“I’m glad you came,” he said, making room for her along the railing. “I didn’t dare go down: there’s too many people, and I was afraid I’d lose sight of him. I was afraid he’d go away. It’ll be easier with the two of us.”

They worked out a strategy. When the show was over the girl would go down the stairs while Jack stayed up above to warn her in case Théo suddenly decided to go and take the subway; once she was on the middle tier she would take over the surveillance and Jack would join her.

Outside the subway station down below, the performer dressed in black was now perched on a unicycle that stood more than two metres high. Over his black sweater the other two had placed a straitjacket and given him twenty seconds to get out of it. The spectators were shouting, “Twenty! . . . Nineteen! . . . Eighteen!” and the performer went into contortions to free his arms, while struggling to keep his balance on the unicycle. When he had only five seconds left he unfastened the straps as if by miracle, tossed it over his head and jumped down to salute the applauding crowd.

The show was over.

It was cold and damp because the fog had come back. as it did late every afternoon.

“I’d better go down right away,” said the girl.

But she stood rooted to the spot.

Jack, too, was stupefied.

Something strange was happening in the middle tier. The men sitting on either side of Théo . . . they had got up, they had taken hold of something behind the bench. It was a wheelchair.

All at once the two men placed Théo in the wheelchair. They leaned over and lifted Théo so they could climb the stairs. Then one of them pushed the chair toward a van parked a little farther away alongside Market Street.

“Let’s go!” cried the girl.

She started to run along the sidewalk, zigzagging through the passersby. She had almost reached the van and was talking with the two men when Jack caught up with her. A retractable ramp had been taken out of the vehicle, and one of the men was about to push the wheelchair inside.

“One moment, please,” said the girl.

She took both men by the arm and they grudgingly consented to move away a few steps with her.

Jack positioned himself in front of the wheelchair.

His brother didn’t raise his head, so he crouched in front of him so as to be in his line of sight.

“Théo?” he said softly.

His brother’s eyes were staring at him and there was a sort of silent question in his gaze, but the rest of his face was devoid of expression.

He touched his hand.