PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The woman who claims to have been raped at the Kennedy family estate left the compound after the alleged assault but apparently returned shortly afterward and talked with William Kennedy Smith, the man she named as her attacker, sources close to the case said.

The disclosure comes as police say they are nearing the end of their investigation and follows the revelation that the 29-year-old woman took an antique vase and possibly Kennedy family photographs from the mansion because she wanted to prove that she had been there.

Police Chief Joseph L. Terlizzese confirmed that detectives were investigating reports that the woman returned to the estate after the incident.

The sources, who asked to remain anonymous, did not disclose whether the woman returned to the ocean-side compound alone. Nor did they describe the nature of the conversation she had with Mr. Smith.

It was not clear, the sources said, whether the woman took the vase, described as about 12 inches high and worth more than $1,000, on her first or second trip to the estate. Police have said that the vase, one of a set of two, is being held as evidence in the rape investigation.

The woman's attorney, David Roth, declined to comment when asked about the vase and why the woman would return to the compound where she said she had been raped.

The woman, who has a young daughter, has told police that she was raped at the compound about 4:30 a.m. March 30.