# Ecoman is following the trail By [coleman](https://paragraph.com/@pinapplepan) · 2022-06-25 --- It could have been a typical bank robbery story: one late summer evening an unknown group of people brazenly broke into the bank and took all the money and valuables without a trace, but our story is not of that kind. The morning in the city of M. began with another bank robbery, but to everyone's surprise no money or valuables were taken from the bank, but all the equipment, documents and data were brutally destroyed, all the shelves, bookcases were just empty. The federal authorities and Ecoman came to investigate who and why it was necessary. * Good afternoon, Mr. Ecoman! * Hello, Detective Steve! * Do you already know that your friends are the prime suspects in the crime? * No, but you know they couldn't have done that, where are they now? * Andy's in jail, Dave's under house arrest, Bryce is on bail. * Thanks for the information, detective, but I'll prove their innocence. * I don't think so, mister, but I wish you the best of luck with your investigation. Just as Ecoman was about to leave, he happened to see under his foot a torn piece of paper with text he did not understand, but with the familiar last name of Birkins (Bryce had that last name). "What could Bryce and the bank have in common, and why hadn't he said anything about it before?" - Ecoman thought, and picked up this clutch of paper. A few minutes later, Ecoman hurried to Bryce to get answers to all his questions, but because of his haste he happened to run into a girl on his way out of the bank, carrying a huge stack of papers in her hands. * Ooh, excuse me, sweet girl, are you all right? Don't worry, I'll help you gather all the documents. May I know your name? - Ecoman asked in a trembling voice. At that second a girl with an incredibly beautiful appearance and a memorable soft smile said: * Kerry! My name is Kerry. Don't worry, mister, I'm fine. * Do you work here? * Yes, I've been working in this bank for five years now. * Let me help you. * It's all right, there's no need. You're in a hurry, so go ahead, don't be long. An hour later, Ecoman was at Bryce's apartment, but he was not at home. However, the door to the apartment was opened by a sweet old lady, who kindly offered to wait for Bryce inside with a cup of tea, because her son should be home soon. While Mrs. Birkins was busy preparing treats, Ecoman decided to explore Bryce's room. After looking around the room, he did not find anything special about it. The room was plain, bright, but cozy at the same time, with large windows overlooking the bustling city. After a few minutes, Mrs. Birkins entered the room and suggested that he pass the time by browsing through their family album. When Ecoman opened the album, he saw a picture of a happy, young couple holding two little boys. * Mrs. Birkins, who are the boys? The old lady laughed at such a ridiculous question. * Who do you mean? They are my boys, Bryce and Jack. Jack is Bryce's older brother, don't you know? * Bryce never said he had a brother. What does he do? * Jack owns an advertising agency, but it's a bad time for his company, he's in a lot of financial trouble and he's in debt to the bank. After talking to Mrs. Birkins and looking through the family album, there were more questions, but there were still no answers or Bryce. After thanking Mrs. Birkins for the tea party, Ecoman went home, pondering what was going on. * Hello, Ecoman, it's me, Bryce! * Finally! Bryce, we need to meet, it's really important. * Meet me at our place in the park in an hour. * I'll see you then. * Ecomann, I can't shut up anymore. I had to tell you everything right away. * Bryce, I know about you and your brother, and I have a question I can't not ask. Did you arrange the bank robbery? The silence... \-Bryce?! * I had nothing to do with it. I just wanted to help him. When Jack came to visit me a week ago, he looked depressed and very upset, I had never seen him like that before. When I asked him what was wrong, Jack, with a heavy sigh, told me about his problems at work, his difficult situation now and his big debts to the bank, and if he didn't pay them off in a week, they would take everything he had and maybe he would go to jail. Since there was no way I could help him financially, I decided to cheer him up and help him find a way out. After thinking about this topic and going through a number of options, I told him about the IVF project, and jokingly mentioned that since banks are a centralized system, it would not be that hard to destroy. After all, if the data on loans and debts disappeared from the bank, the problems would disappear on their own. * That's it, now it all makes sense to me. Bryce, tell me, where is Jack now? * We used to spend all our free time together, but a couple of months ago he got a girlfriend and now he spends all his free time with her. * Who is she? Do you know where she lives, what she looks like, or anything about her? * No, Jack didn't say anything about her, he just mentioned once in a conversation that her name was Kerry. * Kerry?! Are you sure about that? * Yeah, I remembered the name because I thought it was pretty unusual. * Thank you, Bryce, for your candor. I have to hurry, I have a lot to catch up on. The next morning. A robbed bank. * Excuse me, how can I find your employee Kerry? * Go to room 3, that's where she works. Knock, knock, knock. * Kerry, may I come in? * Oh, it's you. Come on in. Who got knocked down this time? What can I do for you? * Kerry, tell me, do you know Jack Birkins? There's an awkward silence in the air. * Kerry, I know everything. If you don't tell me where Jack is, I'll have to go to your boss and tell him about your part in the robbery. * Wait! I'll tell you everything. I hope you can understand. Six months ago, Jack approached us at the bank about a loan to pay off his debts, but he was turned down because he already had a larger loan. After our first meeting, we realized we loved each other and started seeing each other more often. Understand, Mr. Ecoman, I couldn't do it any other way, I love him and would do anything for him. Two weeks ago Jack told me about his conversation with Bryce, after which I helped arrange the robbery and steal the documents. I'm ashamed, but I understand, and I couldn't help it. * I'll think about your confession, but in the meantime, answer me one more question. How did a piece of paper with Jack's name on it end up near the crime scene? * What? What piece of paper? Let me see. Ecoman showed Kerry the evidence. The girl looked at the piece of paper and gasped. * A couple of days ago a courier came to me with flowers and gave me this paper with information about the customer, it was Jack. I tore it up, put it in my pocket, and soon wanted to throw it away, but I didn't have time, and now it is in your hands… * Now everything was falling into place. Ecoman thought for a long time how to do the right thing, after all the guilty should be responsible for their actions, but Jack is the brother of his friend, how to be ? The next morning after a sleepless night, Ecoman together with Kerry and Jack went to the detective, where they told everything as it really was. The members of the ECO team were released and the perpetrators were punished. --- *Originally published on [coleman](https://paragraph.com/@pinapplepan/ecoman-is-following-the-trail)*