‘They’re getting younger all the time,’ she said. ‘It’s a rite of passage.’

She had returned fire but that only seemed to work them up even more. Taking crap from a woman was a sign of weakness, a cardinal blokey sin.

‘I’m sick of it,’ said Kerr. ‘Sick of the ugly, disgusting words. Sick of their sense of sexual entitlement. They invade my space and violate my privacy. I can’t walk down the street anymore, it’s like I’m trespassing, like I’m their prey. They used to do it behind my back – now it’s to my face. The uniform means nothing, only eggs them on.’ Anger dripped from her every word.

Manolis wrinkled his face in sympathy. ‘That’s harassment. Lock the little pricks up for a night. Teach them a lesson about respect and manners.’

‘Waste of time and energy,’ she said, scoffing. ‘If anything, they’d just go harder next time.’

‘Then lock them up again.’

‘Ha. Of course.’

‘Ignoring them might work. But you shouldn’t have to.’ ‘I tried that. I can’t do it, it’s not in my DNA. I bite back. I get too upset.’

Manolis narrowed his eyes. Young, bored men were the bane of his existence. In the country, they appeared younger and more bored than anywhere else. Other men were bodies to destroy, while women were bodies to conquer and then destroy.

‘Disrespectful little bastards,’ he said. ‘You know someone vandalised my car the day I got here?’

‘You got off lightly,’ Kerr replied.

‘I did, till they came back to cremate the bastard. I’m still furious.’

‘That makes two of us. As my dad would say, we’ve got a lot of shit on our livers.’

‘Greeks would say that we’re ready to drink blood.’

Kerr sighed. ‘Really, given what happened to Molly, I guess I should be grateful they’re only throwing insults, not rocks.’

‘No,’ said Manolis. ‘No, you shouldn’t.’

He reflected a moment. Could a common, basic hatred of women have been a motive for Molly’s stoning? It was certainly possible. He’d seen it too many times before.

The car decelerated as they turned into Crawford Street.

‘This wasn’t just a murder, Detective,’ Kerr said. ‘This was violence against women. And if it was done by a detainee as some kind of sick punishment, it’s culture and religion being used to excuse violence.’

Manolis nodded. The crime was a homicide, first and foremost, but it wasn’t lost on him that the victim was female.

‘This is why I take a hard line on the issue,’ he said. ‘It’s comments and insults today, domestic violence and rapes and murders tomorrow. And I’m sorry for the old maid remark.’