AMC 8 1992 Problem 24

Four circles of radius $3$ are arranged as shown. Their centers are the vertices of a square. The area of the shaded region is closest to

$\text{(A)}\ 7.7 \text{(B)}\ 12.1 \text{(C)}\ 17.2 \text{(D)}\ 18 \text{(E)}\ 27$