Ruin Born of Manifold Motives

"He had this fascination with fire, and he focused on the Hunters Brooke development as the place where he wanted to make this statement," Sanger said. "He is the one who settled on the means, the method and the target."

Capt. Joseph Montminy of the sheriff's office said he believes crime often is less complex than it appears and can be simply the chance product of a group's dynamic. "They all happened to be together at one place to formulate this plan," he said, referring to the Denny's restaurant where Walsh allegedly hatched the plot. "Had a couple of them been bowling or doing something else that night, this may not have happened."

The Unseen Cavaliers were absent from the parking lot outside Wendy's last week, but several dozen young people had gathered less than a mile away, in front of a Burlington Coat Factory in a strip-mall parking lot. As thumping bass mixed with the roar of unmuffled engines, some groused that authorities had cracked down since the fires in Hunters Brooke.

"We're just a bunch of kids trying to stay out of too much trouble," said a man who refused to give his full name, adding later, "There's nothing else to do here."

Soon, two sheriff's cruisers rolled into the parking lot, police dogs barking in their back seats. The young people scrambled into their Camaros and Mustangs -- their Cavaliers, too -- and peeled out of the parking lot, roaring into the night.

Staff writers Ruben Castaneda and Amit R. Paley and staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.