Brandt stole the money.

Alright, we know they threw out a ringer. My initial read was that Larry got away with the money—but let’s say they threw out a ringer for a ringer. Well, who last had control of ringer before it was given to the Dude? Brandt took the houseboy job hoping to make LA business connections, or at least get some tail he didn’t deserve, but he quickly saw past the Craigslist job listing’s lofty promises. Aware of Bunny’s debt to Jackie Treehorn—an advance on her flop cable installation video—as well as TBL’s financial capacities, Brandt jokingly states to Bunny that the only way she’ll ever get more money out of TBL is in the form of a ransom payment. Intrigued, Bunny asks Brandt enough questions to get the picture and formulate a plan. But since she is so one-dimensional, Brandt can see the wheels turning. Later, Bunny noticed her parents’ PI snooping around. She sucks his cock not to say anything. Bunny and Karl go into hiding at TBL’s house. Treehorn interprets this as skipping out on the debt and sends his goons after her rich husband whose community estate may or may not be legally responsible. After Dude’s visit, Bunny and Karl go into hiding at the Nihilist crib, where shit gets dark and desperate. Bunny says f- this and decides she’s gonna go party. Karl and the Nihilists send the letter that Bunny was talking about. Upon receipt, TBL is devastated, he’d met her less than a year earlier and still would have been enamored by her. Equally, he was trusting of Brandt, who handled all aspects of the money preparation.