Read Online The Consummata by Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane - Free Book Online

it. “Okay. So the idiot wants his ass whipped. Whip it, and take his credit card number. Why not?”
    “If only it were that simple.” Bunny glanced at Gaita, whose head was lowered. “When the game was over, when the girl had done whatever he asked...he would pay, as required, he would even provide a handsome tip. But on occasion...not every time, perhaps once every three visits, then later on, after every other visit...he would punish the girl.”
    Frowning, I said, “I thought these freaks liked being dominated.”
    “Oh, they do. But when the game is over, some feel shame, and a sado-masochistic bastard like Halaquez will suddenly take it out on the very person he hired to humiliate him.”
    I shook my head; my belly was tight with disgust. “Getting even for indignities he’d paid to have done to him. Man. This is one sick puppy.”
    “Yes,” Bunny said. “Someone should put him out of his misery.”
    “But this is great,” I said, beaming at her.
    “Great?”
    “Now we have a lead. Now we know how he gets his jollies, and it’s from a menu served up at a limited number of venues. You must know other houses or girls working solo, doing the S & M thing. It’s a way to find him.”
    Bunny’s eyes were tight. “I think you will find Mr. Halaquez is banned from all such establishments, and the word’sgotten around among the women who work the bondage trade out of their apartments, as well. But I will give you a list, if you think that may help.”
    “Sure. It’s a start.”
    “The only other thing, Morgan...but it’s a long shot.”
    “Hell. Guys get rich playing long shots. Go.”
    Again she chose her words carefully. “There is a rumor... and for now it’s just a rumor...that the Consummata is setting up shop in Miami.”
    I blinked. “Who or what is the ‘Consummata’?”
    “A very famous dominatrix , at least famous in certain circles.”
    “From Miami?”
    “From nowhere. From everywhere. Sometimes she works alone, by appointment through intermediaries. Other times she has set up a location with other young women trained in the arts of sado-masochism. And, again, clients are by referral only. She has turned up in every major city in America and not a few in Europe. Her clients, they say, are among the most rich and powerful men in business and government. If she exists.”
    “You don’t even know if she exists?”
    “She is a rumor. A wisp of smoke. A legend. A dream. Lovely, a vision in black leather, they say...and, brother, would I hire her for the Mandor in a heartbeat.”
    “How do I find her?”
    Her laugh was inaudible. “I don’t think you can. But I can put the word out. If Jaimie Halaquez hears that the Consummata has graced Miami with her presence, he willcertainly try to make an appointment with her. Any concerns for his safety, anything smacking of common sense, will fly from his evil mind.”
    “Consummata,” I said, tasting the word. “What is that? Spanish? Italian?”
    “Latin,” Gaita chimed in from the sidelines. “It has several meanings. One is...crowning touch. The other you might guess.”
    “Sexual consummation,” I said.
    “Got it in one,” Bunny said, cheerfully, slipping off her desk onto her feet.
    I got up and faced her. “You’ve been a big help, kiddo.”
    “Oh, you’ll be seeing more of me, Morgan.”
    “You sure you really want that?”
    She laughed. “Not sure at all. You might get ideas about raiding me . I wouldn’t put it past you...though why, with forty million bucks stashed away, you’d want to bother with small change like little ol’ me, I’d never know.”
    “Don’t believe everything you read in the papers, Bunny.”
    “About you, Morgan?” She slipped an arm in mine, walking me to the door. “I’d believe anything.”
    Jaimie Halaquez had gone on the run with a purpose in mind.
    He had tested the defenses and offensive capabilities of the opposition, and found them lacking in strength. His first kill had been