A Circle of Light

That afternoon, Isaac and Mike pulled out the iron stars from the fence. Now only one remained in place: the heart of the star in the study. We were all up there, trying to decide if we should just pull it out, when Brandon came back with Amy and an answer from his expert.

“Five to seven years. Ten years tops,” he said, dropping the iron stars on the kitchen table. “Not enough rust to have been buried longer.”

They all turned to me, waiting for some kind of conclusion or statement, I guess? I just shook my head.

“Can you guys pull the last one out?” I asked instead. “I’ll be right back.”

Before any of them could make any question, I spun around and walked out the backdoor. I knew exactly the person to ask for a name related to the iron stars.

Susan opened her front door, not hiding her surprise to find me knocking.

“We need to talk,” I said, dead serious.

She stiffened,