Everyone was shocked to see Leonie barge in - especially Darren, Daniel and Mr. Amblin. Judge Haydin ordered Leonie to calm down and tell him her story.
"I was reading the articles on the case today when I noticed there was something wrong with the prosecution's testimonial," explained Leonie. "Miss Jacks said that she saw the murder through a peephole, in the dark. Well, this article on science explains that to see through a peephole, the thing you're seeing must have light reflected on it. It was dark when she saw it, so how could she have seen anything?"
"I used a flashlight!" retorted Harlet.
"But if you used a flashlight, the only thing you would have seen through the peephole was the light itself," said Leonie. "Besides, there never was any peephole in the rooms!"
"What do you mean?" asked Judge Haydin.
"May I have the photos?" requested Leonie. The photos were given to her by a police officer. She then removed the eraser and rubbed away at the "peephole" - which soon disappeared. "See, the peepholes were fake - they were only pencil marks!"
"Interesting," said Judge Haydin, "but who were the real murderers?" Leonie pointed at the prosecution.
"Your Honour, it was the prosecution itself - Harlet Jacks and Kevin Pichard!" Everyone was shocked. Were they REALLY the criminals?
"Insolence! She's lying, Your Honour!" said Mr. Pichard.
"Silence!" shouted Judge Haydin. "Now Leonie, you may continue."
"The blackmail note revealed everything," explained Leonie. "Harlet was formerly from RoadShow Music, the same record label Savage Garden's under. When Savage Garden were signed up, John Woodruff didn't pay much atttention to her, so she was devastated. She then started her own record company, with her friend Kevin Pichard, but that didn't do well. Now she wants revenge, and the best way to do it was to frame Savage Garden - or at least one of them - for murder. You can read it in yesterday's newspaper if you don't believe me."
"Any proof?" asked Judge Haydin.
"In the blackmail letter, the murderers demanded that they be given all the credit on Savage Garden's new album, Affirmation. This was linked to Harlet's past with record labels - she just wanted to be famous," said Leonie. "Also their nicknames gave it away - Jean-Luc was Kevin "StarTrek" Pichard while The Wrapper was Harlet Jacks - the HJs wrapper. They also had the same tattoo of the skull and crossbones that was drawn on the paper."
"But I did say your friend was a Star Trek fan," said Mr. Pichard.
"No, you were," replied Leonie. "How did you know a Star Trek character name was used in the letter when our laywer, Mr. Amblin, didn't even say what the names were? If Darren wanted to send a blackmail letter to himself, he would have used names from Star Wars!" Two police officers then came and pulled Harlet's and Mr. Pichard's coats off, revealing two bare arms with the skull and crossbones tattoo.
"How do you explain Mr. Ingrain's drawing then?" asked Mr. Pichard.
"Easy - Miss Jacks saw that the police officer was reading the magazine so she didn't bother giving Mr. Ingrain an accurate description of Darren. I've seen Darren go through loads of image changes but his face has never changed - his face was never this square in the first place," said Leonie. "When the police officer placed the magazine away, Miss Jacks seized the opportunity to 'identify' Darren as the murderer. Why she chose Darren and not Daniel or not even both is anyone's guess."
"Okay, okay, she's right - we're the murderers!" yelled Harlet soon after. "We were so mad at Savage Garden's record label that we thought if we get rid of the singer, the other member will have to go and Savage Garden will no longer exist. That way, that John Woodruff will pay even more attention to me!"
"Now our plan has been golied by a meddling kid!" grumbled Mr. Pichard. The jury delibrated and gave a new verdict.
"We find Darren Stanley Hayes not guilty on murder but we find Harlet Jacks and Kevin Pichard guilty of murder, contempt of court, false information and blackmail. They are sentenced to death."
It was a cheery day outside the courtroom. Fans were swarming Darren, giving him flowers and congratulatory cards. Darren was happy that he was proven innocent - only God knows what he might have done had he been pronounced guilty.
"Leonie, you were terrific!" said Mr. Amblin. "You could make a good detective! How did you decipher who did it?"
"Well, when a friend's in need, your brain seems to work overtime," said Leonie. She was amazed at herself for actually having the guts to speak in court.
"Gee, thanks," said Darren. "I'm lucky to have friends such as you guys - if you weren't around to give me all your support, I might be on a noose by now!"
"That's okay," said Daniel. "Come, let me treat you guys to ice-cream to congratulate Darren's freedom!" Soon everyone was cheering for Darren.
