Was Uncle Ted a Russian Spy? (Always Read the Footnotes!) by Elizabeth Yore

“There is no place where espionage is not used. Offer the enemy bait to lure him.” — Sun Tzu

Sexual predators, like spies, are masters of deception and deceit. Both operate in secrecy, perpetuate a cover story, manipulate their victims through lies, and maintain a facade of respectability. Often, sexual predators become prime and easy targets for espionage since they are so vulnerable to blackmail. Prominent sexual predators can become prominent spies. Spies trade in secret information and influence peddling-the more prominent the asset, the more valuable the information.

A well worn espionage tactic is the dead drop when spies leave secret information in a location where it can be recovered by another party without meeting face to face.

Footnotes are literary dead drops, buried at the bottom of a page in small print, often used to hide a deeper clarification-a smoking gun. Unless read and scrutinized, an important fact or thread could be missed.  ….