Ep 20. Kensington

In the second season of Cold Case, the thirty-something female detective Lilly Rush solves cold case crimes in Philadelphia. Each episode features a new case that has remained unsolved for years, if not decades. In episode 20 of season 2, titled "Kensington," Lilly and her team take on a case from 1976 involving a teenager who was murdered under mysterious circumstances.

The episode begins with Lilly and her partner Scotty Valens being called to investigate a possible sighting of the victim's body on a bus. When they arrive at the scene, they realize it's a false alarm, but it reignites their interest in the case. The victim, Lisa Renee, was last seen leaving a convenience store near her home in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. She was found murdered a few days later, beaten and strangled in a vacant lot. No one was ever arrested for the crime.

Lilly and Scotty interview Lisa's family and friends, some of whom are still living in Kensington. They learn that Lisa was a troubled teenager who had run away from home a few months prior to her murder. She was involved with drugs and prostitution, and her family had lost touch with her. However, Lisa's mother and sister are still haunted by the fact that they never found out who killed her.

As Lilly and Scotty delve deeper into the case, they begin to uncover a web of deceit and corruption in the neighborhood. They learn that Lisa was not the only teenager who had gone missing or been killed around the same time. They also discover that a powerful local businessman had been involved in drug trafficking and prostitution in the area, and that he had connections to the police. They suspect that Lisa may have stumbled upon something she wasn't supposed to know, and that someone had silenced her to keep her quiet.

Throughout the episode, we see flashbacks to Lisa's last days alive, as well as snippets of her troubled past. We also get a sense of the gritty, impoverished reality of Kensington in the 1970s, with its abandoned buildings, drug addicts, and prostitutes. The show portrays the neighborhood as a place where young women like Lisa were at risk of being exploited and killed, and where the police were often corrupt and ineffective.

As Lilly and Scotty gather more evidence, they find themselves up against powerful forces that don't want the truth to come out. They face obstacles and setbacks, but they keep pushing forward, driven by their determination to give Lisa's family some closure. The episode builds to a tense climax as Lilly and Scotty confront the killer and finally solve the mystery of Lisa's death.

In summary, "Kensington" is a gripping and emotional episode of Cold Case that explores issues of corruption, poverty, and violence in an inner-city neighborhood. It features strong performances from the regular cast as well as guest actors, and it offers a satisfying resolution to an unsolved crime. It's a must-see for fans of the show and anyone interested in crime dramas.