Back from the Dead

Earthquakes Suck

After they exited the Sacred Cavern, the little group encountered Gumshoe outside mumbling to himself about "something he should erase".  Obviously von Karma and Wright were intrigued by this so the group decided to divide and conquer. Franziska and Phoenix would go to the garden to find out what Gumshoe was trying to conceal while Gregory and the kids would go back the main temple, where it was warmer, to talk to sister Bikini. The two entered the garden before Gumshoe's voice rang out.

"Aaah! What are you doing here sir?" yelled Gumshoe. "I thought I said you can't come in here!"

"Oh? Don't you know Scruffy? A von Karma will always show up wherever there is a clue. And there seems to be plenty of clues here." said Franziska.

"B-but!"

Franziska ignored him and moved passed him to see what Gumshoe was trying to block with his body. Phoenix followed after her while he sent Gumshoe an apologetic look. The discovery they made, froze his insides. On the lantern in the garden, was an upside down bloody note that read "Maya".

"This is rubbish!" exclaimed Franziska. "Scruffy! Explain this at once!"

"Ach!" exclaimed Gumshoe as he got whipped in the shoulder. "I don't know sir! It was already here when I arrived. "My best guess is that the killer must have used the victim's blood to try and accuse her, like Redd White did. I mean, this combined with some other things we found make it seem pretty obvious that this is the scene of the crime."

Franziska sighed. "While I wish that were true, there was no time for the real killer to plant them after the murder, since sister Bikini witnessed the stabbing in Hazakura Temple, and the burned down bridge meant that the Inner Temple side was inaccessible. No, this had to be written by Elise Deauxnim herself as she gave her final breath."

The three of them were somber, this new revelation did not bode well for Maya.

"Gumshoe, you mentioned finding some other things. What did you find?" asked Phoenix.

"Oh, I found this neat little thing. Apparently it belonged to the victim. Y'see there was a broken leather cord around the lady's neck. The ends of the cords found on the victim's body match the one on the talisman perfectly."

Phoenix looked at the red charm and recognize it almost immediately. "This is the crest of the Kurain Master."

"Are you sure?" asked Franziska. 

"Positive. Maya had recognized it on a scroll depicting her mother."

"But what could a charm with the Master's crest be doing in the possession of Elise Deauxnim?" asked Gumshoe.

"There's only one explanation, Elise Deauxnim is actually Misty Fey. Maya's long lost mother." said Phoenix.

...

Gregory was holding onto Pearl's hand as he entered the main temple. Once they entered a warmer side of the temple, Kay and Sebastian let out a sigh of relief.

"You kids ok?" asked Gregory.

"Y-yeah we're f-fine Mr. Greg." said Sebastian. "Just really really cold."

"The coat from Miss von Karma is helping at the back, but the front is wide open." said Kay.

Gregory put his hand under his jaw as he thought about it. "Well, since we're here, we can probably ask sister Bikini if she has any spare blankets. Pearls, are you cold too?"