The air in the Iron Hill Sheriff's Station was heavy with unease as Sheriff Dawson leaned back in his creaky chair, his brow furrowed under the weight of the bizarre story he was about to recount. Roland, Trench, and Lewis sat across from him, their expressions a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

"You're telling me a puppet show is connected to a string of murders?" Roland broke the silence, his tone dripping with doubt.

Dawson sighed, running a hand over his balding head. "I know how it sounds. That's why I left it out of my initial report. But every lead we've followed has brought us back to WCLV-TV 58." He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "The kids who watched it acted… strange. Like they were hypnotized. And their parents—nothing but static on the screen."

Trench adjusted his coat, his sharp eyes narrowing. "What about the station itself? Surely someone there would know something about this show."

"That's the thing," Dawson replied, pulling out a manila folder and sliding it across the desk. "No records. No tapes. No staff who'll admit to airing it. It's like the show never existed."

Lewis opened the folder and scanned the contents. Inside were grainy black-and-white photos of children's drawings—pirates, a skeleton, and a ship with a sinister grin stretching across its hull. "These drawings… they're all from the victims?"

Dawson nodded solemnly. "Every single one."

Roland tapped the table, his mind racing. "Describe the show. What exactly were these kids watching?"

The sheriff's face paled as he recounted the tale. "The kids called it Candle Cove. There was Percy, the cowardly pirate who was always getting into trouble. Horace Horrible, some sort of bumbling villain with a hook for a hand and a monocle. The Laughingstock, a ship that… talked in an Ed Wynn voice. And Jawbone…" His voice trailed off, and he swallowed hard. "Jawbone was the leader. Or the villain. A skeleton pirate with a voice like nails on a chalkboard."

"And this… Jawbone," Trench pressed. "What did he do?"

"According to the kids, he told them secrets. Dark things. Things they couldn't possibly know." Dawson's hands trembled as he continued. "One of the parents said their kid knew about an old murder case I'd worked on—details that were never made public. The kid said Jawbone told him. And there was the rumor that Jawbone had a monstrous second form called the Skin-Taker, which killed and skinned children, like his Jawbone form would always threaten to do to Percy."

The room fell silent, the gravity of the revelation sinking in.

Lewis broke the tension, her voice barely above a whisper. "What if it wasn't just a show? What if Jawbone… was real?"

Trench scoffed, but Roland held up a hand, his expression grave. "We've seen stranger things."