Harris and Bell: Shorts

Bricks and Mortar

"Bricks 'n Mortar."

"Are you sure, Tanner?" He looked over at the old man. He could barely make out Tanner's faded, white Hawaiian shirt in the dark.

"Sure as rain. Now gimme 'em, Rookie," Tanner growled as he stabbed the shovel into the dirt beside him. "You be'n half my age 'n all, you should be the 'un down here digg'n."

Rookie, better known as Leo Pell, handed the bricks and bags of mortar down to him from the truck's green bed. "Shouldn't we put her in there first?"

"Course not. We'll put 'er in with a layer above 'n below. Then we'll sit that bush back on top of it all. Nobody'll ever know but us." He smirked, showing his gapped, grimy teeth.

"Alright, if you say so..." Leo looked over at the girl, squirming in her bonds. Her green eyes were wide and pleading, and her face was paler than paper. He looked away.

"More bricks!"

"Yes, sir." He passed more bricks down and glanced at the girl again. Her brown bangs and wavy hair, a tangled mess as they were, had a soft glimmer under the moonlight. For a moment, there was someone else tied there before him. He quickly shook his head to clear that thought and fully concentrated himself upon handing bricks to Tanner.

"Okay, Rookie. Bring 'er ov'r." He stood up and dusted his hands against each other before rubbing them along his jeans. "Well? Go'n. Sun'll be coming up shortly; gotta get her done long before then."

Leo walked stiffly over to the girl and grabbed her by the pale purple collar of her dress and dragged her over to beside the hole. "I'm sorry..." he whispered to her, but she didn't hear him. She only squinched her eyes shut.

Tanner pulled a revolver out of his back pocket and held it out towards him. "I'll let ya do the honors, Rookie."

"Thank you, sir." He took the gun, struggling to maintain a blank expression.

"I'll hold 'er fer ya, so watch yer aim."

Leo nodded and held up the revolver, his palm already slick on the butt. He looked at the quivering girl and then at Tanner's vicious expression and felt reassured for his task. He took a deep breath, aimed, closed his eyes, and fired. Leo cringed as he heard the gasp and the soft plop. He peeked into the hole and dropped the gun in from his quivering hand. He grabbed a bag of mortar and dumped it in, following it quickly with water and bricks. He stepped back and watched as the mortar grew pink as it covered the faded Hawaiian shirt.

"Hey, shh, it's okay," he told the girl as he untied her. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, miss, but you may go now. You'll be okay." He held his hands up to show he meant her no more harm.

The girl bolted off without a single glance back, leaving Leo alone with a bush, a hole, a corpse, and some bricks and mortar. She'd run to the police now, he knew that. Yet, it would be at least thirty minutes before they came after him, which was plenty of time for him to finish up and take off. He turned and looked again into the hole and sneered as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "Who's the rookie now, Tanner?"