Sweet Tea Under Fire

Description

Jennifer Carter finishes a long shift at the Sweet Tea Stand only to smell smoke and accelerant in the night air. She turns to find the back of her stand engulfed in flames. Sheriff Michael Brooks and Holly Price arrive with the volunteer fire department to extinguish the localized blaze.

The next morning the stand is charred but intact. Holly finds a melted glass container at the origin point and confirms arson. Jennifer receives a muffled threatening call: “That was just a warming-up exercise.” Gregory Hall recalls similar fires from decades earlier, while Carl Mendoza, a competing vendor, stops by with a suspicious smirk.

Evidence mounts quickly. A high-end lighter engraved with a “C” is found in the rubble. Holly’s lab results tie the accelerant to a product sold at Carl’s hardware store. Tina Johnson photographs a ledger in Carl’s office showing payments to a local drifter, Derek. Shawn Miller later catches Derek lurking near Jennifer’s house, and Derek confesses that Carl paid him to start the fires.

Jennifer and Michael set a trap using antique municipal bonds discovered in a hidden compartment inside the stand. Carl takes the bait, breaks into the stand with a torch, and is caught by Michael and Holly. Carl is arrested, the bonds are secured as evidence, and the town gathers to help Jennifer rebuild.