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James PATTERSON “Why?” she asked when she got to speak to Carter directly. “He’s sensitive about the young women. And we still get to run most of the piece.” In her notebook, Ward wrote down the rest of what Carter had said: “I believe him,” he told her. “’'m Canadian.” But the piece that came out, in the March issue, still created a sensation. It was called “The Talented Mr. Epstein” in a sly refer- ence to Patricia Highsmith’s celebrated suspense novel The Tal- ented Mr. Ripley. The film adaptation, by Anthony Minghella, was still fresh in the minds of Vanity Fair's readers. For Graydon Carter, just posing the question Is Epstein some sort of scam artist, like Ripley? had been question enough. And throughout the wouldn't miss as they drew their own conclusions about Epstein’s life story. It came through clearly in the first line of the last paragraph of Ward's 7,500-word “Many people comment there is something innocent, piece, there were ironies readers story: almost childlike about Jeffrey Epstein.” In context, the word innocent was rather ironic—so much so that it almost became its own opposite. Todd Meister: June 20: arry Cipriani, on tion. The restaura post of Harry’s Bar outpost in Venice. Locate: its a theme restaurant—1 hedge-fund manager name wealthy man—Jeffrey Ep father, Epstein’s sometime “Tve known Jeffrey sir > let me tell you what I kr ) everybody else says. First 4 and here’s why—he has ni " that for him.” _ Meister knows how to it the Son of a superrich fathe HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_010495