Agnes & the Hitman, the places
Bob chose the setting because Bob does that, but he picked a great one. Here’s his January of 2006 description of Two Rivers, back when Keyes was called Wilkes, before he and Jenny noticed that a major character was called Wilson which was going to create some confusion:
The Town
Wilkes, South Carolina
County of Beauford. Halfway between Charleston and Savannah.
On the Blood River (named after a 'famous' battle between the English and some lost Spanish sailors. One of the Spanish cut himself with his own sword, bleeding into the river -thus the name-and the Spanish retreated, forever changing the course of history. At least the history of Wilke, SC, which could have been called Santa Fe. The town is actually located where the Blood River intersects with the Intercoastal Waterway, aka The Ditch.
Wilke is the old town, still poor. Across the Blood River/Intercoastal is a barrier island called: Duquense. After a lost French Sailor. It's a very exclusive island just being developed you can only get to by ferry. Baby lives in a new fancy house there, across from Wilke.
The Mansion
Is on the prime corner lot where the Blood meets the Intercoastal. Bums Point, named after Captain Joseph Bum, a moonshine smuggler, who ran aground there in the twenties and was arrested-after the town had a great party drinking his booze.
Great sunrise views from the east. The only problem is its basically also in a swamp so there are no other houses close by since no one in their right mind would build a house there.
To get to the house you drive off the road that leads to ferry for Duqense-used to be an old potted, muddy dirt road going nowhere. But when the new ferry landing was put in just four months ago, the road was widened and paved and suddenly it doesn't look too stupid where the house is located (Baby sold the house to Agnes before she found out about the road that was going to be put in-which adds to her sense of unfairness). The road to the house is more a trail, going over an old, rickety wood bridge that's over an inlet from the Blood. Like an artery.
I envision a three story house. Big white columns in front. Broad set of stairs in the front go up to double doors.
It was originally built by a rich eccentric who owned a lot of rice fields (The Savannah area had the largest rice paddies in the US long ago). It fell on hard times when imported rice was cheaper. Was abandoned and then Baby saw it, not taking into account the swamp, etc. Frankie Fortunato worked hard on making it habitable but never got around to things like the old dock and bridge.
Back side of house faces a tidal swamp about fifty feet wide, then the river proper. It has a very old dock that groans when you walk on it that extends over the tidal swamp to the floating dock on the river.
Baby can see the mansion from her house on Duquense.
I'll show you some of this stuff when you come in two weeks and a map of the area.
Then we'll drive around and see if we can find a house to use.
And here’s the picture he found to be the placeholder for Two Rivers:
Later on Jenny went down to South Carolina and they did walk the area and a lot of the plot came out of what they saw and talked about. “Walking the terrain” is a good idea.