Flick Whitlock

 

Flick Whitlock works regular shifts at the Beguile Cinema in downtown Beguile.  No one can quite remember exactly how long they have been in Beguile but they were a welcome sight in the ticket box at the front of the cinema.  

One or two older members of Beguile seem to have a vague recollection of a 1930s Film Noir Festival after which Flick started taking shifts at the cinema ticket box.  The owner of the Beguile Cinema, Harvey Edison, claims that Flick is the best worker the cinema has ever had.  He tells people that they are reliable and good at their job.  

Harvey was the first to laugh out loud when a young movie enthusiast wrote a blog post hinting at Flick having an uncanny resemblance to a 1930s B-grade actress by the name of Meg Hardy.  This revelation caused a mild stir in the community.  Some people even pointed out that one of the features at the Film Noir Festival, The Dark Streets, a thriller about a detective searching for a woman  suspected of killing her husband, only to fall in love with her and help her escape, had featured Meg Hardy as the femme fatale.  When intrigued Begulians had sought out the film The Dark Streets no one could find it.  Although he was sure he had once had the film Harvey put the inability of anyone to locate the film down to mass hysteria caused by the wonderful film event and refused to talk about it. 

Although the fervour died down and Flick just kept doing a stellar job at the cinema, there are times that patrons will whisper to each other after they have served them.  They note their  look and the way that every now and then some people claimed that they are sure that just for a second they would swear that they see Flick flicker.  Those who have seen this usually keep it to themselves putting it down to a trick of the light.  

Becky Ford‘s Special Candles

Candles illuminate the darkness and Becky Ford‘s family have been crafting candles in Beguile for decades.  When Becky took over the business from her father Aiden, there were the usual small town grumbling of concern.  Becky however surprised the townsfolk despite the whispers about her being quite simple and dull and began to make wonderous candles.  She was able to expand the original workshop and as a lone woman produced an alarming number of candles.  Thwarting the naysayers Becky even created an online business for her candles and some are shipped to faraway exotic places in the world.  

Becky’s business expanded quickly and those in Beguile worried she may not be able to meet the town supply catering to the whimsy of those farther afield.  Not only does she always ensure that Beguile citizens have the stock they require she has began to make special candles just for those that live in town. The candles are unnecessarily decorative and Becky only makes and sells a few of theses candles a month which of course makes them all the more sought after.  For those unable to get hold of one of the special candles there has been a growing rumble of envy.  Of course this isn’t simply about the beauty of the candles but more about the persistent murmurings regarding the first minute one of the candles is lit.  It’s alleged that a relative or friend who has passed appears in the candles illumination before a small puff of smoke is emitted and the dearly departed vanish.  Despite this speculation being largely unsubstantiated the waiting list for one of Becky‘s special candles grows daily in Beguile. 

 

Rodney Thoms and Johnny Hamilton

 

Inspired by the tales told to him

by his grandfather Desmond Thoms  about the disappearance of Desmond’s brother Jimmy, Rodney Thoms had always loved a mystery.  

As a child he liked to imagine he was a famous detective and even used his grandfather’s magnifying glass to look for clues.   As he grew older he read everything he could find about detectives and the work that they did.  

Unsolved mysteries bothered Rodney and he became a private detective opening the first detective agency in Beguile. 

The townsfolk found it a relief to finally have someone to look into some of the more curious and baffling occurrence in the town.

No mystery plagued Rodney more then his grandfather’s brothers disappearance from his gas station on the old highway in the 50s.  Some people who remembered  the famed UFO sightings the summer Jimmy disappeared believed he had simply been abducted by aliens.  Rodney had spoken to eyewitnesses of the event.  Unidentified cylindrical  shaped crafts in the sky had been seen by hundreds of people in Beguile.  

Rodney had also found information on a known gangster who had passed through the town that night but there was no evidence that he had even gone  anywhere near Jimmy’s gas station.  

The disappearance niggled at Rodney and he was slightly perturbed by the continual sightings and accounts of lights and spectral voices at the deserted gas station.  

Rodney did however have one thing that set him apart from other private detectives so he was confident that he would one day crack the case just like the others he was working on in Beguile.   

The citizens of Beguile were thankful for the work Rodney did for the town but behind closed doors they commented and raised their eyebrows at his obsession with a cheap paperback book he had been seen reading since he was a young man.  The book was written by a hack author known as Bryn Dodd, who had lived in the town for a few years and wrote a novel about a detective called Johnny Hamilton.  The book was a failure in the  bookshops and Dolores Paige, the librarian had long ago gotten rid of the town’s copy of the book.  

What Rodney never revealed was that the fictional Johnny Hamilton would leave him messages around the office with clues and tips.  The first message had been on a yellow post-it note left beside Rodney’s dog-eared copy of Hard City Night the book that featured  the gumshoe detective Johnny Hamilton.  The first note was in reference to a missing child and the information on it had been accurate leading to the child being found.  

Since then Rodney had looked forward to the help from the fictional Johnny Hamilton.  It didn’t really matter that he wasn’t real or so Rodney thought.  What Rodney wanted mostly now was a note explaining the boxed human

heart that had just been delivered  to his office.  

Bungalow 9

Bungalow 9

Along Lake Brock just before it spills into the sea there are a collection of brightly coloured holiday bungalows.  Built a few decades earlier, they remain a popular place for holiday makers.  The nine bungalows have been placed with care right on the shores of the lake much to the delight of anyone that rents one. 

Identical in layout and decor they are equally sought out, that’s all but bungalow number 9.  Even in summer, the most popular holiday season, when accomodation in Beguile, especially along the water ways is at a premium, bungalow number 9 is always empty.  

Many have no idea as to why they refuse the bungalow and decide to holiday somewhere else if all the holiday accomodation is full.  Older members of Beguile know why though.

The holiday accomodation known by its collective name of the Rivers Rest was built by Janey and Wilbur Duff.  Long time residents of Beguile they had bought to fruition their dream of building a place that families could enjoy on the shores of Lake Brock.  The first few years saw the Rivers Rest  filled with holiday makers enjoying the sun and water and the simple but comfortable accomodation.  Popular with seniors and children alike the colourful little bungalows were booked all year round. 

In the fifth year of the Rivers Rest Janey, a beloved host, was said to have left to help an elderly relative in a neighbouring town.  Wilbur gallantly kept the bungalows open and did his best to accomodate those holidaying by Lake Brock.  The year that Janey was absent was one of the hottest the locals could remember and Lake Brock was a popular destination for those wanting to cool down.  People staying in Rivers Rest started to complain to Wilbur about an unpleasant odour.  Always a thoughtful and accommodating host, he assured them that it was a tidal quirk from the lake and that the hotter summer days were to blame.  Though it was bad some relief was give by the stiff sea breeze that came in from the coast. 

After about two weeks though, as the stench increased guests started to leave Rivers Rest. One family that decided to stay had two teenage boys who were inquisitive and decided to trace the source of the reeking odour.  It bought them to bungalow 9.  The curtains were drawn but the locks were flimsy and the two troublesome boys decided to break in to the deserted bungalow.  They jimmied the door and were greeted by a nauseating stench the source of which revealed itself as their eyes adjusted to the darkened room.  

Janey hadn’t  made it out of town, in fact she sat, propped up in a chair in the corner of a room, her suitcase placed neatly on the floor beside her. 

When finally questioned Wilbur explained that the “woman in the water” had taken a dislike to Janey and had insisted he do something about her. He didn’t have the heart to bury her in the ground and Janey had always had a soft spot for Bungalow 9. 

No further explanation was ever given about a woman in the water and Wilbur spent the rest of his life in psychiatric care during which time he liked to regale his fellow inmates with tales of the mysterious woman who stepped from the depths of the lake one winters day.