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experience. She needed something on those lonely nights. It seemed okay that she read the Bible two hours a night. Better than TV when I was off doing police work, I figured."
    At this time in his life the faith of Tony Puente was moribund. It had never been the same really since his father died a death hastened by alcohol abuse. The Puentes called the nearby rectory for the priest to come. A white priest told them he'd be glad to oblige—for seventy-five dollars.
    Tony's mother then called a Mexican priest, who came at once without mentioning money. Nevertheless, Tony Puente's faith was severely shaken, and in fact was never restored. As he tried to explain the profound, irrevocable change in his marriage and life, he put it this way: "I said okay to her new religion but nixed the bulletproof vest. If I had it to do over I'da wore the goddamn vest to bed if she woulda shined-on the God Squad. But how could I know what would happen?"
    The oldest cop among them was Fred Gil. He was an ex-Marine drill instructor who had served in Vietnam and hence was expected to assist with the quasi-military training. Fred Gil was thirty-six years of age, even quieter and more soft-spoken than Tony Puente. Fred Gil was known for a shy smile with a sense of humor buried deep. And he was perhaps the only ex-drill instructor in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps who used epithets like
    "heck" and "goldang." He was one of the poorest Spanish-speakers among the MexicanAmerican cops, and was so diffident with superior officers that he avoided eye contact and file://C:\Documents and Settings\tim\Desktop\books to read\Wambaugh, Joseph - Lines a... 11/20/2009
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    frequently put his hand in front of his mouth when talking to anyone above the rank of sergeant.
    Fred Gil's passiveness seemed at first rather astonishing, in that during his service days he had been All-Marine Judo Champion in the open class for heavyweights. And at two hundred pounds this was not easy, since he had to compete with monster Marines. Fred Gil was pleasant, likable, physically fit. Many cops were surprised that at his age he'd join this outfit to run around in the cactus and lizard shit, freezing in the night. But it was personal with Fred Gil. He was affected by the brutality of the bandit gangs in the canyons. Dick Snider's pictures of pathetic alien victims made an impression on old Fred Gil. Perhaps he and Dick Snider had lived long enough to know something about unfulfilled dreams and to empathize with those who had none. Perhaps he was approaching mid-life crisis. At thirty-nine years his wife, Jan, was probably into hers. They fought most of the time. Their marriage was miserable.
    Joining the task force was his idea, he said. He was going to do something with his police career before he was too old to bother.
    "After Vietnam, I just didn't strive at much of anything," he said. "I was just so glad to be alive it was enough for a long time. Ordinary police work seemed peaceful after the war. Just living without the daily fear of someone trying to kill me." So Fred Gil found himself in the task force, but he didn't want to lead anyone anywhere. The tallest of them, Ernie Salgado, was their weapons expert. Like Fred Gil he was an exMarine who had been in Vietnam at the beginning of the Tet offensive, and in Da' Nang with the 7th Marines. He had been an infantry squad leader and had seen his share of combat during his thirteen months over there. He often wondered if the canyons at night would make him flash to Nam.
    Ernie Salgado hailed from Marfa, Texas, population 2,600. It was mostly a Mexican town with some whites and no blacks. He had lived with anti-Mexican sentiment most of his life and decided to settle in San Diego after being stationed there in the Marines. But even with five years of police service, city life was still not completely comfortable. He was the only one of them who didn't like to join the beer busts after work. He might sip a