eurekapd Chapter 1414: Multiple Clues Proceed in Parallel
Chapter 1414: Multiple Clues Proceed in Parallel
The first team of investigators contacted Tian Bin's parents in his hometown through the household registration information on his driver's license. Upon learning of Tian Bin's death, his parents were devastated and wept uncontrollably. "Binbin was a good child, sensible from a young age. He started working early to pay for our medical treatment. He never caused us any worry, sending us money every month and frequently calling to check on our health," Tian Bin's father said, choking back tears. According to Tian Bin's parents, he had an older sister named Tian Tian, who worked as a nurse at a hospital in the city, and the siblings were very close. Tian Bin's parents stated that Tian Bin had shown no unusual behavior recently, and hadn't mentioned any difficulties or troubles on the phone, only that he had been busy with business.
Subsequently, the team contacted Tian Bin's sister, Tian Tian. Upon arriving at the Criminal Investigation Detachment, Tian Tian was extremely distraught. She fainted upon learning of her brother's death. After regaining consciousness, she recounted Tian Bin's situation to the team in fits and starts. "The last time I saw my brother was last Saturday. We had a meal together, and he said business at the convenience store had been pretty good lately, though he was a bit tired. He also mentioned wanting to save some money to build a house back in our hometown at the end of the year so our parents could enjoy their retirement," Tian Tian said. "He was usually very gentle, never argued with anyone, and had no enemies. I called him, but no one answered since yesterday morning. I thought he was busy at the store; I never imagined something like this would happen."
Tian Tian told her team members that Tian Bin didn't have many friends in the city, mainly a few fellow villagers he met while working together, and a few shop owners in the neighborhood. She also provided contact information for several of these fellow villagers, and the team members immediately visited them. According to the villagers, Tian Bin was an honest and reliable person, got along well with them, and hadn't had any conflicts with anyone recently. One villager said that he had spoken to Tian Bin on the phone around 7 pm the day before yesterday, arranging to have dinner together on the weekend, and Tian Bin's tone was normal at the time, without anything unusual.
The second team conducted an in-depth investigation into Tian Bin's business dealings. Hongda Convenience Store mainly sells cigarettes, alcohol, snacks, and daily necessities, catering primarily to residents of the Huifeng residential area and nearby office workers. The team retrieved the store's purchase records and sales ledgers, finding that Tian Bin's sourcing channels were relatively stable, mainly from several large wholesale markets in the city, with no unusual purchase or sales records found. The team also visited Tian Bin's suppliers, who stated that Tian Bin paid promptly, never defaulted on payments, and that their cooperation was very pleasant, with no business disputes.
Subsequently, the team members visited other convenience stores and surrounding shops within the community to investigate any potential malicious competition between rivals. There are three convenience stores in the community: Hongda Convenience Store, Huimin Convenience Store at the east gate, and Chengxin Convenience Store at the west gate. The owner of Huimin Convenience Store stated that he and Tian Bin are in the same business, but they get along well and occasionally exchange goods; there is no competitive conflict between them. "Tian Bin is a very honest person; his prices are fair, and many residents in the community prefer to buy from him. We each do our own business and don't interfere with each other," the owner of Huimin Convenience Store said. The owner of Chengxin Convenience Store also stated that he has no conflict with Tian Bin and rarely interacts with him.
The team members also discovered that Tian Bin's convenience store had been doing well in recent months, with monthly profits of around 5000 yuan. There had been no losses or cash flow difficulties, ruling out the possibility that he was being pursued for debts or retaliated against due to business failure. Furthermore, the team members investigated Tian Bin's bank account and found that his account transactions were normal, with no large inflows or outflows of funds, and no record of debt disputes.
The third team conducted a comprehensive survey of residents and shop owners in the Huifeng residential area. This was the focus and the most tedious part of the investigation. The team members divided into several groups and visited more than 800 households in the community, distributing questionnaires and asking residents if they knew Tian Bin, had any contact with him, had seen him having conflicts or disputes with others, and had seen any suspicious persons entering or leaving the community or going to the West Suburbs Park before or after the incident.
During the visits, most residents said they knew Tian Bin and had a good impression of him, considering him kind, helpful, and always ready to deliver groceries to their homes. Several elderly residents said that Tian Bin often helped them buy things without charging a delivery fee, and was a very kind person. "Boss Tian is a good man, how could anyone harm him?" one elderly resident said regretfully.
During their visits, the team members also discovered some minor incidents. One resident said that last month he bought a case of milk at Hongda Convenience Store, only to find it expired when he got home. He went to Tian Bin to return the milk. After verifying the situation, Tian Bin immediately replaced it with a new case, apologized, and gave him a bag of snacks as compensation. No argument ensued. Another resident said he had a minor altercation with Tian Bin over parking. A car was parked in front of Tian Bin's store, affecting his business. He asked the driver to move the car, but the driver refused, leading to a brief argument. Tian Bin only tried to mediate and didn't participate in the argument; the property management eventually intervened to resolve the issue.
The team focused their investigation on the two residents who had contact with Tian Bin, verifying their identities and whereabouts during the time of the incident. The resident who returned expired milk was at home taking care of a sick child at the time of the incident, as confirmed by family members; the resident who had a dispute over parking was on a business trip out of town at the time of the incident, as evidenced by train tickets and hotel check-in records. Neither of them had the opportunity to commit the crime, thus eliminating them as suspects.
In addition, the team members visited the owners of shops such as barbershops, snack bars, and fruit shops in the community. They all said that Tian Bin was a good person and had never made enemies with anyone. The owner of one snack bar told the team members: "Tian Bin is usually very frugal. Apart from doing business, he rarely goes out for social events. He lives a very simple life, either at the shop or at home. He doesn't smoke, drink, or gamble. He is a very honest person."
The fourth team comprehensively reviewed surveillance footage from Tian Bin's residence and the area surrounding Hongda Convenience Store, attempting to reconstruct Tian Bin's movements before his death. The team retrieved footage from multiple locations, including the entrance to Building 3 where Tian Bin lived, the east and west gates of the complex, the central square, and private surveillance footage from the entrance of Hongda Convenience Store. Because the surveillance cameras at Hongda Convenience Store were installed by Tian Bin himself, their storage capacity was limited, only able to save footage from the most recent seven days.