"The proof is the clock," headwriter Barbara Esensten explains. "When Michelle was at hom and Danny got the call from Ben saying there had been a shooting, it was 9 o'clock -- Michelle knows that for sure. The clock that has yet to repaired at the Santos house says 9:15; that's when it stopped -- which means Ben called Danny before the shooting.

"She sneaks into the Santos house and gets the clock, and there's no question. She has absolutel proof," Esensten adds. While she is there, Danny arrives, and calls an immediate meeting of the mob bosses. Danny announces that the family is going legit; Carmen, who's on the spot, has not choice but to go along with what Danny says.

Danny, meanwhile, hasn' accused Carmen of orchestrating the hit. "It's too hard for him to admit," Esensten says. "I think he really has an inkling that that's what happened, but he can't allow himself to believe it."

Michelle has the evidence she needs to incriminate Carmen, but she decides to keep what she knows to herself -- for now.

-- Mark McGarry