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far as the three possibilities regarding Jonathan's fate. I don't agree with anything else you said and I certainly don't intend to back down from my commitment to
Victoria
."

"Not even if it's in
Victoria
's best interest?"
    "
Victoria
wants her husband back. We all know that."
    "My niece is a hopeless romantic. Someday she'll pay heavily for that weakness."
    Kelly stood up. There was nothing more to say. She wasn't getting through to Cecily, any more than Cecily was getting through to her. "I still think there's something you're not telling me." She picked up her purse. "When you're ready to tell me what that is, give me a call. And if it's something that could expedite the search for Jonathan, I urge you to tell me very quickly. Or the police if you'd prefer."
    Cecily rose as well and walked her to the door. "I suppose deep down I already knew what your answer would be, but I had to try." A good sport, she smiled. "What will you do first? Talk to Syd Webber?"
    "He's at the top on my list."
    "Beware of him, Kelly. He may be rich, charming and successful, and he may rub elbows with all the right people, but underneath that pretty veneer is a corrupt man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.   Remember that when you talk to him."
    Knowing how Cecily felt about Syd Webber, Kelly took the advice with a grain of salt. Her disapproval of the man, however, wasn't entirely unjustified. Earlier this morning, Kelly had logged on to Nexis , the newspaper database, and retrieved every bit of information she could gather on the casino tycoon. He was no saint. In
Las Vegas
, where he had made his fortune, Webber had befriended notorious crime boss Tony Marquese and had been implicated in a scam involving Chinese refugees.
    He was later exonerated, but a cloud of suspicion had hung over his head for a long time after that.
    "I'll remember. Thanks for the advice."

"Will you keep me abreast of how your investigation goes?"
    Kelly wasn't in the habit of giving day-to-day accounts of her activities to anyone, but Cecily was almost family . "I'll let
Victoria
know," she replied diplomatically. "I'm sure she'll fill you in."
    Five.
    Every time Kelly came to
Atlantic City
she was astounded by the changes that had occurred to the small seaside town in the last couple of years.
    Once a playground for the elite,
Atlantic City
's reign as the queen of resorts had ended in the mid-sixties when airplane travel began to make other destinations more attractive. Before long, the town had decayed and the luxurious hotels that were once grand became old and tired. As a result, the crowds stopped coming and families who had lived there for decades moved away, leaving behind crime-ridden streets and ailing neighborhoods.
    The advent of legalized casino gambling in the late seventies was supposed to have helped return the city to its former grandeur, but somewhere along the way politicians had lost track of their good intentions. While casinos prospered and developers made tons of money, behind the glitz and glamour of the boardwalk poverty remained untouched.
    It wasn't until a new mayor was elected that the long-overdue renovation plans for
Atlantic City
began to take shape. Streets were repaired, un habitable homes were torn down and replaced, and employment rose. The transformation wasn't happening overnight, but little by little,
Atlantic City
was coming back.
    The ocean-front Chenonceau was a twenty-three story glass-and-concrete structure that surpassed even Donald Trump's Taj Mahal in glamour and opulence. The vast lobby was a study in gold, with a huge marble fountain in the center and swank boutiques all around, where high rollers spent their winnings without bothering to look at the price tags.
    From the busy casino floor, Kelly could hear the continuous clang of slot machines and an occasional shout of triumph as a gambler hit the jackpot.
    Although she had made an appointment to see Syd Webber, it took the receptionist nearly fifteen