here's dennis murphy. winter co and stays late in far western new york. the farmlands near chautauqua lake, tilled by amish and dutch li and ice for months at a time, but in this place of frozen stillness, the hottest of passions, boiling jealousy came 1700 residents in the southwest part of the country, is still shakof joe gerace is the long-time sheriff. >> my 35 years in law enforcement, can you ever remember a homicide in clymer? never. >> it ga the new school superintendent in town went missing one weekend, just a few weeks into the school year in september 2012. keith reed, 51 years old, was a long-time educator who had landed in the sweet spot of his professional career. >> parents and family members, do you believe in our graduates? >> reporter: the up until then school principal had applied for the top administrative job in the clymer district with his big brother, kevin, urging him on. >> says there's this little school up in chautauqua county called clymer. he said, i don't know whether i should apply there. i said apply. >> you were the nudger

. >> i'm lester holt, and this is "dateline," this is dennis murphy with the house in sydney's cove. >> there's never a good day to search for a missing woman, but this rainy day in the heat of july made an unhappy task all but unbearable. >> take some flowers with you. >> they decided, the friends and family, they'd all wear red shirts. they got themselves organized in the parking lot of a walmart in georgia, about an hour outside of atlanta. they set out to find any trace of a petite corporate executive. >> got three kids that would love to see her home. >> amy robinson told reporterers her sister, mother of three, was never one to up and disappear without a word to anyone. >> we are worried. we have no idea where she is or what's happened to her. >> as fate would have it, the question of where she was would be answered soon enough, but even now, the question of what happened to nikki remains unclear. >> i'm sick of playing your games. >> what is clear from the recording left behind is that she lived a troubled and tormented life. >> this is what i live day in and day out, keeping

here's dennis murphy. >> reporter: if you ask someone in town where the buzziest part of ft. lauderdale lies, they'll probably steer you here. las olas boulevard. and way up there in this high-rent district is a penthouse office suite that once upon a time was home to a high-powered law firm. the boldest, brassiest bunch of politically-connected lawyer players in south florida. the rothstein law firm. >> it had a gorgeous, sweeping, panoramic view. all the way out to the ocean. >> reporter: from a few guys with law degrees to a juggernaut by the mid 2000s. with more than 70 attorneys led by scott rothstein. mike mayo is a columnist for the ft. lauderdale "sun sentinel." >> he probably thinks, "i'm king of the world." >> reporter: and the firm is where melissa lewis, an earnest, by-the-book attorney, found great success for herself and her clients. she was by all accounts a workaholic who loved what she did. no shrinking violet either. melissa loved those boozy, splashy office parties just as much as the other lawyers. she'd found herself a nice slice of the "american pie." ♪

here is dennis murphy with what lies beneath. >> you don't need a moon over miami for it to be beautiful by night. the skyline reflected in biscayne bay will do fine, but it is not for everyone. >> i am so, so worried about you. >> some people are scared by the dark water, afraid of the creatures that lurk down below. afraid of the creatures above who scuttle through the night on secret errands. >> i have no idea where you are. >> you just may share those fears after you hear the story of a woman named lynn fremt. >> none of this makes sense to anyone that knows lynn friend. >> local news caster told the story of this good neighbor. >> she was that all american girl, blue eyes, beautiful smile from here to california. >> the good mom. >> she adored her son, they were inseparable. >> little did anyone suspect that for the next 20 years the story of lynn friend would haunt a young man's life, and the mystery of what happened would be unsolved >> she hasn't been seen in days. >> what happened to lynn that put her in the cross hairs of miami tv news was that she was missing. just flat out go

here is dennis murphy with "the house on sydney's cove." >>> there's never a good day to search for a missing woman. this rainy, muggy saturday in the heat of july made an unhappy task, unbearable. >> take flowers with you. >> they decided, the friends and family, they would all wear red shirts. they got organized in a parking lot in lawrenceville, georgia, an hour outside atlanta then looks for nique leili. >> missing for a week now. three kids that would love to see her home. >> amy robinson told reporters her 44-year-old sister, mother of three, was hardly the kind of person who would just up and disappear without a word to anyone. >> i'm just so worried about my sister. we just have no idea where she is, or what -- what's happened to her. >> as fate would have it, the question of where nique was would be answered soon enough. but even now, the question of what happened to nique remains unclear. >> i am sick of playing your games. >> what is clear from the recordings she left behind is that nique leili lived a trouble and tormented life. >> this is what i live day in and day out is