Regnery is the western New York town where Burke Devore’s search for work becomes a setting for calculated surveillance. Its most important appearance centers on the Coach House: a public, respectable restaurant chosen to make a false job interview credible while giving Burke a clear view of Hauck Curtis Exman’s arrival and departure. From Regnery, the encounter shifts onto the road toward Sable Jetty, carrying the scene from a staged professional meeting into pursuit.

Setting and Character

Regnery is presented through a practical survey of its streets and the Coach House rather than through a broad description of the town. The restaurant stands on the main street, in a relatively upscale part of town frequented by local gentry. That polished setting helps the supposed meeting with a company personnel director seem ordinary: an employment discussion over lunch fits the venue, and its location is not far from Exman’s residence.

For Burke, however, the Coach House’s social respectability is only part of its value. The main street offers straightforward parking, while the restaurant’s large, mullioned Colonial-style windows allow someone on the sidewalk to see the entrance area. Inside, a maître d’ greets customers beside a small waiting space with two benches. The details make the restaurant legible as a place of observation: a visitor can watch who arrives and where they wait without needing to enter.

The Coach House Meeting

The restaurant’s role begins with a letter inviting Exman to meet a personnel director, Laurie Kilpatrick, for lunch at one o’clock on Friday, June 20. The letter asks him to confirm by mail, explaining that a phone call might cause unnecessary distress because the employee to be replaced is still at the company. That carefully framed explanation gives the invitation a practical, confidential tone. Regnery and the Coach House supply the concrete destination that makes the proposed interview feel like a genuine appointment.

Burke has chosen the location after driving around the area nine days earlier. He considers the Coach House ideal for his purposes because it is prominent enough to be easy to find yet offers convenient parking and a clear view of the entrance. At five minutes to one on Friday, he waits in the Voyager down the block, timing his first walk past the restaurant for the expected arrival. Regnery’s street layout and the restaurant’s windows let him turn an invented appointment into a controlled opportunity to see Exman in person.

From Town to Pursuit

When Exman finally comes out into the sunlight, he pauses on the sidewalk, looks along the block, and turns toward Burke. Burke keeps his face turned toward a bank across the street as Exman passes, then watches him in the vehicle’s mirrors as he walks away. The public street gives Burke a way to observe without approaching; the restaurant’s usefulness continues beyond the lunch appointment, through the moment Exman reaches his car.

Burke waits until Exman has driven past before pulling out. He follows the black Ford Taurus out of Regnery, keeping at least one other car between them. The secondary road leads to State Route 9, where Exman turns north toward Sable Jetty. Burke had expected him to turn into Sable Jetty, but Exman continues up Route 9 instead. Regnery is therefore not merely the destination named in a false interview letter: it is the starting point for a route Burke must adapt to as his target leaves town.

Narrative Significance

Regnery’s significance lies in the contrast between its ordinary civic surface and Burke’s use of it. The Coach House is a local restaurant suited to a professional lunch, and its main-street visibility makes it convenient for both parties. Those same features allow Burke to monitor Exman while maintaining distance. The town’s recognizable public spaces support the disguise of routine business even as Burke converts the appointment into surveillance and pursuit.