Epstein’s U.K. ally turns up at L.A. diner

The whereabouts of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has come under intense scrutiny since the death of her former boyfriend, convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

But in a photograph published on Thursday, Maxwell, an alleged accomplice in the financier’s child sex trafficking ring — an allegation she has always denied — appears relaxed and apparently happy to pose at a burger chain in the Hollywood Hills.

The emergence of the picture, reportedly taken on Monday afternoon, has led to speculation that Maxwell may be planting appearances to avoid public scrutiny. Fittingly, she was said to be reading a book on the “secret lives” of CIA operatives. Once spotted, Maxwell apparently told an onlooker: “Well, I guess this is the last time I’ll be eating here.”

The spotlight on the 57-year-old intensified last week when unsealed court documents revealed she was accused of playing a key role in procuring young girls for Epstein, who was found dead in his New York cell on Saturday. An autopsy report released Friday determined Epsetin died of suicide by hanging.

He had been arrested on July 6 and was awaiting trial on fresh charges involving underage girls.

Maxwell, the youngest child of disgraced publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, has never been charged with any crime, and has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s sexual abuses.

But in the aftermath of Epstein’s death the U.S. Attorney General William Barr warned “any co-conspirators should not rest easy” and lawyers for his alleged victims are said to be keen to speak to Maxwell.

Workers at the In-N-Out burger bar were under strict instruction by their bosses not to divulge any details of Maxwell’s unexpected visit on Monday.

Maxwell’s links to Los Angeles are tenuous, with her circle of acquaintances and reality star friends anchored to the east coast.

Her ocean conservation project, TerraMar, which ceased operating last month, is linked to beach cleanups across the West Coast, but its Los Angeles-based owners were nowhere to be found on Thursday evening.

On Wednesday a report suggesting that Maxwell was in a property in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., led camera crews to the New England town. The owner of the house, Scott Borgerson, later insisted she was not at his home.

One resident, who said he often saw Maxwell and Borgerson out running, said she had not been seen in the area for at least two weeks.

Several sources suggested the Paris-born socialite may have travelled to Aix-en-Provence. There was speculation she could have been staying with her sister Christine in the village of Meyreuil. However, documents seen by The Daily Telegraph showed the couple sold their property in the area in 2015.