Impossible Depths (Silver Lake series Book 2)

by McCallum, Coral

  “Wow!” exclaimed Jake, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. “He’s a powerful creation.”

  “Will he do?” she asked, praying that the answer was a resounding “yes”.

  Handing her back the drawing, Jake declared, “I think he’s perfect. He’s ugly. He’s vulnerable. Yet there’s a like-ability factor there.”

  “Thank you. Now, not a word to the others, please.”

  “I’ll try,” promised Jake with a smile. “I love how you got the knot design into his cloak. He’s amazing.”

  “Well, he’ll have to stay secret for another couple of days,” warned Lori, her tone harsher than she had intended. “Now, time to call it a night.”

  ♫

  The first streaks of dawn were lighting the sky on Friday morning before Lori finally finished off the cover artwork for “Out Of The Shadows”. Despite Jake’s protests, she had refused to stop work until the design was finished. Working at night when the house was quiet and creaking occasionally, helped her to create the eerie, dark half of the design. She had created a scene where the imp was emerging from his cave dwelling into the evening sun. In contrast to his short, ugly, twisted form, she had drawn his shadow as a tall, muscular figure. Light and dark; short and tall; ugly and beautiful. The contrasts pleased her. As she scanned the finished piece and emailed it to Jason, she prayed he liked it. She forwarded a copy to Gary, asking him to share it with the band. Satisfied that her work was done, Lori crawled off to bed.

  The gentle strains of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” roused Jake from sleep at seven thirty. Reaching to silence the alarm, he was relieved to find Lori asleep at his side. She had worked late on Wednesday night and had looked completely exhausted the previous night when he had called it a day at midnight. Now, sleeping beside him, she looked pale and drawn, an ethereal quality to her beauty. Silently, he slipped out of bed, picked up his running gear and crept out of the room. Having dressed in the main bathroom, Jake headed out for a run before it was time to drive out to the studio. Pounding out a few miles along the sand in the cool morning sunlight recharged the batteries to his soul. As he ran, his mind raced ahead to the schedule for the day. Despite the rough start to the week, Silver Lake had completed about half of the guitar tracking and were ahead of schedule. They had revised their plan of attack for the coming week to allow some rehearsal time for the record company event in Philadelphia. It might only be a short three song set, but they were under strict instructions to be note perfect.

  A rogue wave broke over his feet as he ran, the cold rush of water, bringing him back to the present. First thing in the morning, the beach was a beautifully, idyllic place to be. So quiet. Only seabirds for company. With a heavy heart, Jake turned after twenty minutes and ran hard and fast back towards the house. Skipping breakfast, he showered and changed, grabbed his satchel and headed off to JJL, leaving Lori a scribbled note. “We’ll be here for dinner by 6. J x”

  On the drive out to the studio, Jake ran through some of his vocal warm up exercises. When he had left the studio the day before, the plan had been for him to do vocals for most of the day as Rich couldn’t come in until after lunch. Neither Grey nor Paul were scheduled to be there, so they had declared their intention to spend the day fishing at the beach. As he swung the truck into his preferred parking space, a day’s fishing sounded heavenly.

  “Morning,” called Kola as he stepped down from the truck.

  “Morning,” replied Jake then noting the tray she was carrying added, “I hope there’s a coffee and some breakfast there for me.”

  “Sure is.”

  Once inside, they sat in the control room with Dr Marrs, listening to some of the tracks that Jake was to sing the vocals for. In the corner, the white board suddenly didn’t look so bare - each of the tracks had at least three squares scored off. Only three out of the fifteen had the vocals crossed out. “Out Of The Shadows” was the only completed song. Sipping his latte, Jake asked, “What’s the plan for the day?”

  “Vocals for tracks twelve, seven, four and one,” stated Dr Marrs firmly. “In that order. No messing. No frills. Then we’ll see if we have any time left.”

  “And Rich is doing backing vocals when he comes in?”

  “If you’re done by then,” said the producer, taking the last donut hole out of the bag. “How long do you need to warm up?”

  “Give me half an hour,” Jake suggested getting to his feet. “I was warming up in the truck on the way out here but it’s way too early for this shit.”

  “You’ve got thirty minutes, Jake,” stated Jim Marrs with a grin. “I’ll leave you to it. I need to go and call Gary.”

  Recording vocals always gave Jake a buzz and, suitably warmed up, with the lyric sheets stacked in front of him, he was eager to get started. He had expressed a preference at the outset of the project to be alone in the studio to record the vocal tracks this time round. Some of the new material was stretching and he wanted a degree of privacy to record those tracks in particular. When he reviewed the running order for the day, he appreciated that the producer had picked a pretty smart schedule. The mid to lower range more straightforward tracks were first, with the higher more complex songs left for the end, when his voice would be as warmed up as it was going to get. Tracks twelve and seven were two of the heavier numbers and, initially, he felt self-conscious performing in front of Kola and Dr Marrs. After three false starts at the first one, Jim Marrs called through. “Turn round, Jake. Don’t face us. Find your own space in that room. Ignore us.”

  “Easy for you to say, my friend,” he laughed nervously. “Easy for you.”

  “Just try it.”

  A simple suggestion, thought Jake, as he repositioned himself. With his back to the control room, he started again. Instinct soon overruled his nerves and he was quickly lost in the song. With the occasional request or instruction from Dr Marrs, Jake focused himself on the work to be done. A couple of times during tracks seven and four, he was the one to halt proceedings and request that they try things differently.

  In the control room, both sound engineer and producer sat in awe of the talent on display in front of them. Having worked with Silver Lake previously, Dr Marrs knew what Jake was capable of but Kola confessed that she had never really heard him sing before. As the time passed, she grew more and more star struck as Jake’s vocals surpassed expectation with every verse. Just as they were about to tackle the final track of the session, Rich arrived, sneaking silently into the control room. Track one was a complex song for Jake to sing. It started with a high ghost-like intro verse then quickly moved into the main body of the song at a deeper faster tempo. Immediately after the guitar solo, the final vocal section returned to the ghost-like quality. The lyrics were about an apocalypse; a total destruction of something; the ruination of a community and the after effects. Eventually, after a couple of takes Jake called a halt.

  “Have you got what you need back there?” he asked, hanging his headphones up on the mic stand.

  “Sure have,” called back Rich.

  At the sound of the guitarist’s voice, Jake turned round, “How long have you been back there?”

  “Long enough,” declared Rich, grinning at him through the glass. “That was fucking awesome, Jake! Can’t wait to do that one live.”

  “It’ll be a tough one,” admitted Jake, heading towards the control room. “A real tough one.”

  “Nothing to a man of your talents, Jake.”

  Blushing profusely, Jake yelled back, “Get your ass in here and let’s get back to work!”

  A constant ringing noise wakened Lori sharply. Still more asleep than awake, she reached for her cell phone.

  “Hello,” she mumbled sleepily.

  “Mz Hyde?” came Jason’s voice, for once sounding a little hesitant.

  “Jason!” she replied, instantly more alert. “Sorry, you woke me.”

  “Apologies,” muttered the Englishman. “Is it not mid-afternoon there?”

  Glancing at
the clock, Lori agreed, then explained that she had been up all night finalising the design for the single.

  “And worth every second of lost sleep, Mz Hyde,” he declared enthusiastically. “It’s fabulous! The possibilities here are endless.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Have the band seen it yet?”

  “I mailed it to Gary to share with them,” she answered, as she sat up in bed. “Jake’s seen the imp character, but not the final cover.”

  “I’ll get feedback from Gary. I hope they love it as much as I do. Is this theme going to carry over onto the album art?”

  “That was the plan,” she said. “I just wasn’t sure you’d like it.”

  “Love it, Mz Hyde!” he enthused. “And I don’t say that too often. Need to run. I’ll be in touch via email with the full remit for the album pieces.”

  “Fine. Run the numbers through David first,” suggested Lori. “If the numbers don’t look good, he’ll negotiate with you on my behalf.”

  “I’ll make sure he approves it all first. Talk to you next week. I assume you’re coming up to Philadelphia?”

  “Probably not,” said Lori softly. “I’ll see you soon though.”

  Placing her phone back on the night stand, Lori let out a sigh of relief. In all the time she had worked for Jason, she had never heard him so enthusiastic about a design. Still smiling like the cat who’d got the cream, she headed into the shower.

  Deciding that she had earned a few hours off, Lori fixed herself a sandwich and took it, along with her sketchpad, out onto the sundeck. While she had been working on the band’s imp design, she had come up with an idea for Danny’s tattoo. In the midst of her work, she had all but forgotten the deadline that was looming on that particular commission. With the sun beating down on her damp hair and bare shoulders, she set to work. The idea she had conceived was a little quirky, leaving her unsure if Danny would like it. She debated with herself, then opted to prepare two designs for him to choose from. It didn’t take her long to do a Celtic knot-style design, based on images of intertwined tattoo guns. This was her “safe” design and, although it was her fall back, Lori was really pleased with it. With the first design completed, she started on the “real” one, her preferred option. The design was a bit of a twist on the imp idea. She had opted to draw a beautiful, fairy princess, stepping out of an ornate doorway. If the design was inked as it was drawn, then the depth perspective would make it look as though she was stepping out of the tattoo artist’s butt cheek. She deliberately chose to draw a very feminine figure, clothed in a dress of shades of blue, her one concession against making it overly “girly.”

  Just as she was putting the final touches to the drawing, she heard Jake’s truck pull up in front of the house.

  “Lori!” he called from indoors a few moments later.

  “Out here!”

  Still wearing his sunglasses, Jake stepped out onto the deck, looking every inch the rock star in his tight jeans, black band T-shirt and boots.

  “Lord, it's hot out here,” he declared as he came over to sit at the table.

  “It’s gorgeous,” sighed Lori, laying her pencil down beside her sketchpad. “Do you like this one?”

  She turned the fairy design towards him.

  Lifting his sunglasses up, Jake admired the drawing, then asked if it was for Silver Lake.

  “No,” she giggled. “It’s my tattoo design for Danny.”

  “It’s brilliant! He can’t have much skin left to ink. Any idea where he’s putting it?”

  Still giggling, Lori replied, “His butt.”

  Jake threw back his head and laughed. “Perfect! And you asked for a photo of the finished tattoo? Love your style, Mz Hyde!”

  “I’ve done a second one as a backup,” confessed Lori, turning the page over to reveal the tattoo gun Celtic knot. “I’ll give them both to him.”

  “That’s clever,” admired Jake approvingly. “If he’s got enough skin left, I can see him going for both.”

  “I thought we could drop them in to him tomorrow. Are you still free tomorrow?”

  “That’s the plan,” replied Jake. “I could talk to him about my next addition.”

  “Have you decided on something?”

  “I keep changing my mind,” admitted Jake. “I was thinking of adding to the music on my arm, but I’m not sure. Or I could add something to my sword.”

  “I could design you a butt tattoo,” teased Lori with a mischievous glint in her bright, blue eyes.

  “Perhaps,” he mused with a smile. “Now, I’m going to get changed and go for a swim before the others get here.”

  “Who’s all coming?” asked Lori as she tidied up her sketching materials.

  “The rest of the band, Dr Marrs, Kola, Linsey and, I think, Paul’s bringing Maddy with him. Gary was going to pick up Scott. I’m not sure if Todd is planning to drop by. He was hoping to pick up an extra shift at work,” rhymed off Jake. “Do we have enough food?”

  “I hope so!” giggled Lori. “There’s plenty of burgers and chicken. I bought some ribs the other day. If anyone wants shrimp, they’ll need to bring it with them.”

  “Rich said Linsey was bringing a seafood salad. I’ll call Jim Marrs and get him to stop off and pick up some shrimp.”

  The roar of Kola’s Harley Davidson sent chills through Lori as the sound engineer pulled up out the front around dusk. Almost everyone else had arrived, the BBQ coals were hot and Jake and Grey were ready to play chef for the night. Hearing Kola arrive, the bass player excused himself and darted round to the front of the house, Sensing Lori’s anxiety, Jake came over to sit beside her on the sun lounger.

  “So, when do we get to see the cover for our single?” he asked, in an effort to distract her mind from thoughts of motorbikes.

  “Gary didn’t share it with you then?” she asked, looking over at the band’s manager.

  “Not yet,” he replied. “I was waiting until we were all here. I’ve had it printed off poster sized. It’s in the car.”

  “Go and fetch it, boy!” snapped Maddy, feigning anger. “And be quick about it!”

  “Yes, ma’am,” laughed Gary, getting up from his seat on the deck.

  “Nice to know you’re still calling the shots, boss,” teased Jake.

  “Someone needs to keep that boy on his toes,” laughed Maddy as she took a large mouthful of wine. The twins had been left in the care of Grey’s mother and, when she had arrived, Maddy had declared her intention to party.

  At that moment Grey returned with his arm protectively around Kola’s slender waist. “Who lit the fire under Gary?”

  Laughing, Jake pointed at Maddy.

  “Figures,” muttered Grey, stopping to take a lite beer out of the cool box for Kola. “You know everyone, don’t you, Kola?”

  Nodding, she said shyly, “I think so.”

  “No need to be shy around here,” said Grey, grinning over at Lori. “The gracious Mz Hyde is used to us all.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” declared Lori, trying and failing to stifle a giggle.

  “Ok. Listen up a minute,” called Gary from the doorway. “Lori, do you want to do the honours?”

  “No,” she replied, blushing slightly at the knowledge her design was about to make its public debut.

  “Here, I’ll help you,” offered Jake, crossing the deck towards the band’s young manager.

  Having taken a corner each, on a count of three, Gary and Jake unrolled the poster-sized copy of the single cover.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Grey. “He’s ugly!”

  “He’s fabulous,” declared Rich and Linsey in unison.

  “Perfect as ever, Mz Hyde,” Maddy complimented warmly. “So much for keeping it simple.”

  “Thanks,” said Lori, her cheeks now scarlet. “He just kind of evolved.”

  Leaving Gary holding the entire poster, Jake stepped round for a closer look. He drank in the design in front of him, then went straight over to Lori and kissed her full on
the lips, adding to her embarrassment.

  “Maddison’s right, li’l lady,” he whispered. “That’s perfect.”

  “Let’s have a toast,” interrupted Rich loudly. “Here’s to the talented and beautiful Mz Hyde!”

  “To Lori!” agreed the others in a loud chorus.

  “And to Silver Lake,” added Lori with a smile. “And to rock and fucking roll!”

  Much later, after they had all eaten their fill and the leftovers had been cleared away, Rich and Jake fetched two guitars from the basement. They had just begun to play when Todd arrived with Kate, apologising for being so late. While Lori rustled up two plates of food for them, Jake sent Todd to fetch himself a guitar. Relaxed in the warmth of the summer night, Jake and Rich coaxed the teenager into playing with them. After some encouragement, Kate was persuaded to sing a few numbers. As the youngsters revelled in the luxury of jamming with Silver Lake, Maddy whispered to Lori, “Those kids have got real talent.”

  “I know,” agreed Lori smiling warmly. “Jim, when are they due into JJL for their studio slot?”

  “End of the month,” replied the producer. “I’ve got their time mapped out already.”

  From his seat in the corner, Scott was surreptitiously videoing the impromptu performance. No one appeared to have noticed him until Maddy reached over and tapped him on the shoulder. “No sneaky You Tube or Facebook videos, sunshine.”

  “Not at all,” he promised, looking a little sheepish. “Jason wants me to film the band off duty for a DVD release to accompany the new record.”

  “I’m watching you,” warned Maddy sternly.

  “Yes, ma’am,” replied the young filmmaker.

  Oblivious to the video camera, Jake had coaxed Kate into doing a duet with him. The young girl was reluctant at first, but Jake won her over with one of his famous “Power” smiles. While Todd and Rich played, Jake and Kate duetted on “Highway To Hell ”. Her confidence growing, Kate then sang a rendition of U2’s “Beautiful Day”. Her voice rang out clear and strong over the acoustic accompaniment from the two Silver Lake guitarists. When the song was over, she said shyly that she would leave the rest to the professionals.