Origin - Season One Read Online Free PDF

what I said to your father the first and last time he ever asked me to change one of his ads after our print deadline?”
    “No, ma’am,” Jesse said.
    “‘You’re too damn late, Corbin.’ That’s what I said. And here I am, saying it again all these years later.”
    Jesse’s mind went blank. He looked down at Julia, the Herald’s forty-something spinster receptionist, who offered him a sympathetic smile.
    “I was running an errand, ma’am. I’m very sorry.”
    “Was it an urgent errand?” Mrs. Abernathy asked, sounding perfectly reasonable.
    “It could have waited, ma’am.”
    “When you get to be my age, you’ll discover that everything is urgent. But if you’re going to work for me, I’ll have to insist that you place my urgencies at the top of your list. Is that fair, Jesse?”
    “Very fair, ma’am.”
    “Excellent. You can start by taking this to the post office.”
    She held out a package wrapped in brown paper.
    “It’s not important, so don’t let that old fart talk you into sending it express. Standard will do. When you get back, I want you to go down to the sheriff’s office and get a picture of the new deputy for the appointments section. Maggie will give you the camera. It’s one of those digital things, so you shouldn’t have any trouble using it. Head and shoulders only. Make sure he’s not wearing a hat and that his hair is combed.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Jesse said and turned to leave.
    He was halfway out the door when Mrs. Abernathy coughed twice. He turned around and saw she was still holding the package. He walked back, took it, flashed her a fool’s grin and left.
    When he got to the sheriff’s office at around half-past nine, Jesse found the man himself sitting behind his desk with both feet up, reading a copy of Law and Order . Sheriff Dale Trent peered over the edge of the magazine and said, “That you, Jesse Corbin?”
    “Sure thing, Sheriff.”
    “My Betty tells me you got yourself a job working for that witch over at the Herald. I told her it couldn’t possibly be true.”
    “Guilty as charged,” Jesse said.
    The sheriff put down the magazine, crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Jesse like a man contemplating what to say to a child who was obviously too dumb for reason.
    “Did she send you over here to get a scoop ?” he said.
    “No, sir. She wants a picture of the new deputy for the paper.”
    “Oh. Well that’s easy enough. He’s in the locker room.”
    Jesse was waiting for the sheriff to say something else, but he only pointed to the door at the end of the counter.
    “Just go on in, son. His name is Brendan. As far as I know, he doesn’t bite.”
    At first, Jesse thought there must be someone else with the deputy. He could hear talking as soon as he opened the door. Then he saw him.
    Deputy Brendan Mills was standing in front of a long mirror at the end of a row of lockers. He was wearing his uniform pants and his Sam Brown belt, but nothing above the waist. He had one hand on the butt of his gun and appeared to be speaking to himself.
    “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen, pal. Now you let her go or I’ll have to introduce you to my friends Smith and Wesson.”
    The deputy drew the gun, but instead of getting it out of the holster, he succeeded only in pulling the belt, pants and all, right up to his rib cage. Jesse tried not to laugh, but it was futile. Deputy Mills spun around. “Who the hell are you?”
    “Jesse Corbin, sir. I work for the Morisson Herald. Mrs. Abernathy sent me to get a picture of you for the paper.”
    “How long you been spying on me?”
    “I just walked in,” Jesse said.
    “Well, then you missed the best part, kid. That last line was just one of my backups.”
    “Sounded all right to me,” Jesse lied.
    “So, you want this shot with or without my shirt on?” the deputy asked.
    “It would probably be best if you had it on.”
    Jesse decided he liked the new deputy. The man was a little vain, to be sure, but