Arthur Jackson

In the novel A Caribbean Mystery, Arthur Jackson is Mr Rafiel's valet/masseur/attendant who (by admission to Miss Marple) worked at a cosmetic company. At the time of the events of the novel, he had worked for Mr Rafiel for about nine months.

Jackson is a young man, and is tall and good-looking. Mr Rafiel refers to him as a "Tom Cat", and says that Jackson is a bad character, but he suits him all right, and he is "first class at his job".

Mr Rafiel says that he would not employ Jackson in a position of trust, and that his references were all right, but he discerned "a note of reserve".

When Miss Marple helps Mr Rafiel look for Jackson, she finds him having a drink with Tim Kendal. After Jackson leaves to attend to Mr Rafiel, Tim explains that he feels sorry for Jackson, and sometimes has to stand him a drink to cheer him up. Tim says that it is difficult for Jackson socially, because there is no one else at the hotel who is of his class. He is better than a servant, and below the average visitor, or so they think.

Miss Marple later sees Jackson snooping through the papers in one of Mr Rafiel's suitcases. Mr Rafiel says that this does not surprise him.

Later in the novel, Miss Marple sees Jackson eter the bathroom in Tim and Molly Kendal's bungalow. He tells her that he is looking at Molly's face cream. He reveals that he had worked in the pharmaceutical line, and has a good working acquaintance with drugs. He mentions belladonna and atropine, which if rubbed on the skin, can produce hallucinations of levitation and flying through the air.

Jackson later goes with Miss Marple to the Kendal's bungalow, having been ordered by Mr Rafiel to do exactly as she says. They witness Tim giving Molly a glass of water to drink, and on orders from Miss Marple, Jackson takes the glass away, and holds Tim with his other arm. He does this without asking questions, because he likes money, and Mr Rafiel had promised to make it worth his while if he obeyed Miss Marple's orders. Jackson is also "a man of extreme muscular devlopment heightened by his training".

Miss Marple explains that Tim had been drugging Molly, and that Jackson had suspected that this was what caused the symptoms she had been experiencing.

Miss Marple also explains that Jackson had probably told Tim that Esther would inherit money when Mr Rafiel died, which provided Tim with a motive for killing Molly, and pursuing Esther romantically.

Jackson is also mentioned in the sequel Nemesis, although he does not appear in person. Esther Walters mentions that Jackson did not stay with Mr Rafiel after they returned to England. She also says that Mr Rafiel had not left Jackson anything in his will, but she believes that he did give Jackson some handsome gifts during the last year.

Portrayals
In the 1983 Warner Bros adaptation, Arthur Jackson is portrayed by Mike Preston.

In the BBC 1989 adaptation, Jackson is portrayed by Stephen Bent. Here his first name is not used but otherwise the portrayal is close to the original story. He searches Molly Kendal's bathroom, looking for her face cream. When Miss Marple later asks why he did it, he tells her that he believes Molly Kendal is a drug addict. He doesn't exactly say he used to work in cosmetics but he says he has been around drugs for years and knows a lot about them. Molly Kendal had gone missing but he tells Miss Marple he thinks she hasn't committed suicide. Rather, she had taken "a trip to Shangrila". Jackson also tells Miss Marple the true facts about Mr Rafiel's will, which gives Miss Marple the eureka moment for solving the mystery of the killings at the hotel.

In the 2013 ITV adaptation, Jackson is portrayed by Warren Brown. Here he is a qualified nurse as well as masseur. He was formerly from the Royal Army Medical Corps. According to Mr Rafiel, he had left the army under a cloud. It was something to do with the fact that he was a snooper and had been caught rifling cabinets to look up confidential material. In this adaptation, Miss Marple spots him snooping for Mr Rafiel's will but he does not snoop around Molly Kendal's cosmetics. He also helps Miss Marple identify a white powder found in the dead Lucky Dyson's handbag as cocaine. Jackson does not play the active role in the denouement as he does in the original story or other adaptations. Miss Marple is the one who catches Tim Kendal trying to kill Molly.