diff --git a/t/t6026-merge-attr.sh b/t/t6026-merge-attr.sh
index 2672b15aa3..7a6e33e673 100755
--- a/t/t6026-merge-attr.sh
+++ b/t/t6026-merge-attr.sh
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ test_expect_success 'custom merge does not lock index' '
 		sleep 1 &
 		echo $! >sleep.pid
 	EOF
-	test_when_finished "kill \$(cat sleep.pid) || :" &&
+	test_when_finished "kill \$(cat sleep.pid)" &&
 
 	test_write_lines >.gitattributes \
 		"* merge=ours" "text merge=sleep-one-second" &&