"My in-laws sent my 6-year-old daughter a cute brown teddy bear for her birthday. She smiled for a second, then suddenly froze and asked, “Mommy, what is it?” When I looked closer, my face went pale. I didn’t scream. I acted—and three days later, police were at their door.

The second arrest did not go quietly.

At 4:30 AM, police units surrounded the Mercer mansion in Oakridge Estates. But when officers knocked on the door, no one answered.

When police kicked down the front door, they found the house in complete disarray. Drawers were yanked open, papers were scattered across the floor, and the safe in Arthur’s office was wide open and empty.

Arthur Mercer’s car was missing from the garage. Margaret’s ankle monitor had been cut and left sitting on the kitchen island next to a pair of heavy-duty wire cutters.

"They fled," Vance called to tell us at 5:00 AM. "Margaret managed to slip her monitor off using a commercial bypass technique, and Arthur cleared out their cash accounts. We’ve issued an All-Points Bulletin for their vehicle."

Panic set in like a wave of ice water. "They're on the run?" I screamed into the phone. "Vance, what if they come here?! What if they try to take Lily?!"

"They won't get near you," Vance assured me. "I have two uniformed officers posted outside your house right now. Stay inside."

But Margaret and Arthur weren't heading for our house. They were heading for a private airfield thirty miles north, where Arthur owned a share in a twin-engine light aircraft.

At 6:15 AM, a state police cruiser spotted Arthur's silver Mercedes speeding down Route 9 towards the airfield. When the officer activated his lights, Arthur didn't stop. He accelerated.

A high-speed chase ensued across two counties. For fifteen minutes, Arthur drove recklessly, dodging morning commuter traffic, fueled by sheer panic and Margaret’s screaming demands that he "keep driving."

It ended at the intersection of Highway 9 and Airport Road.

Arthur attempted to blow through a red light at eighty miles an hour to turn into the airfield entrance. A semi-truck, traveling legally through the intersection, smashed directly into the passenger side of the Mercedes.

The car spun out of control, flipping twice before coming to a rest upside down in a drainage ditch.

When emergency crews arrived at the scene with the jaws of life, they pulled Arthur from the driver's seat. He was conscious, but suffered two broken ribs, a fractured femur, and severe concussion.

Margaret was trapped in the passenger seat. She was unharmed, save for minor cuts and bruises, thanks to the side airbags.

As paramedics strapped her to a gurney, surrounded by state troopers with guns drawn, Margaret didn't ask about her husband's injuries. She didn't ask about the damage to the car.