Jenny Hoyt

**Jenny Hoyt** is the main protagonist character of ABC drama series *Big Sky*. She is the wife of Cody Hoyt who ends up investigating with Cassie Dewell when her son's girlfriend and her sister go missing.

## History

### Early Life

At some point, Jenny worked as a police detective and married Cody Hoyt with whom she had a child named Justin Hoyt.

### Girls' Disappearance

Jenny, an ex-cop who's also Cody Hoyt's estranged wife, struggled when she figured out that her husband had cheated on her with Cassie while they were separated. Jenny confronted Cassie about this, but Cassie said she believed they were done done, which Jenny knew meant Cody had told her they were done. Cassie went to the bar where Jenny was drinking and tried to make Jenny see that she genuinely believed they were done before anything happened with Cody. Cassie then invited Jenny to punch her, which Jenny did, resulting in a fight that landed both of them in an urgent care clinic for stitches. Cody picked them both up from the clinic and said he wanted them all to talk it out, but neither of the women wanted to do that.

Later that day, instead of going home, Jenny went to Cody's log cabin and asked him if they were working on them or not. She knew that Cassie wouldn't have done anything if she believed they would reconcile, so she knew Cody had told Cassie that they wouldn't. Despite seemingly confirming they were over, the two of them had sex in the cabin. Afterward, Cody got a call from their son, Justin, who was worried because Danielle and Grace still hadn't arrived. Jenny and Cody quickly got dressed and started making phone calls, looking for the girls. Cody sent Jenny home to be with Justin while he drove out to look for them. Instead of going home, Jenny went back to the office. There, she accessed VICAP and found a pattern of women being kidnapped from truck stops along I-90.

When Jenny and Cassie didn't hear from Cody, they started to worry. Jenny was planning to talk to Legarski, who had told Denise that Cody went out to the church early in the morning, but went alone, despite Cody having told Cassie they were going together. Jenny worried that Cody might have been drinking, especially after Cassie admitted she'd told Cody that they were over.

Jenny then returned to the diner, where Melissa told her about how Jerrie hadn't checked in like she usually did, which worried Melissa. She gave Jenny a picture of Jerrie, which Jenny showed Cassie, saying she didn't believe it was a coincidence that Jerrie disappeared the same night as the two girls. Jenny planned to go out to the truck stop where Jerrie was taken, but first, Cassie showed her on VICAP that someone had detected a pattern. They had 500 murder victims on or near highways, resulting in nearly 200 suspects. Almost all of them were long-haul truckers. Most of the victims were women with high-risk lifestyles. Cassie also told Jenny she believed Legarski was involved, which Denise refused to believe. Cassie wanted to talk to Denise's cousin anyway, saying an ex-wife would know if she'd been married to a sociopath.

Jenny went to the truck stop where Jerrie disappeared and talked to an attendant. When he admitted to recognizing Jerrie, she threatened to report him for serving alcohol to underage girls to get the security footage from the time she disappeared. Jenny next went home, where she told Justin she still hadn't heard anything. The police weren't looking because it hadn't even been a day since they disappeared. Justin was upset at just having to wait, but Jenny assured him she wouldn't stop looking.

After speaking to the girls’ mother and assuring them she was looking for them, Jenny made a trip out to the Church of Glory and Transcendence. At the gate, she pretended to be with the FBI to get in to see William Edwards, the head of the church. Once with him, she admitted who she really was. He told her that neither the girls nor Cody had been there and offered to let her walk around and view the security footage to prove it.

Jenny then went home and consoled Justin, who was worried about his dad and knew this disappearance was different. He was certain his father was dead. Jenny held him while he cried.

When Jenny and Cassie met up to compare notes, they agreed to focus on Legarski, as they both believed Cody’s disappearance had something to do with him.

Jenny went to Sheriff Tubb for help with Legarski, but he refused to help her, saying he couldn't jeopardize his relationship with a state trooper over her hunch. When she reminded him that he taught her to trust her hunches, he called to have Legarski brought in for a chat. Jenny then told Cassie about this chat and Cassie took a tracker to place on Legarski's truck while he spoke to Tubb. After placing the tracker, they spoke to Legarski briefly. Jenny introduced herself as Cody's wife and told him she knew that Cody was last seen with him. Legarski just said he believed that everyone was against cops and her crusade against him was just that.

Cassie and Jenny kept looking into truckers, looking for Legarski's partner. Jenny then had the idea to use herself as bait for a trucker to draw him out. Cassie drove Jenny out to the truck stop and watched from a distance while Jenny found and flirted with their target, Brad Gunther. When she got in his truck, he made a big show of sanitizing everything and asking her to clean herself. She grew impatient and grabbed some things out of his truck to check for DNA. When she went to leave, he tried to stop her with a knife. At that point, she shoved him off, so he pulled out a gun. Then Cassie came over with her own gun and told him to put his gun down. This incident landed them back in Tubb's office. Brad having a gun was a probation violation, but he could also arrest Jenny for what she did. Jenny defended herself, saying she didn't hit the guy until he pulled a weapon on her. Tubb told them not to expect anymore favors from him.

Jenny and Cassie then followed the tracker on Legarski's car out to where the girls were being kept. They went out there and looked around, but didn't find anything.

While Jenny was having Denise look into missing indigenous girls from the area, Denise informed her that the property they searched had underground space and according to the tracker, Legarski was there. Jenny called Tubb and sent him the coordinates to meet them there. She explained that they put a tracker on Legarski's truck and that he'd been there multiple times. When they arrived, they decided to go in without waiting. Inside, they found Legarski calmly eating a sandwich. They went downstairs, where they found the shipping container, but the girls weren't inside. Tubb was angry with Jenny and Cassie, but Jenny and Cassie were sure that Legarski had found their tracker and covered his tracks, knowing they were onto him. To keep Cassie from being arrested, Jenny then took full responsibility and was arrested for criminal stalking.

Denise quickly bailed Jenny out. As she left the jail, Jenny talked to Cassie, who had learned from Merrilee that Legarski was a creature of habit. She and Cody had both previously been with Legarski as he ate breakfast at the All-In, but that day, he'd eaten at the shed instead. Jenny immediately raced to meet Cassie.

When Jenny got to the All-In, she found that Cassie had shot Legarski and found the girls, but not Cody. Cassie also told Jenny that Legarski was working with someone else, a trucker as they’d suspected. As the police dug up the area around where the girls were kept, they found Cody’s truck. Inside was Cody’s body and when Jenny saw it, she started crying in grief. She then went to Denise, who offered to help her plan the funeral, which she said she wanted to be small and simple. Denise told Jenny that Cody died on a rescue mission, a mission that Jenny continued and completed. Denise was upset to find Jenny at the office working. Jenny said she needed to keep working so she could stay strong for Justin. Denise warned her not to run away from her emotions.

Jenny met with Jerrie and talked to her about what she knew. Jerrie told her that their other captor’s truck had been heavily customized.

Jenny then went to speak to Merrilee at the hospital, resulting in a conflict between the two of them. Merrilee ultimately admitted that she didn’t know her husband as well as she thought she did.

At Cody’s funeral, Jenny released some of Cody’s ashes to the wind. Then they went inside, where a band played and everyone danced and drank. Cassie said she wasn’t sure what to do as the person who slept with Cody, but warned Jenny not to push people away like Cassie herself had. When the time came for Cody’s favorite song, Jenny went up on the stage to sing it. When she struggled, Cassie and then Jerrie came up and helped her finish the song.

The next day, Jenny returned to the office to continue working on the case. When Cassie found her, she told Jenny she’d need a partner and asked Jenny to run the business with her. They then continued working on the case together and talked about what they’d learned from Jerrie about his customized truck, which had a hidden compartment to hide the girls.

### Finding the Fisherman

Cassie woke one morning to a call from Jenny saying that Legarski was awake. She and Jenny went to the hospital, where Tubb reminded them they weren't supposed to be involved anymore, though he did say that Grace had agreed to help them find the fisherman, but wanted Cassie and Jenny to be there as they'd bonded some. While they were out searching, they learned that Elena Sosa welcomed their involvement and hoped to use the attention gained from two wholesome white girls being taken to help find several indigenous girls she was sure Legarski was involved in trafficking. After some searching, they found and identified the fisherman's body.

Meanwhile, after seeing the news reports, they figured the trucker would try to get rid of their truck, especially because Jerrie had seen it, and looked into used truck dealerships while they waited for the sketch of him to be ready. They also sent Jerrie to go stay with her friend Melissa after she received a threatening note and arranged for Tubb's men to drive by every hour.

### Second Kidnapping and Legarski's Recovery

When the sketch became available, Jenny and Cassie took it to Merrilee's house and asked them if she recognized him. She asked who it was and when they said it was her husband's accomplice, she told them he was upstairs. They immediately drew their weapons and entered the house.

Jenny and Cassie went upstairs, but found the house empty. They found Legarski's secret storage room behind his closet and realized that must have been his target. Tubb and Sosa soon joined them and searched the house for any evidence. When Legarski passed a polygraph, Jenny realized he didn't remember, which meant he would be declared incompetent to stand trial. Instead of prison, he'd go to a psychiatric facility and could eventually be released. Convinced that he was faking it, Cassie sneaked into his hospital room, determined to prove he recognized her. After the conversation, Cassie was convinced that Legarski really didn't remember. Jenny still refuse to believe it, so she went to his room herself and came to the same conclusion. She told Cassie that if Legarski went free, she'd kill him herself.

Meanwhile, Rachel Westergaard came into Dewell & Hoyt Private Investigations because her son, Erik, who delivered papers, hadn't come home after his route. They quickly realized that Legarski's accomplice had taken him. After getting his route information from the paper, police began to go door-to-door.

When Cassie ended up at Ronald's house, she initially didn't recognize him, but remembered his face as she was leaving. She told Jenny, who contacted Tubb and he and several of his deputies came to the house to try to lure Ronald out and arrest him. Before they started, Jenny confided in Cassie that she kind of hope Ronald wouldn't surrender so she could shoot him. Tubb deputized Jenny and Cassie, taking responsibility for their actions. Tubb called out to Ronald on the bullhorn, but got no response, so they breached the front door. It was booby-trapped and one of the deputies was shot with a rigged shotgun on the way in. Jenny immediately went down to the basement, where she found an unconscious figure in a blue jacket, which matched Erik's description, chained to the floor. At the same time, they learned the house was rigged to explode and could do so at any time. Jenny refused to leave Erik and frantically worked to break the chain so she could get him out. She was finally able to break the chain and carried the body out just before the house exploded. Outside, she learned that it wasn't Erik, but Helen's long-dead body. Cassie was angry with Jenny for risking her life staying in the building, saying she didn't want to have to tell Justin that his mom was dead.

They guessed that Ronald fled in the dead priest's car as his rig would draw too much attention, so they set off in search of a black Tesla. Jenny said people go where they know, which would mean the interstate for a trucker, so she and Cassie headed in that direction and finally caught up with the Tesla on its way to the interstate, speeding down the road. To check if Erik was still alive, Cassie pulled alongside the Tesla and they saw that Ronald wasn't driving, but instead had placed Maynard's body in the front seat and set the car to self-driving. Sosa advised them that she'd read about a case of a drunk guy in the driver's seat of a self-driving car. They eventually stopped the car by getting in front of it in that case, suggesting the same option would work again as the car would sense the vehicle in front of it and stop itself. With difficulty, Cassie got her truck in front of the Tesla and ended up face-to-face with it as it raced toward her, but stopped before they crashed. They got Erik out of the car and said they'd take him to his mom. When Tubb landed in the helicopter, he told Jenny and Cassie that he'd just learned that Merrilee killed Legarski. They said it was some kind of justice, but it still wasn't justice for Ronald, who was still out there, and they promised they'd keep looking until they found him.

### Alan Hedley, Blake Kleinsasser, and Continued Search for Ronald

Three months later, with the trail on Ronald having gone cold, Cassie and Jenny were mostly working domestic cases. They'd been hired by Naomi Hedley, who believed her husband, Alan, was cheating on her. They tracked Alan to a hotel, but were shocked when two men entered the room after him instead of a woman as they expected. They followed the two men into the hotel room and found Alan being held by the two men, Paul Calgrove and Raymond. Cassie told them she called the cops in order to get them to agree to leave. They did reluctantly, but Alan escaped through the bathroom as well. They told Tubb they suspected it was a drug deal that had gone poorly.

They met with Naomi and told her what they'd learned. She said he was ten years sober and would never be involved in drugs again. She worried Alan was in danger and begged them to find him. The next morning, they learned that Alan hadn't come home at all the previous night, so they went back to see Naomi. The meeting was interrupted by Bruce Stone, Naomi's father, who thanked them for their services and offered to pay their bill, but assured them Alan was fine and their services were no longer required.

At the same time, Mark Lindor, a US Marshal, came to town to help with the search for Ronald. He spoke to Cassie about Ronald and said the trail had gone cold, but that's why he wanted the case. He gave Cassie his card and told her to call him when she was ready. After learning Jerrie was getting weird calls a Dewell & Hoyt, Cassie shared that information with Mark and Mark showed her all the ways he was trying to track Ronald. During this conversation, Cassie learned the identity of Paul Calgrove, also known as the Snail, one of the men Alan had been with at the hotel. Mark warned that he was very dangerous, meaning she'd need help if she was going to face him again.

They tracked Alan to another hotel, but when they arrived, they found the case Alan had been carrying tipped on its side. Spilling out were several broken vials of what Cassie knew to be thoroughbred horse semen, worth over $100,000. There was also blood on a deer head hung on the wall and a missing bedsheet, leading Mark to conclude that the Snail had killed Alan and taken his body away in the sheet.

They went back to Naomi's house, where she told them things were great, but her body language told them that wasn't the case. They pretended to leave, but went around the side of the house, where they saw Bruce tied to a chair with Raymond holding him hostage. After a brief hostage situation, Jenny shot Raymond in order to save Naomi, whom he was holding at gunpoint. Bruce was then arrested for his part in the plot to steal and sell the horse semen.

With that case concluded, they went to move on to the next case when a call came in from Jenny's ex, Blake Kleinsasser, who said he needed her help.

Jenny and Cassie traveled to Lochsa County to see Blake in jail. He was adamant that while he'd seen Rosie that night, he's not he one who assaulted her. He was simply trying to help her get her things back after his father fired her father and locked them out of the caretaker's cabin. Jenny promised she'd look into it.

After leaving the jail, Jenny was insistent that Blake didn't do it. She believed his family was probably setting him up and went to get rooms so they could stay and investigate. After their truck was vandalized, Jenny and Cassie went to the sheriff's department and spoke to Sheriff Wagy about it. He was unconcerned and believe it was just local kids having fun. They also talked to him about Rosie and he said it wouldn't be possible for them to speak to Rosie themselves, so they should just read the report. As they went to leave, Angela came outside with them and asked where they were staying if any more information came in. While Cassie went to the bar where Blake and Rosie were last seen together, Jenny went to the Kleinsasser ranch to talk to Blake's family. She had a pleasant conversation with Margaret until Horst came in and made it clear she needed to leave. Jenny told Cassie about her lack of success speaking with the family, but said she knew a back way onto the property so she could check Blake's story. She went to the property, where she slipped in through a fence. She found a trailer on the property where she saw Rand and Melinda through the window. When Jenny saw that she'd been spotted, she ran, but fell into a pit on the property.

With Jenny stuck in the pit, Rand hovered over her, taunting her with an axe even after she pulled her gun on him. She was saved when John Wayne appeared and forced Rand to leave. When John Wayne learned why Jenny was there, he offered to take her to the cabin himself. They went to the cabin on the Gator, where Jenny looked around and found a nearly-full bottle of whiskey, like the one Blake purchased the night of the assault. While she was doing this, John Wayne left, stranding her on the property.

After leaving the Kleinsassers, Jenny tried calling Cassie, but got her voicemail and then found her truck on the side of the road, where it had been set on fire. When she located Cassie and brought her back to the hotel, she apologized for not being there, then told Cassie what she'd found. Because most of the whiskey was still in the bottle, she said she wanted to get the bottle tested to check for anything that would explain Blake's memory loss from that night.

Jenny next spoke to Blake, telling him everything that had happened. He felt guilty for dragging her into his problems and asked her to promise to leave.

With help from Mark, Jenny and Cassie learned where Rosie was living and went to talk to her. She told them what she remembered from that night, including that she blacked out very suddenly and that Rand was there.

Jenny and Cassie tried to convince Rosie to come forward and tell her story, but she told them there was no use. She'd already tried to change her statement at the sheriff's office, but she was told there would be repercussions if she did. Their conversation was interrupted when Rosie's father, Gil, came home and told Cassie and Jenny to leave.

Back at their hotel, Jenny asked Cassie why people were so afraid of the Kleinsassers and Cassie explained that everyone was used to the Kleinsassers running things in their small county. While they were talking, Cassie got a call from Denise, saying the scanner had picked up a call about a dead body at the Kleinsasser ranch. Jenny knew immediately that it was Blake. Jenny first wanted to talk to the sheriff, but when Cassie reminded her that was a bad idea, she said she was going to talk to Angela, who had seemed like she wanted to say something to them.

Jenny went to the sheriff's office, where Angela silently indicated to Jenny that they could talk later, but said out loud that she couldn't tell Jenny anything about Blake. After that conversation, Jenny went back to Cassie and told her that Angela would be coming to talk later. Cassie had to leave to go check out a tip on Ronald, leaving Jenny alone.

Jenny also met with Cheyenne, who gave her the name Cole Danvers in exchange for Jenny telling Cheyenne that Blake didn't hurt Rosie, that John Wayne and Rand did. Jenny passed the name along to Denise, who came up with a missing persons report, but said she'd do a more thorough search and get back to Jenny.

That evening, Angela came to the hotel to speak to Jenny. Angela gave Jenny proof that the sheriff knew that what happened to Rosie wasn't an accident and wasn't Blake, but he covered it up. Angela had more to say, but needed a drink first. However, as they took a break to share a drink, a truck crashed into the front of the hotel and into their room.

Jenny woke up soon after and Earl helped her up. She went to check on Angela, but found her dead in the rubble. When police arrived, Jenny refused to let anyone examine her and told Wagy she knew the Kleinsassers were behind the crash and that Wagy knew it as well. She assured him she wouldn't let him get away with it. Jenny blamed herself for Angela's death as Angela was only at the motel to talk to her at her request. When Jenny returned to Helena, she got the address for Nora Danvers, the mother of the missing farmhand.

Jenny explained to Nora what she knew and Nora said that she tried to get Cole to stay away, but he ended up working for the Kleinsassers. Then one day, he just disappeared and they made her out to be the nut for looking for him. They had Gil come tell her Cole stole a truck and ran away with it, but Nora didn't believe it because Cole never called her after that.

Jenny then went back to Gil to ask him about Nora. Gil said he tried to help Cole by telling him to keep his head down and take the paycheck, but Cole started asking questions, so Rand killed him, thinking he was protecting his father. Gil struggled to tell them what Horst had on him, leading Jenny to believe he was complicit. Finally Gil told them Horst gave corporations a place to dump their toxic waste. Wagy brokered the deal in exchange for a cut of the profits. Jenny said there had to be a paper trail and wanted to use Blake's funeral as a cover to get on the property to get some proof.

Jenny, Cassie, and Gil broke onto the property, where the found a barrel with body parts in it. Gil said it was undocumented workers who died hauling the waste. He took a sample of the soil for Jenny to take for testing. Soon after, headlights approached them and Gil warned them to run.

After running for some time, Gil told Cassie and Jenny to run while he gave himself up. Cassie and Jenny continued to run and decided to split up, as Jenny felt she could handle John Wayne. Jenny finally stopped and tried to figure out where John Wayne was. He tackled her and knocked her out before she found him. When she woke up, she was locked in a box. She tried unsuccessfully to break her way out. Finally, Horst and John Wayne let her out, but insisted she come to the house for breakfast despite her saying she wasn't hungry. At the house, she tried again to escape, but John Wayne held her at gunpoint to keep her there, then put her back in the box. Later, he got her out and they had a standoff. Jenny shot him in the leg after he admitted to killing Blake. Cheyenne arrived soon afterward and had a struggle with John Wayne which ended with her shooting and killing him. Cheyenne then told Cassie and Jenny to go. Jenny called Tubb to come to the ranch, then she and Cassie confronted Wagy and Gregor and got a recording of Wagy admitting to ordering Cassie's death.

When Tubb and Sosa arrived, Wagy and Gregor were arrested, but the case was turned over to the state. While they were talking, Tubb got a call and told Jenny there was a break in the Pergman case. Jenny and Cassie returned to Helena, where they learned Mark had arrested Ronald. They spoke first to Scarlet, whom they believed was one of Ronald's victims. After that conversation, Mark told them they'd talk to Ronald tomorrow, as he'd offered greater cooperation if Cassie and Jenny were present. Jenny then went home to Justin, apologizing to him for disappearing after his father's death. She promised she was done running.

The next morning, before going to talk to Ronald, Jenny went to the office, where Denise gave her everything, they had on the Legarski case and the syndicate. Jenny was surprised when Cheyenne came to visit. Cheyenne brought news that her father had died, and Rosie had amended her statement with the interim sheriff. She also told Jenny she had a place to stay if she ever found herself in Lochsa, as there were going to be some changes at the ranch.

At the interrogation, Ronald said he wanted to return the kindness Mark had paid to him the previous day by playing a song for him. He convinced them to take him out of his cell and led them to his happy place, where he'd kept Kelli before just stopping his visits to her. They found her long-dead body there covered by a sheet. After some time, it became clear he wasn't going to tell them where Mary was, so they led him back to the car. As they drove, a truck clipped the corner on the car containing Ronald, Cassie, and Mark, flipping it over. Jenny and Tubb were behind them in another car and stopped short before hitting them. Some men then got out of the truck and started firing on them, hitting Tubb in the shoulder. Jenny was able to lure one of the men behind a vehicle, where she shot and killed him. However, she saw the other man holding a gun on Cassie and called out to him, leading to him shooting Jenny instead. Cassie held pressure on Jenny's bleeding abdomen. When help arrived, they took Jenny away on a stretcher after Jenny told Cassie to go find Ronald.

## Relationships

### Romantic

She was married to Cody Hoyt until his death. They have one son together, Justin. Before his death, they were separated for some time. During this separation, he had an affair with Cassie Dewell.

## References

1. ↑ Pilot, 1x01
2. ↑ Nowhere to Run, 1x02
3. ↑ The Big Rick, 1x03
4. ↑ Unfinished Business, 1x04
5. ↑ A Good Day to Die, 1x05
6. ↑ The Wolves Are Always Out for Blood, 1x06
7. ↑ I Fall to Pieces, 1x07
8. ↑ The End is Near, 1x08
9. ↑ Let It Be Him, 1x09
10. ↑ Catastrophic Thinking, 1x10
11. ↑ All Kinds of Snakes, 1x11
12. ↑ No Better Than Dogs, 1x12
13. ↑ White Lion, 1x13
14. ↑ Nice Animals, 1x14
15. ↑ Bitter Roots, 1x15
16. ↑ Love is a Strange and Dangerous Thing, 1x16