So after being so rational, you're now going to say it's a conspiracy?
I’m saying people see and remember what they expect or want to see & remember. Unless Scott was causing a huge ruckus - and no one seems to be claiming that - the store employees wouldn’t pay enough attention to notice red eyes, etc.
My first job was at a Baskin-Robbins. Unless a pretty girl stripped naked (which never happened), I wouldn’t have noticed anything about the hundreds of customers that I could have reliably testified about on the following day.
It would also be interesting to find the police records of their initial interviews...did they ask questions like, “Did you notice signs of drug use? Did he have red eyes, or stumble around?” Leading questions, even if asked innocently, can create the memory with no intent of deception.
By coordinated, I’m suggesting the desire of the Costco employees both to have something significant to say and to notice what the police discussed with them could result in the sort of total agreement that just doesn’t exist in reality.