What about Author's Note?
It's generally something written at the beginning or in the end of text, but I've read that it can be used as footnote as well. I'll edit if I find more info.
EDIT: Check here.
I'm fairly certain the answer is, 'no'.
To use the verb 'tell' without quotation marks, you require an infinitive or a conjunction such as 'that'. This creates reported/indirect speech. Here are some examples:
He would often tell me that he was going to die.
He would often tell me to be careful crossing the road.
If you were to rewrite these using direct speech, they would become:
"I am going to die," he would often tell me.
"Be careful crossing the road," he would often tell me.
To remove the quotation marks then, you would have to begin the sentences with the infinitive or the adverb, which is very uncomfortable:
That he was going to die, he would often tell me.
To be careful crossing the road, he would often tell me.
I would say that neither of these are recommended constructions.
We may begin sentences with these clauses, but only if they are treated as nouns:
That he was going to die was very clear to all who studied him - where the first phrase is a fact or a piece of knowledge, not a quote.
To be careful crossing the road is something he would always advise. - where the first phrase is the something, an action treated as a noun.
I hope that helps.
Best Answer
The sequence of "dots" to which you refer are called an ellipsis. Although it's common to write it as three periods
..., note that strictly it's a special typographic character….A proper ellipsis is always three dots, no more, no less.
Different style guides have different guidelines. If you are writing for a specific publication, use what is in their style guide (or trust their subeditors). If you have no style guide, pick a style and be consistent.
There are really only two options:
I personally prefer the version with square brackets, since it is then clear that the ellipsis is not part of the original quote.
The Modern Language Association's style guide has changed its position, to that of recommending no square brackets.