Either he took a cab, hitched a ride, rented a car or hopped a train. It's only 20 minutes on the road. Someone must have seen something if they took route 9. He must have been dumped off very close to that parking lot and the mugging likely occurred in that neighborhood. I think Scott the cabbie saw something.
In the next 40 minutes, John would go from New Castle to Wilmington and get mugged in between.
Why go "back" up to Wilmington?? New Castle was his home.
Had the police told him about the smoke bombs?? And accused him?? They never SAID they talked to him. Wow....something is sooooo wrong here.