Cassie Dewell

**Cassie Dewell** is the main protagonist character of ABC drama series *Big Sky*. She is a private investigator who ended up investigating the disappearance of three women after her partner's disappearance.

## History

### Confrontation with Jenny

Cassie was dancing around her work office when Jenny came in and confronted her, asking if she'd slept with Cody, Jenny's husband, from whom she was separated. Cassie admitted that she had, but only because she believed he and Jenny were over. Cassie later confronted Jenny at a bar where she was drinking and asked Jenny to believe that she believed they were over before anything happened with Cody. She then gave Jenny the opportunity to hit her. Jenny did and they quickly started fighting. They fought for several minutes, resulting in injuries that required a trip to urgent care for stitches. Cody picked both of them up and tried to get them to talk it out, but they both refused.

Later that night, when Justin became worried that Danielle and Grace hadn't yet arrived, Cody called Cassie and had her go to the office while he went to look for the girls. He sent her links he got from Rick Legarski about girls going missing in the area. Cassie remembered a series of prostitutes going missing from truck stops and Cody told her to ask Jenny about it as she'd worked on that when she was a cop. Cassie asked Jenny, who logged into VICAP and found a pattern of women kidnapped from truck stops along I-90. She shared this news with Cody, who told her he was going to drive out to  a nearby church suspected of being a cult with Legarski.

Cassie and Jenny became worried when they didn't hear from Cody by the next day. Cassie confirmed that she'd told Cody they were over the night before, which Jenny worried had pushed him to start drinking again. Cassie met with Legarski, who said Cody had gone to the church himself because Legarski felt he was a loose cannon and didn't want to risk his badge by going along. Cassie suggested he find a friendly judge and get a warrant. And while he did that, she said she'd check out some truck stops and told him they suspected there was a connection to long-haul truckers.

After the meeting, Cassie called Denise to tell her Legarski came off as creepy. Denise assured Cassie that Legarski was harmless. Legarski saw her talking on her phone and came out to talk to her. Legarski asked her if she carried a gun. She said she does. He said he carried as well, but never got a chance to use it, though he hoped he would some day. He wondered if the time came, if he could pull the trigger. Cassie said she trained at the academy and knew she would pull it. He asked her why she didn't graduate and Cassie didn't answer.

Back at the office, Cassie told Denise that she just had a bad feeling about Cody, the same feeling she'd had the day her husband died, even before the soldiers showed up at her door. She also had a feeling that Legarski was involved. Because of this, she wanted to talk to Sally, Denise's cousin and Legarski's ex-wife, saying that an ex-wife would know if she'd been married to a sociopath. After speaking to Sally, Cassie went home and climbed into bed behind her son, Kai.

Cassie met with Legarski again. He wasn’t happy with her for speaking to his ex-wife and threatened her. She told Jenny she was certain that Legarski was involved. After meeting with the founder of the Church of Glory and Transcendence, Jenny agreed.

### Girls' Rescue and Shooting Legarski

While eating dinner with her father, he noticed that the case seemed to be bringing up bad memories for her. Despite this, she assured him that she was fine.

Cassie and Denise then reviewed the security footage of the last time Jerrie was seen before she disappeared. They concluded that a trucker must have taken her and further that the trucker was working with Legarski, as Legarski had too many eyes on him to do the kidnapping himself. She and Jenny asked Denise to write down as many license plates as she could so they could run them while they went to the sheriff's office to put a tracker on Legarski's truck while he spoke to Tubb, which they did despite Denise reminding them it was illegal. They ran into Legarski as he was leaving the station and he tried to frame their suspicion of him as a witch hunt against cops.

Cassie and Jenny took the information they got from Denise and looked up truckers. They found one with a criminal record, so Jenny said she go undercover to get samples from inside his truck to test for DNA. Denise objected to this plan, saying it was too dangerous to go undercover without backup, so Jenny said Cassie could be her backup.

Cassie drove Jenny out to the truck stop and watched from a distance as Jenny found their mark, Brad Gunther, She watched as Jenny climbed into his truck and talked to him. Cassie finally intervened when Brad pulled a gun on Jenny as she tried to leave with some things from his truck. They ended up detained by police because of this. Tubb let them go, but told them not to expect any more favors from his department. Denise came to get them and they had to admit they didn't know if they had the right trucker. Denise told them Legarski had spent some time out in the middle of nowhere.

Cassie and Jenny drove out to the location and looked around. They didn't find the girls, though Cassie had a feeling and thought she heard something at some point. Jenny said they needed to leave quickly in case Legarski came back, so they left.

The next day, Cassie came to the office with the blueprints for the property they'd searched, which showed there was an underground space. They also saw that Legarski was at the property right then. They called Tubb and convinced him to meet them there. When they arrived, they decided not to wait for backup to go in. Inside, they found Legarski calmly eating a sandwich. Tubb was angry that the girls weren't there and under pressure, he had to make an arrest. To keep Cassie from being arrested, Jenny took full responsibility and was arrested for criminal stalking.

Cassie went back to the office and Denise told her that they found the missing fisherman's truck only two miles from where they found Legarski. Cassie then went to see Merrilee and told her her husband might be involved in the disappearance of the girls from the news. Merrilee became upset at the notion and told Cassie that her husband was a creature of habit and hadn't changed that Merrilee had noticed. Cassie got a call from Jenny, fresh out of jail, and told her what she'd learned. She noted that she and Cody had both met Legarski while he was eating his breakfast at the All-In. But today, when they saw him, he was at the shed instead. Jenny said she'd meet Cassie there.

Cassie went to the bar and went inside. She heard Legarski call out, thinking she was there to pick up the girls, and followed the sound. She stood at the top of some steps, looking down at Legarski. The girls were behind him, taped up on the floor. She pulled her gun on him. In response, he taunted her and said he'd count to five and then shoot her. When he got to four, she instead shot him in the head.

Cassie went down the stairs and kicked Legarski’s gun away from him. She told the girls they were safe just as Tubb came in and saw what she’d done. He also noticed that Legarski’s fingers were still moving, indicating that he was still alive. The girls were quickly rescued and seen by paramedics while Legarski was taken to the hospital.  Outside, she explained to Tubb what had happened, including that there was another abductor and the other was a trucker. Tubb took her gun as Jenny approached. Cassie told her they found the girls but not Cody and told her about the accomplice. Tubb told them that his guys had it from there. Shortly afterward, they dug up Cody’s truck and Jenny and Cassie both cried when they saw that Cody’s body was inside.

Cassie went to visit Grace in the hospital, where her leg was being treated. She told the girls that the police sketch artist was working on a drawing of the trucker based on their descriptions. They told her that Legarski was the worse of the two and they were glad Cassie shot him. Cassie left and struggled with memories of shooting Legarski as she walked down the hall.

Next, she sat down with Merrilee, who was confused as she didn’t believe her husband was capable of what they were saying he did. Cassie told her that the girls had identified him as their captors.

Cassie met with Tubb, who apologized for not listening to her. She just wanted to focus on catching the other guy, but Tubb said that was his job. Then he asked her the circumstances of the shooting and he seemed distressed by the fact that she shot him even though Legarski never pointed his own weapon at her.

### Cody's Funeral

Cody's remains were cremated and Jenny held a funeral for him. They started by spreading some of his ashes to the wind. Then they went inside, where a band played music and people danced and drank. At the funeral, Jenny and Cassie talked and Cassie encouraged Jenny not to push everyone away like she had. When Jenny went up to sing Cody’s favorite song, she struggled, so Cassie and then Jerrie went up to sing with her and help her finish the song.

The next day, Cassie went into the office and started making notes on the board. She told Jenny that Grace was coming in to talk to her. Cassie then asked Jenny to run the business with her, since she needed a partner. They started talking about what they knew about the trucker, including that his truck was customized with a compartment to hide 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 refused 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 and asked him the same questions she'd asked the other people on Erik's route. However, as she was leaving, she remembered seeing him at Merrilee's shop. 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. While Jenny went down to the basement, Cassie helped search the ground floor. While searching, she smelled gasoline and saw some metal boxes which were sparking. They immediately started an evacuation, but Jenny refused to leave the basement as she believed Erik was down there and she couldn't free him. Jenny ended up carrying what she believed was Erik out just before the house exploded. Once she was outside, they discovered that the body wasn't Erik, but Helen, who had been dead for some time. Cassie then confronted Jenny, angry that Jenny had risked 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 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.

Cassie and Jenny traveled to Lochsa County to talk to Blake, who was accused of assaulting Rosie Amaya, the daughter of his family's former ranch manager. They went to the jail and spoke to Blake, who was adamant he hadn't attacked Rosie. He said he was simply trying to help her get her thing back after her father was fired and they were locked out of the caretaker's cabin. After they left the jail, Jenny told Cassie that Blake didn't do it, that he was being set up by his family, but Cassie wasn't so certain.

After their truck was vandalized, they went to the sheriff's department to report the damage and ask him about Rosie. He was adamant that the truck was just local teens having fun and said they couldn't speak to Rosie and should just read his report instead. As they went to leave, they were followed by Angela, who asked where they were staying so she could come tell them if anything came in. They then decided to split up. While Jenny went to the Kleinsasser ranch to talk to Blake's family, Cassie went to the bar where Blake and Rosie were last seen together. At the bar, Cassie met Cheyenne and learned that Blake had come back to town with all these big ideas for the ranch and was ruffling feathers with his family. Cheyenne also warned Cassie that her brothers wouldn't appreciate them poking around. John Wayne then came in and tried to get Cassie to leave with him, but she ducked around him and left.

As she drove that evening, Cassie got pulled over by one of the sheriff's deputies. He arrested her when she refused a Breathalyzer. When they passed the sheriff's office, Cassie began to panic.

Meanwhile, back in Helena, Mark tracked down a truck he was certain was Ronald's, which he had wiped clean except for a place where they could see, "Help me. -Kelli" scratched into the paint.

Still trapped in the back seat of the car, Cassie called the Dewell & Hoyt office and began describing her location and the path they were taking to the answering machine. When Gregor finally stopped and tried to get her out of the car, she pushed the door at him and took off running. However, he caught up to her quickly, causing her to fall and hit her head, knocking her out.

When she woke up, two figures were hovering over her. She went in and out a few more times before waking up in the sheriff's office, hearing Wagy and Gregor arguing over the decision to bring her there.

Mark picked Cassie up and applauded her quick thinking with the phone and then dropped her back at the hotel, where Jenny showed her the bottle of whiskey she'd found at the cabin where Blake was said to have assaulted Rosie. Cassie noted that the bottle was nearly-full, indicating that it wasn't the cause of their memory loss and confusion. Jenny said she was going to get it tested.

With Mark's help, Cassie and Jenny learned where Rosie was staying and went to talk to her. She explained what she remembered from that night, which was that she blacked out and that she remembered Rand being 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. When Jenny returned, she told Cassie that the body was Blake. While Jenny stayed behind to hear what Angela had to say, Cassie went with Mark to investigate a tip that came into Dewell and Hoyt about Ronald.

Back in Helena, Cassie and Mark listened to the message Denise had gotten on the machine from Mary Leyendecker, who claimed to have seen Ronald. The message was notable because Mary sounded scared, making them believe it was genuine. Mark and Cassie decided to go check it out. On their way to Mary's house, Mark tried to make small talk, but Cassie resisted, so instead, Mark told Cassie about having lost his sister, Maria. She was kidnapped from the mall while he was right there. Later, a man confessed to having taken her, but they never found her body.

When they arrived at Mary's house, they noted her car was out front, though no one answered the door. They went around the back, where they saw that among her dolls, one was on the floor, giving Mark probable cause to break in and look around. They found a basement and in the basement was a locked chest freezer. Mark broke the lock and found a dead body, long dead. Ronald said he'd call it in.

When they went back upstairs, they saw that the door had been left open. Mark observed that Ronald took the body with him despite the additional risk, meaning it was important to him to take it. Mark later told Cassie that the body they found was Steve Lahren, who had a child with Mary's sister, Scarlet, and had disappeared eight years prior.

After Jenny talked to Nora Danvers, whose son disappeared while working for the Kleinsassers, she and Cassie went to ask Gil about her. When pressed, he confessed that he helped the Kleinsassers cover up that they were dumping toxic waste in their back pasture. Jenny had the idea to use Blake's funeral as cover to break into the ranch and get proof. When they arrived, they found a barrel with body parts in it, which Gil said were undocumented workers who died transporting the waste. He then took a soil sample for Jenny to test. Soon after, headlights warned them of someone approaching. Gil warned Jenny and Cassie 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. After the split up, Cassie ended up being chased by Rand in his truck. As he tried to run her down, she fired into his truck. He then knocked her off the road and left her there as he drove away. When Cassie woke up, Rosie was above her. Together, they found Rand's truck flipped over in the ditch, but Rand was not inside. They followed the blood trail to Rand's house and entered. Inside, they found Rand bleeding heavily on the floor. Rosie pulled her gun on him, but Cassie told her not to shoot him, as he was already dying. Margaret arrived shortly afterward and held Rand as he died. Cassie and Rosie then went to where Cheyenne was holding a gun on Gil. Despite this, Gil told them Cheyenne wasn't going to kill him. Cheyenne said they needed to trust her, as it was the only way to save Jenny. She offered to take them to Jenny, who was with John Wayne. They got there right after Jenny shot John Wayne in the leg. Cheyenne then had a struggle with John Wayne which ended with her shooting and killing him. Cheyenne told Cassie and Jenny to go, as she wanted to stay with her brother. 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.

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. Cassie regained consciousness to hear the men firing guns at them, but was unable to rouse Mark. From the back seat, Ronald tried to choke Cassie, but had to stop when one of the men pulled him out of the back seat. The man then aimed his gun at Cassie, but didn't shoot her when Jenny 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. Cassie took a gun and stole a police car, driving off in search of Ronald.

## Relationships

### Romantic

#### Husband

She was married until her husband, Andrew, died in Afghanistan.

#### Cody Hoyt

When Cody separated from Jenny, he began seeing Cassie, who believed they were over with. While they were dating, she taught him how to rope cattle.

### Familial

Her father raised her on his own after her mother completed suicide when Cassie was eleven.

## Career

She is a private investigator. She previously attended the police academy, but quit before graduation. While speaking to Jenny about this, she said it was because justice looked different for different people and she wanted her badge to mean something.

## 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
17. ↑ Unfinished Business, 1x04
18. ↑ Pilot, 1x01
19. ↑ Nowhere to Run, 1x02
20. ↑ Unfinished Business, 1x04
21. ↑ A Good Day to Die, 1x05
22. ↑ The Wolves Are Always Out for Blood, 1x06