tom lund looks down and reads : `` as the police in french landing fail to discover any leads to the identity of the fiendish double murderer and sex criminal this reporter has dubbed `` the fisherman , '' the grim specters of fear , despair , and suspicion run increasingly rampant through the streets of that little town , and from there out into the farms and villages throughout french county , darkening by their touch every portion of the coulee country . '