Chapter 2: Confirmation of Death, Initiation of Investigation

"Cousin, could you take me to Little Feather's house to check? I can't focus on school with her life hanging in the balance!"

Lin Che unfastened Zhou Lepin's seatbelt, "Didn't you listen to anything I said on the way here? Go to class!"

Zhou Lepin pouted and reluctantly got out of the car, "Fine, if you won't take me, I'll just climb the school wall and go ask at the police station myself."

"Now you're threatening me?"

Lin Che chuckled, "Go ahead, I'll have them detain you for a couple of days, save me the trouble."

Knowing this tactic wouldn't work on Lin Che, Zhou Lepin quickly deflated and tried another approach, "Cousin, I'll go to class properly, but if there's any news about Little Feather, will you let me know?"

"Alright, I'll ask around for you. Now hurry up, the bell's already rung."

As he spoke, Lin Che reached out to ruffle Zhou Lepin's hair, but the boy dodged, "We agreed, no more hair ruffling once I started middle school. What would my classmates think of my dignity!"

Watching Zhou Lepin walk into the school, Lin Che felt a momentary daze. The teenage boy was increasingly resembling his uncle in demeanor. Although the case wasn't under the jurisdiction of the criminal police team, having promised his cousin, Lin Che decided to call his colleagues at the police station to inquire about the online suicide note. Just as he pulled out his phone, a news alert popped up on the screen—[Jiangzhou Police Announcement—Local famous web cartoonist Little Feather confirmed dead at home early this morning, police preliminarily judge it as suicide.] Lin Che frowned, really dead? Before he could click on the news, a call came in. "Chief Wang?"

"Lin Che, come to my office immediately, I have a task for you!"

"Yes sir!"

Lin Che's expression sharpened, and he stepped on the gas, heading to the bureau. Upon arrival, the bureau leaders were still in a meeting. As he entered the criminal police team's main office, he saw a group led by Li Li gathered around the water cooler, chatting animatedly. Lin Che caught a few words and knew they were discussing the online suicide note. "Too idle without cases?"

Lin Che took a bite of his now cold egg pancake, his gaze falling on Li Li, "Finished the case report?"

Li Li, a young recruit from last year, was inexperienced but diligent and smart, a promising talent. The car trunk corpse case was his first major case from start to finish, and Lin Che had assigned him to write the closing report yesterday. Initially intimidated by Lin Che's reputation, Li Li had been somewhat reserved, but after a couple of field assignments, he had loosened up. "Not yet."

Li Li grinned cheekily, "Captain Lin, I'll go sort out the interrogation records now."

Lin Che kicked Li Li lightly, stuffed the rest of the egg pancake into his mouth, and was about to head back to his office when the bureau chief hurried over. "Lin Che, come to my office."

"Yes sir!"

Lin Che wiped the grease off his hands with a rag from the water cooler. No sooner had he left than Li Li gathered everyone around again. As they walked, Chief Wang began, "Last night, the Binjiang Road police station received a call reporting a suicide."

Lin Che raised an eyebrow, "The one with the online suicide note?"

Chief Wang paused, turning to look at Lin Che, "You know about this?"

"Ten out of ten news alerts this morning were about it."

Mentioning the flood of mixed news, Chief Wang's frown deepened. Sensing something unusual, Lin Che probed, "What's the matter, Chief Wang, something's up?"

"Let's talk inside."

In the chief's office sat several people, including the deputy chief, the Binjiang Road police station's Director Lu, Officer Xiao Duan, and two others Lin Che hadn't met before. "These two are colleagues from the provincial department's public sentiment office."

Chief Wang handed Lin Che the documents on the table, introducing, "This is Lin Che, our criminal police team captain and head of the major case unit."

The atmosphere was serious, with no small talk, just nods exchanged. "Old Lu, you go first."

Director Lu signaled to Xiao Duan, who stood up and recounted the handling and scene situation after receiving the call last night. As Lin Che listened, he flipped through the incident and dispatch records. Halfway through Xiao Duan's report, Lin Che had already finished reading. Based on the scene and the preliminary forensic report, it seemed like a straightforward suicide case without obvious doubts.

After Xiao Duan finished, the public sentiment office colleagues distributed another set of documents. "Leaders, here's our department's data and predictive analysis on this incident. Since the deceased was a public figure with significant influence, the suicide note posted on Weibo has spread widely, attracting high attention and impact. The nearly three-hour gap between the note's posting and the police's arrival at the scene has led to rapid online criticism of the Binjiang Road station's delayed response, suggesting it prevented timely medical intervention, which is quite damaging."

Director Lu quickly interjected, "Chief Wang, we addressed this in our report. The station's on-duty officers verified immediately upon receiving the call, but the Weibo account's real-name verification was incorrect, and the IP address was hidden. As you know, our IT staff are part-timers with limited skills, so it took over two hours to confirm the deceased's address. The forensic doctor also stated that the death occurred five to six hours prior, so even an immediate response wouldn't have saved her!"

Chief Wang raised his hand to calm Director Lu, "Let the public sentiment office finish."

They nodded and continued, "We've confirmed the suicide note was timed, and the Binjiang Road station's response procedure was correct. We've issued a clarification, but it's had little effect. We've also identified some foreign entities exploiting this incident to stir police-civilian tensions, which we're urgently addressing. This incident has already impacted our public security system's credibility and could lead to severe public backlash if mishandled."

"Lin Che, your thoughts?"

Chief Wang glanced at Lin Che, flipping through his documents. "Based on the current information, the deceased overdosed on sleeping pills, set a timed Weibo post for the suicide note. The case is clear, evidence solid, no major issues."

Chief Wang gave Lin Che a look as if to say, isn't that obvious? "Ahem—" Chief Wang cleared his throat, took a sip of water, and instructed, "The case itself isn't complicated, but the public impact is significant. Following the public sentiment office's recommendations and after bureau party committee review and higher-level approval, we'll initiate an investigation, forming two task forces to examine the case and the Binjiang Road station's response. I'll lead the internal review, and Comrade Lin Che will serve as deputy, tasked with clarifying the case within 24 hours, updating the public sentiment office on progress and findings, ensuring thorough, accurate, and transparent disclosure."

Lin Che stood and saluted, "Yes sir!"