Sam is already worried about the future of his bar when a firebomb is thrown through the front window. Damages and injuries are minimal, and he is quickly able to reopen, but business continues to slide as customers are drawn to Vic’s Redneck Roadhouse, a new bar that Victor Madden has opened nearby. Sam’s problems increase when four thugs high on vampire blood enter Merlotte’s, intent on causing trouble and taking Sookie. Sam, Jannalynn, an off-duty Andy Bellefleur, and the suspiciously well-placed and well-timed private detectives Jack and Lily Leeds subdue the men. The motive behind both attacks is eventually revealed when a wild-eyed Sandra Pelt shows up at Merlotte’s, publicly admitting that she has been attempting to kill Sookie. With Sam’s help, Terry Bellefleur manages to disable Sandra, and she is taken first to the hospital and then to jail, but she manages to escape. Struggling with the bar’s mounting costs and lack of business, Sam reluctantly accepts a sizable loan from Sookie to tide the bar over. He and Jannalynn are spending the afternoon together at his trailer when they are accosted by Sandra and held at gunpoint. She forces Sam to call Sookie to lure her to his trailer, but sensing something is wrong, Sookie has Sam drive out to her house instead. When the trio arrives, Jannalynn takes advantage of a distraction and viciously attacks Sandra while Sam and Sookie stay on the fringes, trying to help. Sam’s nose is broken when he grabs Sandra’s hair and she punches him, but Jannalynn ultimately gets the upper hand and breaks Sandra’s neck, then crushes her skull to finish the job. Worried about the ramifications of reporting the death, Sam and Sookie decide to dispose of the body instead and, followed by a wounded Jannalynn, carry Sandra into the woods to the fairy portal and shove her through. After returning to the house, Jannalynn sets Sam’s broken nose before the pair leave for his trailer, disposing of Sandra’s rifle along the way.