Mustafa Susan D. - The most dangerous animal of all

For the man who adopted
the abandoned baby on the stairwell
and raised him as his own

There are so many people who helped shape my destiny and who assisted me in learning about my past and that of my parents: Detectives Fournier and Jonau, who searched for the parents of the abandoned baby; Mary Bonnette; who found me; Lieutenant Hennessey, who believed me; William Lohmus, who came to love me and whose knowledge of my father seemed limitless; the Best family, who filled in the gaps and welcomed me with open arms; and Sergio, a stranger who was there for me during one of my most painful moments. A special thank-you to Michael Wakshull, Dr. Bo Scales, Lisa Hobbs Birnie, Max Davis, and Judy Riffel. I am eternally grateful to each of you.

I would like to thank my mom and dad, Loyd and Leona Stewart, for opening their hearts and their home to their adopted childrenfirst Sheryl, then Cindy, and finally me. Thank you for treating us like we were your own. There was never a question that we were loved completely and as much as if we had been born to you. Thank you for raising me in Istrouma Baptist Church and making me attend services even when I didnt want to go. Your faith in God was the best example a son could have and instilled in me the faith, courage, and strength to face all of the challenges placed before me as I followed His plan for my life.

I would like to thank Judy Gilford for the gift of life she gave to me. Our journey together has not been an easy one, but I wouldnt trade it for anything.

To Susan Mustafa, who took the complex, patchworked story of my life and, with her creative writing brilliance, produced this book. Thank you. You are now officially the fourth and last of the adopted children in the Stewart family. And to my agent, B. G. Dilworth, thank you for your hard work and dedication to this project.

To Michael Signorelli: Thank you for your belief in us. To Jennifer Barth at HarperCollins: Thank you for the countless hours you spent working with us to make this book the best it could be. Your contributions helped turn what was an incredible journey into a riveting narrative.

I also want to thank the two people I love most in this world: my wife and my son. You believed in me even when I didnt believe in myself, when I questioned why God was taking so long to reveal the truth to me. You lifted me up and encouraged me through my discoveries, through my heartaches, through my disappointments, and you celebrated those times I was the happiest. Without you, this book would never have happened. To my beautiful and precious Kristy and my pride and joy, Zach, I am because you believed in me, and I love you dearly.

Finally, and most important, I am so thankful to God for this life He gave to me, for rescuing me, delivering me, and redeeming me from whence I came.

I will always miss you, Daddy, until I see you again!

Gary L. Stewart

When I first read Gary Stewarts journal that became the foundation for this book, I couldnt believe what I was reading. I knew immediately that this would be a challenging projectso many stories, so many years, a romance and a serial killer case, all rolled up into one story that begins with a baby being abandoned on a stairwell. As I researched Garys life and got to know him personally, I became more and more impressed with the character of this man who had persevered through this heart-wrenching journey to find his identity. Thank you, Gary, for choosing me to be your co-author. Any writer wants to find that one story that begs to be told. For me, this story was the one, and I am honored by your belief in me.

To my husband, Scott, thank you for putting up with all the nights I sit at my computer burning the midnight oil. Your understanding of what it takes to write a book makes what I do possible, and your critiques of my work have become invaluable to me. Your love and your friendship always make my world such a happy place to be.

I have been blessed in this life with so many wonderful peoplemy mom, B-Bunny, whose strength and courage inspire me every day; my sisters, Bridget and Cathy, who always have a multisyllabic word handy when I need one; my children, Angel, Brandon, Gasper, and Jonathon, who make every day of my life worthwhile; and my granddaughter, Isabella StellaMaria, who has melted my heart since the day she was born.

Dr. Joseph Mirando, thank you for being my mentor and my friend, and for being so brutal with your red pen that I finally learned how to write.

Judy and Bob, thank you for welcoming me into your incredible family. Knowing both of you has been my privilege.

And to my wonderful friend Sue Israel; my manager, Mike Kinnamon of Music Central Management; and my agent, B. G. Dilworththank you for everything you do to help make my dreams come true.

Susan Mustafa

The Zodiac case has been shrouded in mystery for almost fifty years. When I began my journey to find my biological father, I never envisioned that my search would lead me to a series of brutal murders that terrorized the residents of California in the 1960s and 70s. The very idea that my father committed these acts is repulsive to me, and I try hard to disassociate myself from the horrific crimes he perpetrated upon innocent young people. After I met my biological mother, I simply wanted to find the man responsible for giving me life. I wanted to know him, love him, and even forgive him for what he had done to me. I had been raised in an adoptive home and taught that love and forgiveness are tenets by which to live ones life.

I had been gathering information about my father for two years before I got the first suspicion that he could somehow be connected to the Zodiac killings. At the time, I did not want to believe what my instincts were telling me, so I set out to uncover the truth, to prove to myself that my father could not possibly have been a serial killer. As years went by and more and more telling evidence unfolded, there came a day when I could no longer deny that my worst fears were true. That realization prompted me to write this memoir. I felt it was my responsibility to share the truths that I had learned in a way that would leave no doubt as to the identity of this killer and the reasons why he had committed these murders.

This memoir is based upon my research over a twelve-year period, which I recorded in a journal as I went through the process of discovering the facts of my fathers life. Through conversations with my fathers best friend, family members and my biological mother, police records, newspaper articles, old Best family letters, marriage and divorce records, and other government records, I was able to create a timeline of my fathers early life, which makes up Part One of this book. The narration of that period is presented in a novelistic manner of storytelling because this was the most coherent way to tell his story. I have taken some small liberties when re-creating dialogue in this section of the book, but even those conversations are based upon the memories of my fathers family and friends and the facts of his life that were related to me. Likewise, dialogue in Parts Two and Three is based upon twelve years of investigation and the facts that investigation revealed. I should note that all of the conversations that took place between me and others, including my biological mother, my fathers best friend, and detectives at the San Francisco Police Department, are related verbatim.