Based on the warrant, this crime took place in the city of St. Louis, yet the man who came to pick up Claude is a St. Louis County Deputy Sheriff. The City of St. Louis seceded from St. Louis County in 1877 and didn't have a Sheriff's department.
Steve went to investigate and the next door neighbour commited suicide once she found out that the cops were going to check out her safety deposit box where she kept her valuables. The earrings that were ripped off the janitor's wife would have been there. That would have proven his innocence. So why did they send the janitor to Mexico? They found out that the best friend killed her for having an affair with her husband.
Under hypnosis, Claude says he didn't take his trip because "there was a tornado and all the flights were shut down." A tornado is a very brief event. Flights may be delayed, but they wouldn't be cancelled.