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Marian Allen writes science fiction, fantasy, mystery, humor, horror, mainstream, and anything else she can wrestle into fixed form. Allen has had stories in anthologies, on-line and print publications, including Oceans of the Mind and Canada's On Spec, on coffee cans and the wall of an Indian restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. She writes a daily food history column for Worldwide Recipes.com, The Best Darned Recipezine in the Whole Darned Universe.

Mercy Killing by Marian Allen

One other car in the Late-Kwik lot. I pull down the ski mask, slip on the thin gloves, zip up the heavy jacket, draw my gun.

She's behind the counter. He's in the aisle, smiling, charming her.

Blam! He's down. Blam! He's dead.

"Oh, no! Please!"

"Money."

She empties the drawer, shaking.

"Down."

She flattens. "Please."

I drive home, dumping the coat and money on the way, feeling like Lady Bountiful.

Spared that girl twice tonight: Didn't shoot her––and killed Curt before he did to her what he did to me. Two good deeds in a naughty world.

THE END