole camera?" Colby repeated.

"Yeah, the screen just went black." A frown of worry appeared on Sam's forehead. "Battery is at eighty-six per cent. I hope we didn't lose any of the footage..."

"Let's check real quick," Colby said, reaching out his hand to grab the camera.

Jerry glanced at Ashley, and she smirked slightly. "Here we go," she whispered. If he'd had a hand off the crutches, he would've boxed her shoulder in a joking manner, that was for sure.

"Nope, everything's still there," Sam said after a moment when they had watched the footage. His voice sounded more than a little relieved.

"Good," Ashley sighed, and Colby nodded in agreement.

"That was fucking weird," he muttered. "But I guess it's a good sign that we're not alone right now."

"Come on man, don't say that!" Jerry whined. "That's scary as fuck."

Sadie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Stop it, you're being dramatic."

Ashley gave her a tight-lipped smile, not wanting to admit that she had been thinking the same as her. "Still a weird way to say it," she chuckled, agreeing with Jerry instead.

"Then let's start the investigation, shall we?" Sam asked.

Nodding and clapping her hands together, Ashley couldn't help but giggle a little. "I have a little surprise," she began. "So, I'd like to start."

"What, more surprises from your side?" Colby exclaimed.

"Yep. This is payback for the last time when you didn't tell me and Kris what was going on," she retorted with a sly smirk. Then she cleared her throat and turned her gaze to look at the empty room, while Sadie pulled a chair closer for Jerry to sit on.

"Alright," Ashley said as he had settled down, "if there is anyone here with us right now – especially if you are Ilse Hoffman – please come closer. I'd like to show you something."

"That's way different from our usual beginning," Sam whispered to the camera. "What the hell is she planning?"

She reached into her pocket, feeling cold metal against her fingertips. "I brought this back; I think you remember it all too well..."

When she, heart pounding in her chest, pulled her hand out of her pocket, she had a silver ring on the palm of her hand The initials I.H. were well visible.