The nursery became their favorite project.
They stripped away the old wallpaper, repaired the floorboards, replaced damaged trim, and opened the curtains to let in as much light as possible.
But something about the room bothered Daisy.
At first, Emily thought it was simply because everything was unfamiliar.
Then Daisy began sleeping outside the nursery.
She would lie in the hallway for hours, staring at the same section of wall.
Whenever Emily called her, she came immediately.
But after returning to the hallway, Daisy always looked toward that wall.
Mark found it amusing.
"Maybe she thinks there's a squirrel in there."
"Behind a wall?"
"She's a dog. Her imagination is probably better than ours."
Emily laughed.
But Daisy didn't.
One evening, while Emily was folding baby clothes, she heard scratching.
She looked toward the doorway.
Daisy was pawing at the baseboard.
"Daisy, stop."
The dog ignored her.
"Daisy."
Nothing.
Emily walked over and gently pulled her away.
The dog looked up.
There was something unusual in her expression.
Not excitement.
Not curiosity.
Fear.
Emily knelt.
"What is it, girl?"
Daisy turned her head toward the wall.
Then Emily heard it.
A faint sound.
Three soft knocks.
From inside the wall.
Emily froze.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
She looked at Daisy.
The dog stared back.
Neither of them moved.
When Mark came home twenty minutes later, Emily told him.
He listened patiently.
Then he smiled.
"Old houses make noises."
"I know."
"Pipes."
"I know."
"Wood expanding."
"I know."
He kissed her forehead.
"You've been working too hard."
Emily wanted to agree.
She really did.
But later that night, while lying beside Mark in the dark, she heard the sound again.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
This time Daisy was awake.
The dog was sitting at the nursery door.
Her body was rigid.
Her ears were raised.
And she was staring directly at the wall.
Emily slowly sat up.
The house was silent.
Then came another sound.
Not a knock.
A scrape.
Something moved behind the plaster.
Emily held her breath.
Daisy growled.
And for the first time since they had bought the house, Emily wondered whether the old Blackwood property had been empty for quite as long as everyone believed.
The next morning, Mark inspected the wall.
He tapped it several times with his knuckles.
Nothing.
He used a stud finder.
The device behaved normally.
He checked the plumbing diagram left by the previous owner.
There were no pipes running through that section.
"No hidden water line," he said.
Emily folded her arms.
"Then what made the sound?"
"Could be something small."
"Like what?"
"A mouse."
"Daisy wouldn't be terrified of a mouse."
Mark glanced at the dog.
Daisy was sitting beside Emily.
She was staring at him.
"Fair point."
They decided not to open the wall yet.
The nursery still needed work, and Mark didn't want to destroy newly repaired drywall because of a few unexplained sounds.
For two days, nothing happened.
Then, late Tuesday afternoon, Emily was painting the window frame when Daisy suddenly ran into the room.
The dog crossed directly to the suspicious wall.