Truck a Duck — Claudia H. Long

A food-truck storm is brewing in the wine-soaked tourist heaven of Simpato. Sal DeVine, temporarily suspended lawyer and town Keeper of Secrets, takes on a new challenge, covering a City Council meeting for the local paper, the Simpato Quack. Known to the locals as Sin-Pato, or Without a Duck, Simpato is famous for its wine, gourmet food, cannabis-cookie-selling nuns, and awful duck puns. Is there room for food-trucks downtown? The locals working in the tourist hotels and vineyards want places they can afford to eat at amidst the high-end restaurants and boutiques. The shop owners and winemakers don't agree. The City Council compromises with a two month trial for three of the five local trucks-a fair solution until one food truck owner turns up dead. Are the spots worth dying for? Is the chic atmosphere worth killing for? Sal DeVine needs to know.