## JAMES PATTERSON

Palm Beach PD and prevailed upon him to have the investigation called off.

Epstein had met Alessi at a luncheonette, he explained, and Alessi had agreed to pay back the money. At the time, it made no sense to prosecute: Epstein was a busy man. He was going to get his money. But he did invite the police into his home to install the cameras. This was a service that the Palm Beach PD provided (though Epstein would be the only one with access to the foot- age). But while they were there, the police had noticed a group of attractive young women who seemed to be camped out at the house.

The group included Sarah Kellen and Nadia Marcinkova. None of the girls was a relative of Epstein-that fact had caught the cops' attention.

And now, as the search continues, the cops see photographs of the very same girls.

On Epstein's desk, the officers find Alison's high school transcript.

The thing is, the detectives can't shake the feeling that the Epstein house has been tidied up for their arrival. Shelves look as though they've been emptied, and several photographs appear to have been removed from the walls.

"[Judging] by the condition of the place to be searched," Chief Reiter will say in his deposition for B.B. vs. Epstein, "some- one probably had cleaned it up a bit.”

Maybe there's nothing too surprising about this. After all, Reiter's team knows that Epstein's gotten wind of their investiga- tion. What is surprising is that for a house that's been scrubbed, there's so much left lying around.

appears to have gone
nating materials, but
It was as if the th
ister as wrong.

There's another feeli
that they themselves
First Reiter hears
yers have hired pri
checks.

A public-records
Reiter's own records.
Detective Recarey
and that his trash ha
In his entire car
that Reiter's seen or
ing his investigators.
ey's doing great worl
and for good reason
Right now, more vic
now that the warra
interviewing Epstein

In fact, the oddest thing about the search is that someone

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