eurekapd Chapter 1452 Major Clue Discovery
Chapter 1452 Major Clue Discovery
"Zhang Tao? Which stall is he at? What time does he usually close? Did he come to set up his stall on October 26th?" Xiao Wang keenly grasped the key information and immediately pressed for details. Master Liu pointed to a stall near the back entrance of the market: "It's the pork stall at the very back. Zhang Tao has been selling pork here for five years; he has many regular customers. He usually closes around 8 pm. He definitely didn't come to set up his stall on October 26th. I thought he had taken leave, but I didn't expect..." Master Liu's words startled Xiao Wang. He immediately instructed his team to retrieve the market's surveillance footage and verify Zhang Tao's basic information.
The market's surveillance footage clearly recorded the scene at 9:15 PM on October 25th: A slightly overweight man wearing a blue apron, identified by Mr. Liu, was arguing with a man in a black coat, black hat, and mask in a back alley. The two were seen pulling at each other, and the argument lasted about ten minutes. Afterward, Zhang Tao shook off the man's hand, turned, and walked into the market. The man in black stood there, staring at Zhang Tao's back for several minutes before turning and leaving the alley, heading towards Heping Road. More importantly, although the surveillance footage didn't clearly show the man in black's face, his overweight build closely matched the description given by the convenience store owner, Ms. Zhao, of the white van driver.
"Immediately verify Zhang Tao's identity information and disappearance status!" Xiao Wang issued the order. The team members checked the household registration system and found that Zhang Tao, male, 41 years old, a local resident, had his registered address in an old residential area near Heping Road. He worked as a pork seller at the Heping Road vegetable market year-round. The team members immediately went to Zhang Tao's registered address and rented residence to verify the information. They found that Zhang Tao's rented residence was in an old residential area on the west side of Heping Road, only 500 meters from the back gate of the vegetable market. The door to the rented residence was locked. The team members contacted the landlord, and after opening the door, they found that the room was clean and there were no signs of a struggle. However, Zhang Tao's personal belongings were all there, including his ID card, bank cards, and mobile phone, but his blue apron and a pair of black rain boots, which he usually wore when selling pork, were missing.
"Zhang Tao's disappearance time closely matches our estimated time of death!" Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Xiao Wang immediately reported Zhang Tao's information and disappearance to Li Ming, and requested the collection of biological samples from Zhang Tao's rented residence for comparison with the DNA extracted from the autopsy. Upon receiving the report, Li Ming immediately arranged for the technical department to prioritize the DNA comparison sample: "This could very well be the breakthrough; we must obtain the comparison results as soon as possible."
While awaiting the DNA comparison results, Xiao Wang led his team to conduct an in-depth investigation into Zhang Tao's social relationships. Through interviews with Zhang Tao's neighbors, fellow vendors at the market, and regular customers, the team learned that Zhang Tao was an honest and straightforward person who rarely argued with others. However, recently he had been somewhat depressed and often sat alone at his stall smoking after closing time. A regular customer mentioned that about two weeks ago, they saw a slightly overweight man in black repeatedly loitering in front of Zhang Tao's stall, seemingly discussing something with him; the atmosphere during their conversation was somewhat tense.
"This man in black is very likely the one who argued with Zhang Tao in the alley, and also the suspect who drove the white van to dump the body!" Xiao Wang connected these clues and formed a preliminary investigative plan: "Zhang Tao and the man in black had a conflict due to debt or other economic disputes. On the night of October 25, the man in black killed Zhang Tao, dismembered his body, and then drove the white van along Heping Road to dump the body." He immediately arranged for his team to investigate Zhang Tao's financial situation, checking his bank statements, loan records, etc., while expanding the scope of the investigation to include men who had financial dealings with Zhang Tao and were overweight.
At 9:10 AM on October 29th, the technical department delivered exciting news: "Team Leader Wang, the biological samples taken from Zhang Tao's rented residence—saliva from the teacup and hair from the towel—perfectly match the DNA extracted from the autopsy! The deceased is confirmed to be Zhang Tao!" This result brought a sigh of relief to the entire investigation team. The mystery of the deceased's identity, which had plagued them for days, was finally solved, marking a major breakthrough in the case. Li Ming immediately convened an emergency meeting to summarize all clues and adjust the direction of the investigation: "Now that the deceased's identity has been confirmed, the next three priorities are: First, continue tracking the white van with the deformed left rear bumper, and be sure to find the vehicle's whereabouts and the owner's information; second, conduct a thorough investigation into Zhang Tao's financial dealings to identify the man in black with whom he had a dispute; third, expand the surveillance and investigation of Zhang Tao's rented residence and the surrounding area of the vegetable market to find more traces of the man in black."
Following Li Ming's instructions, Xiao Wang further refined the work tasks. He divided the surveillance and investigation team into two groups: one group continued to track the white van's trajectory, focusing on the route taken by the man in black after leaving the alley behind the vegetable market on the evening of October 25th; the other group concentrated on reviewing surveillance footage around Zhang Tao's rented residence to see if the man in black had scouted or followed the area before the incident. The interview team was divided into three groups: one group was responsible for verifying Zhang Tao's bank statements and loan records; the second group was responsible for interviewing Zhang Tao's relatives and friends to understand if he had any debt disputes; and the third group continued to interview people in and around the vegetable market to find more information about the man in black's characteristics.
The bank statement investigation quickly yielded results. Zhang Tao's bank account had seen three large outflows totaling 5 yuan within the past month, all from an anonymous account. Simultaneously, there were multiple small inflows into the account with unknown origins. "This anonymous account likely belongs to the man in black, and Zhang Tao is probably repaying a debt to him," Xiao Wang instructed his team to immediately verify the account's opening information and transaction records. However, because the account was opened in another city and used false identity information, the investigation encountered obstacles. "Contact the police in that city to assist in tracing the anonymous account's transaction history and see if we can find information about the person who withdrew the money," Xiao Wang said.
The team that visited Zhang Tao's relatives and friends also made some progress. Zhang Tao's wife, Li Juan, who had been separated from him for six months, revealed that Zhang Tao had borrowed 2 yuan from her three months ago, saying he needed to "pay back an urgent sum of money," but he didn't specify who he borrowed it from. "He looked very flustered at the time, saying that if he didn't repay the money, the other party would treat him badly," Li Juan recalled. "I asked him if he had encountered loan sharks, and he said no, it was just a 'friend' introduced by an acquaintance. Later, when I asked him again, he wouldn't say anything more."