Swamp Thing finds recently-disturbed garbage dumped in the swamp and figures that something is hidden there. He searches and finds an aluminum suitcase filled with money.
Jim is working on his bicycle when he sees a man drinking from the garden hose. He goes over and the man, Burkholt, introduces himself. He says that he was born in the house and his mother threw him out when he was 17 because she couldn't stand his lying. Buckholt winces in pain for a minute and then asks if Jim has heard of his mother, Mrs. Langford. He notices Jim's reaction and asks if his mother passed away, and then moans in pain and asks to use the bathroom.
A woman, Eleanor goes to Obo's boat rental and asks if Buckholt rented one. He says that he rented a rowboat, and that he didn't recognize the man. Eleanor asks for directions to the Langford house, and Obo points the way.
Jim waits outside of the bathroom and finally knocks on the door to see if anything is wrong. The door is locked, and Jim lets himself in. Buckholt is on the floor, unconscious, and wakes up as Jim kneels besides him. He says that he had to make Eleanor happy but he couldn't afford her. Buckholt says that he's dying of heart failure, and Eleanor told him to do something unselfish before he died. He explains that he stole money for her, but then changed his mind about giving it to Eleanor and now she's after it. Buckholt figures that Eleanor will torture him for the money, and asks Jim to call his sister Tressa. Jim explains that Tressa is his mother,, and Buckholt introduces himself as Jim's uncle before passing out.
Out in the swamp, Jim finds Swamp Thing and asks him to come to the house. H admits that he was afraid the authorities would arrest Buckholt before Tressa got to see him, and Swamp Thing goes with the boy to the house.
Tressa returns home and goes inside. She calls to Jim, and goes upstairs to the bathroom. Swamp Thing hides in the shadows of the attic with Jim, and Tressa hears Buckholt moaning in the bathroom. She investigates and screams when she sees him, and Swamp Thing tells Jim to go to her. As she calls911, Jim comes down and explains that he let Buckholt use the bathroom and then went to take a nap. The boy says that Buckholt is her brother, and Tressa tells him that she doesn't have a brother.
They go back to the bathroom and Tressa says that Buckholt looks like the son of a housekeeper they had years ago. As Sheriff Andrews pulls up outside and Tressa goes to greet him, Buckholt tells him that the money is at the dump in the swamp. Meanwhile, Eleanor approaches the house, checks the gun hidden in her purse, and then continues on as the EMTs take Buckholt to the ambulance. Buckholt calls Jim over and whispers to him that he lied. He admits that he wished that Mrs. Langford was his mother, and asks Jim to give the money to the Indian Mission. Eleanor overhears him, and Jim goes inside. She approaches him and claims that she's a reporter, and asks what Buckholt says. Jim says that he didn't say anything, but she figures that Buckholt told Jim about the money.
Swamp Thing hides in the attic and weakens out of the sunlight.
That night, Jim waits until Tressa goes to bed and then goes up to the attic. Swamp Thing figures that he has to risk sneaking out past Tressa, and Jim helps him. Tressa wakes up when she hears the floorboards creaking and investigates. She stops in the bathroom and runs some water on her face, and hears Swamp Thing's footsteps. Mistaking them for Jim's Tressa goes out and Swamp Things is forced to retreat to the attic.
The next morning, Eleanor returns to the Kipp house and breaks in. She goes to Jim's bedroom, aims her gun at him, and demands to know where the money is. Eleanor threatens to kill Tressa, and Jim tells her where the money is. Tressa comes in and Eleanor shoots her in the chest before running out. The weakened Swamp Thing hears the shot and comes down, and uses his powers to heal her. He sets the unconscious woman in her bed and leaves. Tressa wakes up and calls to Jim, and he claims that he heard her call her. She says that she dreamed that someone shot her and then she was in the swamp, and it held her close and pressed something to her chest.
Eleanor goes to the dump and finds a mutant digging through the garbage. She threatens to shoot him and he runs off. Eleanor sets the gun down and finds the suitcase, and she opens it to find slime and bugs. The mutant picks up the gun and shoots her dead, and runs off.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 20, 2017