Chapter 17 - WHY SHANE NEEDED TIMEFinancial investigators reconstructed Walker Brothers’ accounts.
Shane had understated the misuse.
Thirty-eight thousand was what Ben had found.
Actual unauthorized personal spending supported by records was approximately $52,700 over fourteen months.
Not all theft in a clean legal sense.
The brothers both took distributions.
Sometimes used company cards and reconciled later.
Bookkeeping was informal.
Some charges Shane could plausibly call compensation or reimbursable expenses.
Others were difficult:
Sports-betting deposits routed through a payment service.
Personal credit-card payments.
Motorcycle reservation.
Cash withdrawals.
Why did he need time after Friday?
Because Monday morning their accountant was scheduled to reconcile year-end accounts for a bank-renewal package.
A working-capital line worth $250,000 was up for renewal.
If the bank saw unexplained owner withdrawals and an internal dispute, it could restrict credit.
Walker Brothers used that line to bridge payroll and materials.
Shane believed exposure would destroy the company.
Not necessarily true.
But he believed it.
He also owed $17,000 personally on betting-related credit.
No dangerous bookmaker waiting with a gun.
Ordinary legal gambling and debt.
Still pressure.
Shane’s plan after Ben hit the hearth was not created years earlier.
It formed in panic.
Hide Ben.
Get weekend.
Fix books.
Move money back.
Stage a disappearance so no one looked inside the house.
May you like
Then convince Ben to accept a story once he calmed down.
Every step made the next one harder to undo.
