Saggar knew it was already past the visiting hours in McGill Hospital, but he was confident he could charm the woman currently on duty at the reception desk. He put on his most charming smile and focused his dark blue eyes on the woman.

“Good evening, Miss. I was planning to visit my Aunt Emma but my flight from England got delayed. I wasn’t able to come here during visiting hours. I hope you could make an exception for me? I had traveled far to make sure that Aunt Emma is okay. Could you please allow me a few minutes to look into her condition? Her full name is Mrs. Emma Cloutier.”

“Let me see what I can do,” said the woman. Saggar secretly smiled. His charm worked! The receptionist began looking for Emma’s information in her computer. She frowned as she stared at the monitor in front of her.

“I am sorry, but Emma Cloutier is no longer a patient in this hospital.”

“What? She was brought here five days ago and according to the person I talked to on the phone, she was still in a coma. Did she wake up today and left?”

The woman brought back her attention on the monitor and began reading the information in front of her.

“According to our records, another relative of hers named Marjorie Cloutier took her. She said that she was going to transfer her to another hospital with better facilities.”

“Was the name of the hospital where Aunt Emma was transferred recorded?”

The receptionist gave Saggar the hospital’s name. But he had doubts that Emma Cloutier was there.

“Thank you,” he said before rushing out of the hospital. He quickly hailed a cab. “St. Anthony Medical Hospital!” he told the driver. The hospital was where Sheila Baker was currently staying. He also contacted Scylla. “Find out if Emma was indeed transferred to Duncan Hospital.”

Scylla called him back after he had gotten off the cab.

“According to the staff at Duncan Hospital, they never had any patient named Emma Cloutier. And the only patient transferred to their hospital this week was a seventeen-year-old boy.”

“Damn!” hissed Saggar.

“Could the Kissing Bandit be taking his victims?”

“He could have accomplices since the one who took Emma was a woman. It seemed I would have to face and fight more than one person.”

“Be careful. But you must also make sure that you don’t hurt them too much. Mane would grumble and groan if you brought them to him barely alive. According to him, his energy gets depleted whenever he heals those who suffered from your hands.”

Saggar chuckled.

“Tell him that I will make sure to only bring him patients that are still alive.”

“Saggar, you cannot kill people!” Scylla quickly reminded him.

“It’s possible that those involved here are not humans. If that’s the case then I won’t be breaking any laws if I chose to kill them.”

“There is a possibility that the Kissing Bandit’s accomplices are only ordinary humans. It would be very easy for the bandit to convince them to help him. People would do anything for money, specially if they are paid big amounts of it.”

“If humans are involved here, I would simply put them to sleep.”

After his talk with Scylla, Saggar didn’t waste any more time talking or charming the hospital staff in St. Anthony Medical Hospital. He simply turned himself invisible and walked toward the reception desk.

He waited until the receptionist’s attention was focused on a man inquiring about the hospital. He quickly used the hospital’s computer to find Sheila’s record and what room she was in. After getting the information he needed, he ran toward Sheila’s room. He made sure not to bump into any of the people walking in the corridor. Most of them were surprised when they encountered a cold gust of wind as he went passed them.

Upon reaching Sheila Baker’s room, he saw two uniformed policemen guarding outside the door. It seemed the police had become aware of the disappearances of Olivia and Emma and have made precautions to protect Sheila. It was also possible that this was a trap for those who would try to abduct Sheila. This could also mean that Sheila wasn’t in her assigned room.

If Saggar had inquired about Sheila in the reception desk, he would have become an instant suspect. He would have been apprehended by the police and locked in jail or spent the whole night in an interrogation roon.

He silently backed away from the two policemen. He looked for a place where he could call Scylla without alerting any suspicion. He found a supply room. He went inside and contacted Scylla.

“I would need you to hack into the computer system of St. Anthony’s. Find out all the names of patients that had been admitted today as well as their room numbers. I am sure the police are using one of those names for Sheila.”

He only had to wait for a few seconds before Scylla was able to hack into the hospital’s computer system. The money he spent for sponsoring Scylla’s interests in computers and hacking was well worth it!

Scylla began telling him the names and rooms of the four patients that had been admitted today in the hospital.

He quickly looked into the four rooms. The third patient he checked named Paul Reverie turned out to be Sheila. There were no policemen guarding her door but when he entered the room, he saw a nurse sitting beside Sheila’s bed.

The nurse was startled by the sudden opening of the door. But since Saggar was invisible, she thought it was just a gust of wind. She got up and closed the door. Saggar looked at the nurse closely.

There was a certain authority in the way she walked. She was also physically fit and tanned. Most nurses had pale skins because they hardly got exposed to sunlight. The woman was not a nurse. She was a cop, pretending to be a nurse. She was Sheila’s secret protector. It was then that Saggar noticed the slight bulge behind the nurse’s uniform. She was also carrying a hidden gun.

He waited until she had gotten back to her seat before he gently blew on her face. She quickly lost consciousness.

Saggar approached  the bed where Sheila Baker remained sleeping. Her picture was plastered all over the news so, he was sure she was the latest victim of the Kissing Bandit. He only paid little attention to her face since he was most interested in her feet.

He carefully lifted the blanket covering her feet.

“Shit!” he scowled.

The woman’s body was already changing! The Kissing Bandit had poisoned his victims by transferring his venom through the kiss. And the venom’s effect could be clearly seen through the green scales that had begun appearing on Sheila’s feet!