: Autuor’s Note in the middle of the block. The imposing residence had a stone i Bee pied te eoow. Aen facade and a fifteen-foot-high front door that wouldn't have E apcui she underage gaze looked out of place protecting a castle. And, like our neighbor's coe bebpence i ve ae slippers, the house had a monogram: raised brass letters that Epecein delle pe 1 even three, young wome The house and, quite possibly, the two women belonged to asked pene iis Jeffrey Epstein, a rich and powerful man who was also a regis- 1 oe a a a ui tered sex offender with a strong taste for underage women. 4 ne ae wey one Not just sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds. But younger girls j Epstein oe powery ms: in his private jet and rubt Epstein was alleged to have abused dozens of young women, } a Gee a or, more accurately, girls. He’d settled potential lawsuits with ae nelinetae some of them. He’d done a bit of prison time for his crimes. A bit ieseiny ob eae | of time. And now here he was, out in the world again. 4 ae ee tman I wanted to know. Aft Accompanied by two beautiful young women. a "Saad ee oe where | lived. Stirred by t | had been hearing hair-raising stories about Jeffrey Epstein for a ; pe oranet eee couple of years. Our interests could not have been more differ- if ! Be parcieres with ent, but Palm Beach, where we both live, is small and tightly pom oe oe cee ent cease IE ; owing the Epstein sto: Epstein’s arrest had made headlines in papers all over the 7 the 5 world. But in Palm Beach, it caused a scandal that continues to a i set off aftershocks and leave a bad smell. : ee a ale neigut So I had followed Epstein’s case in the media and talked ae - a | about it over dinners with friends. I wondered why it had taken . a Ae ee ox “ fo so long for the Palm Beach police to catch up with Epstein. And, ; a Sach are still working th | once they did, why he had served so little jail time. a Boabining our i - | Those were the obvious questions, but there were others: 4 Per court lines